Skills

openclaw skills

Inspect local skills, search ClawHub, install skills from ClawHub/Git/local directories, verify ClawHub skills, and update ClawHub-tracked installs.

Use openclaw plugins for plugin packages. The standalone ClawHub CLI handles publishing, registry maintenance, and removing ClawHub skills.

Related:

• Skills system: Skills
• Skill authoring: Creating skills
• Skill Workshop: Skill Workshop
• Skills config: Skills config

Commands

openclaw skills search "calendar"
openclaw skills search --limit 20 --json
openclaw skills install @owner/<slug>
openclaw skills install @owner/<slug> --version <version>
openclaw skills install skills-sh:<owner>/<repo>/<slug>
openclaw skills install git:owner/repo
openclaw skills install git:owner/repo@main
openclaw skills install ./path/to/skill --as custom-name
openclaw skills install @owner/<slug> --force
openclaw skills install @owner/<slug> --force-install
openclaw skills install @owner/<slug> --acknowledge-install-policy-warning
openclaw skills install @owner/<slug> --agent <id>
openclaw skills install @owner/<slug> --global
openclaw skills update @owner/<slug>
openclaw skills update @owner/<slug> --force
openclaw skills update @owner/<slug> --force-install
openclaw skills update @owner/<slug> --acknowledge-install-policy-warning
openclaw skills update @owner/<slug> --global
openclaw skills update --all
openclaw skills update --all --agent <id>
openclaw skills update --all --global
openclaw skills verify @owner/<slug>
openclaw skills verify @owner/<slug> --json
openclaw skills verify @owner/<slug> --version <version>
openclaw skills verify @owner/<slug> --tag <tag>
openclaw skills verify @owner/<slug> --card
openclaw skills verify @owner/<slug> --global
openclaw skills list
openclaw skills list --eligible
openclaw skills list --json
openclaw skills list --verbose
openclaw skills list --agent <id>
openclaw skills info <name>
openclaw skills info <name> --json
openclaw skills info <name> --agent <id>
openclaw skills check
openclaw skills check --agent <id>
openclaw skills check --json
openclaw skills curator status
openclaw skills curator status --json
openclaw skills workshop propose-create --name "qa-check" --description "QA checklist" --proposal ./PROPOSAL.md
openclaw skills workshop propose-update qa-check --proposal ./PROPOSAL.md
openclaw skills workshop list
openclaw skills workshop inspect <proposal-id>
openclaw skills workshop revise <proposal-id> --proposal ./PROPOSAL.md
openclaw skills workshop apply <proposal-id>
openclaw skills workshop reject <proposal-id> --reason "Not reusable"
openclaw skills workshop quarantine <proposal-id> --reason "Needs security review"

search, update, and verify use ClawHub directly. install @owner/<slug> installs a native ClawHub skill. install skills-sh:<owner>/<repo>/<slug> asks ClawHub to resolve an external listing to its exact synchronized GitHub commit; OpenClaw does not download from skills.sh. These entries are shown as Not scanned by ClawHub, and that trust state is preserved through updates and verification. Claimed or ClawHub-scanned skills use @owner/<slug>. install git:owner/repo[@ref] clones an unmanaged Git skill, and install ./path copies a local skill directory. By default, install, update, and verify target the active workspace skills/ directory; with --global, they target the shared managed skills directory. list/info/check and bare openclaw skills request the selected Gateway’s authoritative skill inventory. A configured remote Gateway or an explicit OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_URL never falls back to client-local skills: missing URLs, connection failures, and authentication errors remain visible. Only an implicitly selected local Gateway can fall back to local inventory when it is unavailable. Workspace-backed commands resolve the target workspace from --agent <id>, then the current working directory when it is inside a configured agent workspace, then the default agent.

The skills table renders horizontal tabs as single spaces so descriptions stay aligned with the neighboring columns.

info resolves an exact skill name before a metadata key. Key, case-insensitive, and separator-normalized matches must identify one skill; ambiguous selectors fail instead of choosing discovery order. Workshop reads and update targeting use the same lookup.

check reports missing prerequisites independently of agent exclusion: a skill excluded by the agent allowlist can also appear under Missing requirements. Disabled skills and skills blocked by the bundled allowlist keep their separate readiness categories.

Curator status, pin, unpin, and restore, plus Workshop apply, preserve the same target boundary. They never read or mutate client-local state after an explicitly selected Gateway fails; intentional offline behavior remains available only for an implicitly selected local Gateway.

Git and local directory installs expect SKILL.md at the source root. The install slug comes from SKILL.md frontmatter name when it is valid, then the source directory or repository name; use --as <slug> to override it. --version is ClawHub-only. Skill installs do not support npm package specs or zip/archive paths, and openclaw skills update updates ClawHub-tracked installs only.

Gateway-backed skill dependency installs triggered from onboarding or Skills settings use the separate skills.install request path instead.

When security.installPolicy returns warn in an interactive terminal, OpenClaw prints the reason and findings, then asks type: '<skill>' to install anyway (or update anyway). If the fully rendered review exceeds 4,000 characters, OpenClaw fails closed before prompting; reduce or coalesce the policy output first. A matching answer evaluates the staged skill again before continuing. Declined and non-interactive direct CLI commands stop before commit; after review, --acknowledge-install-policy-warning is the explicit noninteractive approval for every warning in that command invocation. Every approved warning is re-evaluated before continuing. Automatic and managed skill installs cannot use that flag themselves. Use an equivalent direct CLI command when one exists; otherwise, change security.installPolicy to return allow for the reviewed request, then retry the managed flow. Neither --force nor the acknowledgement overrides block or a policy failure.

Notes:

Flag/behavior	Description
search [query...]	Optional query; omit it to browse the default ClawHub search feed.
search --limit <n>	Caps returned results.
install git:owner/repo[@ref]	Installs a Git skill. Branch refs may contain slashes, such as git:owner/repo@feature/foo.
install ./path/to/skill	Installs a local directory whose root contains SKILL.md.
install --as <slug>	Overrides the inferred slug for Git and local directory installs.
install --version <version>	Applies to native ClawHub skill refs, not skills-sh: refs; the mirrored reference already identifies the exact synchronized commit.
install --force	Overwrites an existing workspace skill folder for the same slug.
update --force	Replaces a tracked skill even when its installed files no longer match recorded install digests. Without it, updates preserve local changes. Pre-digest installs require one forced update before later updates can be verified. Force those skills individually; --all --force also replaces skills with detected local edits.
install/update --force-install	Installs a pending GitHub-backed ClawHub skill before ClawHub’s scan completes.
--global	Targets the shared managed skills directory; cannot combine with --agent <id>.
--agent <id>	Targets one configured agent workspace; overrides current working directory inference.
update @owner/<slug>	Updates a single tracked skill. Add --global to target the shared managed skills directory instead of the workspace.
update --all	Updates tracked ClawHub installs in the selected workspace, or the shared managed skills directory with --global.
verify @owner/<slug>	Prints ClawHub’s clawhub.skill.verify.v1 JSON envelope by default. --json is accepted as the explicit machine-output spelling. Bare slugs are accepted for compatibility when the skill is already installed or unambiguous; owner-qualified refs avoid publisher ambiguity.
verify provenance	When ClawHub returns server-resolved source provenance, verify JSON also includes a commit-pinned openclaw.verifiedSourceUrl. Unavailable or self-declared source URLs stay only in the raw provenance envelope and are not promoted.
verify version selector	verify uses .clawhub/origin.json for installed ClawHub skills, so it verifies the installed version against the registry it came from. --version and --tag override the version selector but keep that installed registry when origin metadata exists.
verify --card	Prints the generated Skill Card Markdown instead of JSON. Exits non-zero when ClawHub returns ok: false or decision: "fail".
Skill Card fingerprint	Installed ClawHub bundles can include a generated skill-card.md. OpenClaw treats verification as a ClawHub server decision and does not reject an installed skill just because that generated card changes the bundle fingerprint.
check --agent <id>	Checks the selected agent’s workspace and reports which ready skills are actually visible to that agent’s prompt or command surface.
workshop --agent <id>	Accepted before or after a Workshop leaf command, for example workshop --agent <id> list or workshop list --agent <id>. If both are provided, the leaf value wins.
curator --json	Accepted before or after a Curator leaf command, for example curator --json status or curator status --json.
list	Default action when no subcommand is provided.
list/info/check output	Rendered output goes to stdout. With --json, the machine-readable payload stays on stdout for pipes and scripts.
curator status --json	Reports live Workshop skill usage recorded from trusted skill.used events, collection review outcomes per agent, and experience review outcomes per agent and workspace.
curator pin/unpin/restore	Retired commands remain registered but return an error explaining that weekly collection review manages the skill collection.

Release trust

Community ClawHub skill installs and updates check trust before downloading. Versioned community archive releases use exact-release trust metadata. Resolver-backed GitHub skills rely on ClawHub’s install resolver to enforce scan and force-install policy before it returns a pinned commit; use --force-install to install a pending GitHub-backed skill before that scan completes. Malicious or blocked community releases are refused. Review outcomes print the exact ClawHub audit overview and details link, then continue. Official ClawHub skill publishers and bundled OpenClaw skill sources bypass this release-trust check.

Remove a ClawHub skill

Use the standalone ClawHub CLI to remove a ClawHub-tracked skill. If the CLI is not installed, install it explicitly first:

npm i -g clawhub
clawhub uninstall @owner/my-skill

The CLI asks for confirmation before deleting the skill directory and its .clawhub/lock.json entry. Use the installed skill’s owner-qualified name or bare slug, not its original skills-sh: reference.

Select the same root where the skill was installed: the agent workspace for an agent-specific skill, or the OpenClaw state directory for a shared skill installed with --global:

clawhub --workdir /path/to/agent-workspace uninstall @owner/my-skill
clawhub --workdir ~/.openclaw uninstall @owner/my-skill

If OPENCLAW_STATE_DIR is set, use that configured state directory for shared skills instead:

clawhub --workdir "$OPENCLAW_STATE_DIR" uninstall @owner/my-skill

The default skills watcher picks up the removal on the next agent turn. If watching is disabled, start a new session.

Personal skill library

openclaw skills library manages the identified caller’s skills on the selected Gateway. It uses the same owner-aware service as the Control UI and agent workflow; it never writes the library database or revision directories on the CLI host.

openclaw skills library --help

List your library:

openclaw skills library list --scope mine --json

Create a private skill from a directory containing SKILL.md:

openclaw skills library create ./my-skill --slug my-skill

Read its stable ID and current revision before editing:

openclaw skills library read <skill-id> --json

Update only the instructions while preserving supporting files:

openclaw skills library update <skill-id> ./SKILL.md --expected-revision <revision-hash>

A directory input replaces the complete bundle. A single SKILL.md input preserves the current supporting files; repeat --delete-file <relative-path> to remove files explicitly. Updates compare the revision that was read; a conflict requires reviewing the newer content, not a force overwrite. Supporting files are part of the revision, including binary assets and executable flags.

Import a ZIP privately:

openclaw skills library import ./my-skill.zip --slug my-skill

Import a ClawHub skill without publishing your library:

openclaw skills library import @owner/<slug> --clawhub --slug my-skill

--version <version> selects a ClawHub version and requires --clawhub. share, unshare, transfer, enable, disable, remove, and rollback take <skill-id> --expected-revision <hash>. Rollback also requires --revision <retained-hash>.

Attach an exact revision to an existing session:

openclaw skills library attach --session <session-key> --skill-id <skill-id> --revision <revision-hash>

detach takes the same session and skill ID. Refresh one selected skill:

openclaw skills library refresh --session <session-key> --skill-id <skill-id>

Omitting --skill-id refreshes all selected skills and requires current library access to each one. It never replaces the selection with the current caller’s library. Each operation reports its effect on the next turn.

Use list --session <session-key> to inspect selected revisions and the skills you can attach, without changing the session. read --session <session-key> also requires --revision <hash> and reads only that exact selected revision; it does not expose other private revisions or grant permission to edit them.

Personal operations require an authenticated Gateway profile. The Control UI on a single-user Gateway uses a durable owner profile, but ephemeral CLI connections do not inherit it. A CLI shared token or password alone still has no personal profile; use the existing workspace commands in that case. An explicitly selected remote Gateway never falls back to a client-local personal library.

Sharing makes a skill available to teammates but does not grant edit access. Transfer to team ownership requires administrator authority. Saving affects new sessions by default; attach or refresh a selection explicitly for an existing session. Removal preserves already selected revisions. See personal library ownership and revisions.

Skill Workshop

openclaw skills workshop manages pending skill proposals for the selected agent. Proposals are not active skills until applied. For proposal storage, support-file safeguards, Gateway methods, and approval policy, see Skill Workshop.

openclaw skills workshop propose-create \
  --name "qa-check" \
  --description "Repeatable QA checklist" \
  --proposal ./PROPOSAL.md
openclaw skills workshop propose-create \
  --name "qa-check" \
  --description "Repeatable QA checklist" \
  --proposal-dir ./qa-check-proposal
openclaw skills workshop propose-update qa-check --proposal ./PROPOSAL.md
openclaw skills workshop list
openclaw skills workshop inspect <proposal-id>
openclaw skills workshop revise <proposal-id> --proposal ./PROPOSAL.md
openclaw skills workshop apply <proposal-id>
openclaw skills workshop reject <proposal-id> --reason "Duplicate"
openclaw skills workshop quarantine <proposal-id> --reason "Needs security review"

propose-create, propose-update, and revise also accept --goal <text> and --evidence <text> to record the proposal’s motivation and supporting notes alongside the --proposal/--proposal-dir content.

Related

• CLI reference
• Skills