Skills

Skills are multi-file workflow packages that teach the AI specific capabilities. Unlike rules, which provide general behavioral guidance, skills encode structured procedures — they include metadata (name, description, triggers) in frontmatter and detailed step-by-step instructions in the body.

Syllago Format

Each skill in your library has a .syllago.yaml manifest and a Markdown content file with YAML frontmatter.

Manifest (.syllago.yaml)

id: a1c7bba3-d8ed-4590-8338-b96895737bf2
name: develop-docs
type: skills
source_format: md
source_type: provider
added_at: 2026-03-16T17:09:06Z
added_by: syllago

The type: skills field identifies this content as a skill. The source_format records the original format so syllago can track provenance.

Content File

Skill content is a Markdown file with YAML frontmatter containing metadata:

---
name: develop-docs
description: Documentation design and planning workflow.
---

# DevelopDocs

Orchestrates the complete documentation development lifecycle.

## Steps

1. Analyze the target audience and scope
2. Create an outline with section headings
3. Draft each section following the style guide
4. Review for technical accuracy
5. Format for the target platform

The frontmatter name and description fields are the skill’s identity — they determine how the AI discovers and activates the skill. The body contains the actual instructions.

Canonical Fields

Skills support the following metadata fields in YAML frontmatter:

Field	Description	Provider Support
name	Skill name (required)	All providers
description	What the skill does (required)	All providers
license	License identifier (Agent Skills spec)	Claude Code, Cursor
compatibility	Tool/version constraints	Claude Code, Cursor
metadata	Arbitrary key-value pairs	Claude Code, Cursor
effort	Time/complexity: min, moderate, large, max	Claude Code (native); others as prose
hooks	Skill-scoped event hooks	Claude Code (native); others warn

Provider Compatibility

Skills are supported by most providers:

Provider	Format	Notes
Claude Code	Markdown + YAML frontmatter	Full field support including effort, hooks
Gemini CLI	Markdown	Metadata embedded in body
Cursor	Markdown	Full field support
Copilot CLI	Markdown	Skills in .github/skills/
Codex	Markdown	Skills in .agents/skills/
Kiro	Markdown steering files	Skills in .kiro/steering/
Windsurf	Markdown	Skills in .windsurf/skills/
OpenCode	Markdown	Skills in .opencode/skills/
Roo Code	Markdown	Skills in .roo/skills/
Amp	Markdown	Skills in .agents/skills/

Zed and Cline do not support skills.

Format Differences

Frontmatter Handling

The key conversion challenge for skills is frontmatter. Claude Code uses standard YAML frontmatter (--- delimiters), but other providers handle metadata differently:

• Claude Code stores name and description as YAML frontmatter. The AI reads these fields to understand when and how to apply the skill.
• Gemini CLI does not use YAML frontmatter. When converting, syllago either embeds the metadata as a heading/description in the Markdown body or omits it if Gemini can infer the skill’s purpose from context.
• Kiro uses JSON-based steering files. Syllago wraps the Markdown content into JSON string fields and maps frontmatter keys to their JSON equivalents.
• OpenCode uses Markdown-based skills with its own conventions for metadata.

Conversion Example

Converting a skill from Claude Code format to Gemini CLI:

syllago convert develop-docs --to gemini-cli

The Claude Code source with frontmatter:

---
name: develop-docs
description: Documentation design and planning workflow.
---

# DevelopDocs

Orchestrates the complete documentation development lifecycle...

Becomes a Gemini CLI file without frontmatter, with metadata folded into the body:

# DevelopDocs

Documentation design and planning workflow.

Orchestrates the complete documentation development lifecycle...

The description field is preserved as prose rather than lost, and tool name references in the body are automatically translated to Gemini’s equivalents. See Format Conversion for the full conversion model.

Working with Skills

# Import a skill from your current provider
syllago add --from claude-code

# List all skills in your library
syllago list --type skills

# Install a skill to a specific provider
syllago install develop-docs --to gemini-cli

# Inspect a skill's metadata and content
syllago inspect develop-docs

See Also

• Content Types Overview — compatibility matrix and all content types
• Format Conversion — how syllago converts between provider formats