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Skills

Kilo Code implements Agent Skills, a lightweight, open format for extending AI agent capabilities with specialized knowledge and workflows.

What Are Agent Skills?​

Agent Skills package domain expertise, new capabilities, and repeatable workflows that agents can use. At its core, a skill is a folder containing a SKILL.md file with metadata and instructions that tell an agent how to perform a specific task.

This approach keeps agents fast while giving them access to more context on demand. When a task matches a skill's description, the agent reads the full instructions into context and follows them—optionally loading referenced files or executing bundled code as needed.

Key Benefits​

  • Self-documenting: A skill author or user can read a SKILL.md file and understand what it does, making skills easy to audit and improve
  • Interoperable: Skills work across any agent that implements the Agent Skills specification
  • Extensible: Skills can range in complexity from simple text instructions to bundled scripts, templates, and reference materials
  • Shareable: Skills are portable and can be easily shared between projects and developers

How Skills Work in Kilo Code​

Skills can be:

  • Generic - Available in all modes
  • Mode-specific - Only loaded when using a particular mode (e.g., code, architect)

The workflow is:

  1. Discovery: Skills are scanned from designated directories when Kilo Code initializes. Only the metadata (name, description, and file path) is read at this stage—not the full instructions.
  2. Prompt inclusion: When a mode is active, the metadata for relevant skills is included in the system prompt. The agent sees a list of available skills with their descriptions.
  3. On-demand loading: When the agent determines that a task matches a skill's description, it reads the full SKILL.md file into context and follows the instructions.

How the Agent Decides to Use a Skill​

The agent (LLM) decides whether to use a skill based on the skill's description field. There's no keyword matching or semantic search—the agent evaluates your request against all available skill descriptions and determines if one "clearly and unambiguously applies."

This means:

  • Description wording matters: Write descriptions that match how users phrase requests
  • Explicit invocation always works: Saying "use the api-design skill" will trigger it since the agent sees the skill name
  • Vague descriptions lead to uncertain matching: Be specific about when the skill should be used

Skill Locations​

Skills are loaded from multiple locations, allowing both personal skills and project-specific instructions.

Global Skills (User-Level)​

Global skills are located in the .kilocode directory within your Home directory.

  • Mac and Linux: ~/.kilocode/skills/
  • Windows: \Users\<yourUser>\.kilocode\
~/.kilocode/
├── skills/                    # Generic skills (all modes)
│   ├── my-skill/
│   │   └── SKILL.md
│   └── another-skill/
│       └── SKILL.md
├── skills-code/              # Code mode only
│   └── refactoring/
│       └── SKILL.md
└── skills-architect/         # Architect mode only
    └── system-design/
        └── SKILL.md

Project Skills (Workspace-Level)​

Located in .kilocode/skills/ within your project:

your-project/
└── .kilocode/
    ├── skills/               # Generic skills for this project
    │   └── project-conventions/
    │       └── SKILL.md
    └── skills-code/          # Code mode skills for this project
        └── linting-rules/
            └── SKILL.md

Mode-Specific Skills​

To create a skill that only appears in a specific mode:

# For Code mode only
mkdir -p ~/.kilocode/skills-code/typescript-patterns

# For Architect mode only
mkdir -p ~/.kilocode/skills-architect/microservices

The directory naming pattern is skills-{mode-slug} where {mode-slug} matches the mode's identifier (e.g., code, architect, ask, debug).

Priority and Overrides​

When multiple skills share the same name, Kilo Code uses these priority rules:

  1. Project skills override global skills - A project skill with the same name takes precedence
  2. Mode-specific skills override generic skills - A skill in skills-code/ overrides the same skill in skills/ when in Code mode

This allows you to:

  • Define global skills for personal use
  • Override them per-project when needed
  • Customize behavior for specific modes

When Skills Are Loaded​

Skills are discovered when Kilo Code initializes:

  • When VSCode starts
  • When you reload the VSCode window (Cmd+Shift+P → "Developer: Reload Window")

Skills directories are monitored for changes to SKILL.md files. However, the most reliable way to pick up new skills is to reload VS or the Kilo Code extension.

Adding or modifying skills requires reloading VSCode for changes to take effect.

You can symlink skills directories to share skills across machines or from a central repository. When using symlinks, the skill's name field must match the symlink name, not the target directory name.

SKILL.md Format​

The SKILL.md file uses YAML frontmatter followed by Markdown content containing the instructions:

---
name: my-skill-name
description: A brief description of what this skill does and when to use it
---

# Instructions

Your detailed instructions for the AI agent go here.

The agent will read this content when it decides to use the skill based on
your request matching the description above.

## Example Usage

You can include examples, guidelines, code snippets, etc.

Frontmatter Fields​

Per the Agent Skills specification:

FieldRequiredDescription
nameYesMax 64 characters. Lowercase letters, numbers, and hyphens only. Must not start or end with a hyphen.
descriptionYesMax 1024 characters. Describes what the skill does and when to use it.
licenseNoLicense name or reference to a bundled license file
compatibilityNoEnvironment requirements (intended product, system packages, network access, etc.)
metadataNoArbitrary key-value mapping for additional metadata

Example with Optional Fields​

---
name: pdf-processing
description: Extract text and tables from PDF files, fill forms, merge documents.
license: Apache-2.0
metadata:
    author: example-org
    version: 1.0.0
---

## How to extract text

1. Use pdfplumber for text extraction...

## How to fill forms

...

Name Matching Rule​

In Kilo Code, the name field must match the parent directory name:

✅ Correct:
skills/
└── frontend-design/
    └── SKILL.md  # name: frontend-design

❌ Incorrect:
skills/
└── frontend-design/
    └── SKILL.md  # name: my-frontend-skill  (doesn't match!)

Optional Bundled Resources​

While SKILL.md is the only required file, you can optionally include additional directories to support your skill:

my-skill/
├── SKILL.md           # Required: instructions + metadata
├── scripts/           # Optional: executable code
├── references/        # Optional: documentation
└── assets/            # Optional: templates, resources

These additional files can be referenced from your skill's instructions, allowing the agent to read documentation, execute scripts, or use templates as needed.

Example: Creating a Skill​

  1. Create the skill directory:

    mkdir -p ~/.kilocode/skills/api-design

  2. Create SKILL.md:

    ---
    name: api-design
    description: REST API design best practices and conventions
    ---

    # API Design Guidelines

    When designing REST APIs, follow these conventions:

    ## URL Structure

    - Use plural nouns for resources: `/users`, `/orders`
    - Use kebab-case for multi-word resources: `/order-items`
    - Nest related resources: `/users/{id}/orders`

    ## HTTP Methods

    - GET: Retrieve resources
    - POST: Create new resources
    - PUT: Replace entire resource
    - PATCH: Partial update
    - DELETE: Remove resource

    ## Response Codes

    - 200: Success
    - 201: Created
    - 400: Bad Request
    - 404: Not Found
    - 500: Server Error

  3. Reload VSCode to load the skill

  4. The skill will now be available in all modes

Finding Skills​

You can discover and install community-created skills through:

  • Kilo Marketplace - Browse skills directly in the Kilo Code extension via the Marketplace tab, or explore the Kilo Marketplace repository on GitHub
  • Agent Skills Specification - The open specification that skills follow, enabling interoperability across different AI agents

Troubleshooting​

Skill Not Loading?​

  1. Check the Output panel: Open View → Output → Select "Kilo Code" from dropdown. Look for skill-related errors.

  2. Verify frontmatter: Ensure name exactly matches the directory name and description is present.

  3. Reload VSCode: Skills are loaded at startup. Use Cmd+Shift+P → "Developer: Reload Window".

  4. Check file location: Ensure SKILL.md is directly inside the skill directory, not nested further.

Verifying a Skill is Available​

To confirm a skill is properly loaded and available to the agent, you can ask the agent directly. Simply send a message like:

  • "Do you have access to skill X?"
  • "Is the skill called X loaded?"
  • "What skills do you have available?"

The agent will respond with information about whether the skill is loaded and accessible. This is the most reliable way to verify that a skill is available after adding it or reloading VSCode.

If the agent confirms the skill is available, you're ready to use it. If not, check the troubleshooting steps above to identify and resolve the issue.

Checking if a Skill Was Used​

To see if a skill was actually used during a conversation, look for a read_file tool call in the chat that targets a SKILL.md file. When the agent decides to use a skill, it reads the full skill file into context—this appears as a file read operation in the conversation.

There's currently no dedicated UI indicator showing "Skill X was activated." The read_file call is the most reliable way to confirm a skill was used.

Common Errors​

ErrorCauseSolution
"missing required 'name' field"No name in frontmatterAdd name: your-skill-name
"name doesn't match directory"Mismatch between frontmatter and folder nameMake name match exactly
Skill not appearingWrong directory structureVerify path follows skills/skill-name/SKILL.md

Contributing to the Marketplace​

Have you created a skill that others might find useful? Share it with the community by contributing to the Kilo Marketplace!

How to Submit Your Skill​

  1. Prepare your skill: Ensure your skill directory contains a valid SKILL.md file with proper frontmatter
  2. Test thoroughly: Verify your skill works correctly across different scenarios and modes
  3. Fork the marketplace repository: Visit github.com/Kilo-Org/kilo-marketplace and create a fork
  4. Add your skill: Place your skill directory in the appropriate location following the repository's structure
  5. Submit a pull request: Create a PR with a clear description of what your skill does and when it's useful

Submission Guidelines​

  • Follow the Agent Skills specification for your SKILL.md file
  • Include a clear name and description in the frontmatter
  • Document any dependencies or requirements (scripts, external tools, etc.)
  • If your skill includes bundled resources (scripts, templates), ensure they are well-documented
  • Follow the contribution guidelines in the marketplace repository

For more details on contributing to Kilo Code, see the Contributing Guide.

Is this documentation incorrect or incomplete? Report an issue on GitHub