# Skills > Teach Empryo's agent a framework, workflow or style guide with a SKILL.md file. Browse skills.sh, install per project or everywhere, toggle per session. A skill is a folder with a `SKILL.md` file that teaches the agent something: a framework, a workflow, a style guide or a domain. When a skill is active, its instructions are added to what the agent reads, so it follows them without you repeating them in every prompt. Empryo finds the skills on your machine when it starts. You choose which ones are active in each session. ## Browse and install Press `Ctrl+S` or run `/skills` to open the skills manager. It searches [skills.sh](https://skills.sh), a public catalog of community skills. ``` /skills open the manager Ctrl+S same (terminal UI) ``` The manager has three tabs: - **Search**: search the skills.sh catalog, sorted by how often each skill is installed. - **Installed**: every skill Empryo found on your machine. - **Active**: the skills turned on in the current session. ## Scopes Empryo looks for skills in six folders. Three are global (for every project) and three belong to the current project: ``` ~/.empryo/skills/ global ~/.agents/skills/ global (shared with other tools) ~/.claude/skills/ global (Claude Code compatible) .empryo/skills/ project .agents/skills/ project .claude/skills/ project ``` If the same skill exists in a global folder and a project folder, the project copy wins. Symlinks are followed, so if one skills folder links to another (for example `~/.agents/skills` linked from `~/.claude/skills`), each skill is only listed once. ## Install In the manager, select a skill and press Enter. Empryo installs it with `bunx`, or `npx` if Bun is not available. The skill lands in the scope you chose and shows up in the Installed tab. You can also use the `skills` command line tool yourself: ```bash # Browse popular skills bunx skills list # Add from a catalog bunx skills add --skill -g ``` ## Enable and disable Skills are turned on per session. In the Active tab, turn a skill on and the agent starts following it. Turn it off and it is removed from the agent's context. Your choice is saved with the session. ## Structure A skill is a folder with `SKILL.md` at its root: ``` my-skill/ ├── SKILL.md required, the frontmatter + instructions ├── references/ optional supporting docs └── templates/ optional templates ``` `SKILL.md` starts with frontmatter that names the skill and says when to use it: ```yaml --- name: my-skill description: When to reach for this skill. --- # My Skill Instructions, conventions, patterns... ``` ## The skill Empryo ships Empryo installs one skill of its own, called `empryo`, at `~/.empryo/skills/empryo/SKILL.md`. It teaches an agent to answer questions about Empryo from the current documentation and to change your Empryo settings safely. It includes a map of the docs, so the agent reads the right page instead of guessing. This skill updates itself between releases. At most once every six hours, when Empryo starts, it checks [the published skill index](https://empryo.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) and installs a newer version if there is one. The download must match the checksum published in the index, and the version in the file must match too. Empryo only replaces a copy you have never edited. If you edit the skill or delete it, your change stays. To stop the update check and keep the version that came with your installed app, set: ```json { "liveSkills": false } ``` ## Remove In the Installed tab, select a skill and delete it. Empryo removes its folder from disk. ## Writing your own Any folder with a `SKILL.md` is a skill. Put one at `.empryo/skills/my-skill/SKILL.md` (this project) or `~/.empryo/skills/my-skill/SKILL.md` (all projects) and it appears in the Installed tab. When the skill is active, the agent reads its whole content, so keep `SKILL.md` short and specific.