# Skills

URL: /en/docs/agents/skills

Skills are written instructions that teach your agent how to handle one kind of request, such as a refund or a complaint, loaded only when needed.



A skill is a written procedure your agent follows for one kind of request, for example handling a refund or calming an upset customer. Skills do not call other systems by themselves; they tell the agent what to ask, what to check and what to promise, and they can name the [tools](https://ecbot.dev/docs/agents/tools) to use.

## Your skills [#your-skills]

Open **Skills** under **Agents** in the sidebar.

![The skills list with the Create button](https://ecbot.dev/_docs/screenshots/en/skills.png)

1. **Create** opens the skill form.
2. Your skills. Open one to edit or turn it off.

## Start from a template [#start-from-a-template]

![The create skill form with the Get started with row of templates](https://ecbot.dev/_docs/screenshots/en/skill-create.png)

1. **Get started with** fills the form from a ready-made skill, such as Book an appointment or Order status. You can also import a `.md` file.

## Write a skill [#write-a-skill]

* **Name**: a short label, such as "Late delivery".
* **When to use**: when the agent should load the skill, for example "Use when a customer says an order has not arrived." Make it specific.
* **Guardrails** (optional): rules the agent always keeps while using the skill, even when a step says otherwise.
* **Instructions**: written as text in Markdown, or as steps. Click **Write as steps** on an empty form to use steps.

## Write it as steps [#write-it-as-steps]

![A skill written as steps, with an If, an Else and a Tool step that hands off to staff](https://ecbot.dev/_docs/screenshots/en/skill-steps.png)

1. Each step has a type and its text. The menu on the right moves or deletes it.
2. **If** branches on a condition. Add **Else if** or **Else** below it.
3. **Tool** calls one of your tools or a built-in action.
4. **Add step** adds a step to that list.

* **Ask**: what to ask the customer for. The agent skips it when the customer already said it.
* **Say**: an exact message. The agent translates it when the customer writes in another language.
* **Tell**: what to tell the customer, in the agent's own words.
* **Tool**: one of your [tools](https://ecbot.dev/docs/agents/tools), or a built-in action: hand off to staff, notify the team, add or remove a tag, schedule a follow-up, or save customer info.
* **If**: steps that only run when a condition is true.

### Pick a tool [#pick-a-tool]

![The tool picker of a Tool step, with built-in actions and the workspace's HTTP and MCP tools](https://ecbot.dev/_docs/screenshots/en/skill-tool-picker.png)

1. Type to search. Built-in actions are listed first, each with its icon.
2. Your tools come next, marked **HTTP** or **MCP**. Scroll down to load more.

An MCP tool also asks which of its actions to call. **Add tag** and **Remove tag** ask for the tag, and **Save customer info** asks for the field name. Ready-made examples are in the [cookbook](https://ecbot.dev/docs/cookbook).

**Write as text instead** turns the steps into text you can edit freely. You cannot turn text back into steps.

## Attach a skill to an agent [#attach-a-skill-to-an-agent]

Open the agent's page, go to the **Skills** section and add the skill. You can turn an attached skill off for one agent without deleting it.


## FAQ

### How does the agent know when to use a skill?

The agent always sees each attached skill's name and description. When a conversation matches a description, it loads the full instructions for that turn.

### Can I edit a template?

Picking a template fills the create form. You change anything you like before you create the skill, and the skill is yours from then on.

### How long can a skill be?

The name can be up to 150 characters, the description up to 500 and the instructions up to 64,000 characters. Shorter, step-by-step instructions work best.