Skills

A skill is a reusable capability bundle for an agent. In Lobu, skills can add:

markdown instructions
MCP servers
system packages
network requirements

Lobu still discovers local SKILL.md files at runtime. The CLI starter-skill commands simply copy a bundled skill folder into your local skills/ directory so you can commit it and customize it.

Bundled Starter Skill

The bundled Lobu starter skill includes project, runtime, and memory guidance.

npx @lobu/cli@latest skills add lobu

Use the Lobu skill when the agent should understand Lobu projects, lobu.toml, prompt files, evals, project structure, memory tools, watchers, and client setup.

Starter Skills

Lobu ships one starter-skill installer. After install, Lobu discovers local skills from skills/<name>/SKILL.md or agents/<agent-id>/skills/<name>/SKILL.md.

Product	Install command	What it adds
Lobu	`npx @lobu/cli@latest skills add lobu`	The Lobu starter skill in skills/lobu/ (includes memory guidance)
Local skill	`skills/<name>/SKILL.md` or `agents/<agent-id>/skills/<name>/SKILL.md`	A project-owned custom skill discovered automatically

Local Skill Locations

Lobu supports two local skill locations:

Type	Path	Scope
Shared skill	`skills/<name>/SKILL.md`	Available to all agents
Agent skill	`agents/<agent>/skills/<name>/SKILL.md`	Available to one agent

If the file exists, Lobu loads it automatically at startup.

Minimal Example

---
name: Internal API
description: Query our internal support API
nixPackages:
  - jq
network:
  allow:
    - api.example.com
mcpServers:
  support-api:
    url: https://api.example.com/mcp
    type: sse
---

# Internal API

Use the support API tools for account lookups and ticket status checks.

For instruction-only skills, omit frontmatter and keep only the markdown body.

What Does Not Belong In A Skill

Tool visibility and MCP approval bypasses belong in lobu.toml, not in SKILL.md
Destructive MCP tools still follow the normal approval flow unless the operator configures [agents.<id>.tools].pre_approved

See Tool Policy for that split.

Skills Vs Memory

Skills and memory are related but different:

Skills teach the agent how to work and what capabilities to request.
Lobu memory is the long-term memory and integrations surface.
Lobu can enable memory through [memory.owletto] in lobu.toml.

Installing the Lobu starter skill teaches the agent the workflow; runtime wiring still lives in Lobu configuration. See Memory for that setup.