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Copilot CLI — Skills

File format
Markdown
Discovery path
.github/skills
Global install path
~/.github/skills
Syllago install method
Symlink, Direct copy
Symlink support
Yes
Native frontmatter fields
name, description, license, argument-hint, user-invocable, disable-model-invocation

Features

How each feature converts to syllago's canonical format. See format conversion for what these statuses mean.

Fields

Native frontmatter or config fields this provider exposes. The first column is the provider's own field name; the canonical key column links to syllago's cross-provider equivalent.

Provider fieldConversionCanonical keySummary
description Translated Conversion type: Translated Actively mapped to the target provider’s equivalent field during conversion. Learn more → descriptionyaml frontmatter key: description (required per Agent Skills open standard)
name Translated Conversion type: Translated Actively mapped to the target provider’s equivalent field during conversion. Learn more → display_nameyaml frontmatter key: name (required per Agent Skills open standard)

Other features

Behaviors, conventions, and capabilities that aren't tied to a single named field — things like path-based activation, discovery rules, and lifecycle behavior.

FeatureConversionSummary
canonical_filename Translated Conversion type: Translated Actively mapped to the target provider’s equivalent field during conversion. Learn more → SKILL.md (fixed filename per Agent Skills open standard)
global_scope Translated Conversion type: Translated Actively mapped to the target provider’s equivalent field during conversion. Learn more → skill directory under ~/.copilot/skills/<name>/, ~/.claude/skills/<name>/, or ~/.agents/skills/<name>/
project_scope Translated Conversion type: Translated Actively mapped to the target provider’s equivalent field during conversion. Learn more → skill directory under .github/skills/<name>/, .claude/skills/<name>/, or .agents/skills/<name>/ in project repository
user_invocable Translated Conversion type: Translated Actively mapped to the target provider’s equivalent field during conversion. Learn more → slash-prefixed skill name in user prompt (e.g. /frontend-design)
Description-Based Auto-Invocation Embedded Conversion type: Embedded No canonical equivalent — appended as prose in a conversion notes block so nothing is silently lost. Learn more → Copilot auto-loads skills based on description relevance to the current task, in addition to explicit /skill-name invocation.
Supporting Files Embedded Conversion type: Embedded No canonical equivalent — appended as prose in a conversion notes block so nothing is silently lost. Learn more → Skills are folders that bundle SKILL.md plus additional scripts, resources, and instruction files as a unit of loading.
CLI Skill Management Commands Not portable Conversion type: Not portable Unique to this provider — can’t be carried across providers. Learn more → The /skills slash-command suite (list, info, add, reload, remove, toggle UI) provides runtime skill management without restart.
Plugin Scope Not portable Conversion type: Not portable Unique to this provider — can’t be carried across providers. Learn more → Skills bundled via plugins occupy a separate management namespace and must be managed through the plugin, not /skills remove.

Sources

Source
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/github/docs/main/content/copilot/concepts/agents/about-agent-skills.md
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/github/docs/main/content/copilot/how-tos/copilot-cli/customize-copilot/create-skills.md