In ClawCentral, upload and manage custom skills via Admin UI → Skills instead of placing them in ~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/. The skill format (SKILL.md) is the same — create your skill locally, then upload it through the Admin UI. The local directory workflow described below applies to self-hosted OpenClaw deployments.
Creating Custom Skills 🛠
OpenClaw is designed to be easily extensible. "Skills" are the primary way to add new capabilities to your assistant.
What is a Skill?
A skill is a directory containing a SKILL.md file (which provides instructions and tool definitions to the LLM) and optionally some scripts or resources.
Step-by-Step: Your First Skill
1. Create the Directory
Skills live in your workspace, usually ~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/. Create a new folder for your skill:
mkdir -p ~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/hello-world
2. Define the SKILL.md
Create a SKILL.md file in that directory. This file uses YAML frontmatter for metadata and Markdown for instructions.
---
name: hello_world
description: A simple skill that says hello.
---
# Hello World Skill
When the user asks for a greeting, use the `echo` tool to say "Hello from your custom skill!".
3. Add Tools (Optional)
You can define custom tools in the frontmatter or instruct the agent to use existing system tools (like bash or browser).
4. Refresh OpenClaw
Ask your agent to "refresh skills" or restart the gateway. OpenClaw will discover the new directory and index the SKILL.md.
Best Practices
- Be Concise: Instruct the model on what to do, not how to be an AI.
- Safety First: If your skill uses
bash, ensure the prompts don't allow arbitrary command injection from untrusted user input. - Test Locally: Use
openclaw agent --message "use my new skill"to test.
Shared Skills
You can also browse and contribute skills to ClawHub.