Windsurf — Skills
- File format
- Markdown
- Discovery paths
-
.windsurf/skills,.agents/skills - Global install path
-
~/.codeium/windsurf/skills - Syllago install method
- Symlink, Direct copy
- Symlink support
- Yes
- Native frontmatter fields
-
name,description
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 field | Conversion | Canonical key | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
name | Conversion type: No canonical equivalent — appended as prose in a conversion notes block so nothing is silently lost. Learn more → | display_name | Skill identifiers must be unique per scope and contain only lowercase letters, numbers, and hyphens. |
description | Not portable Conversion type: Not portable Unique to this provider — can’t be carried across providers. Learn more → | description | Cascade auto-invokes a skill when the user's request semantically matches its `description` frontmatter field. |
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.
| Feature | Conversion | Summary |
|---|---|---|
canonical_filename | Translated Conversion type: Translated Actively mapped to the target provider’s equivalent field during conversion. Learn more → | Fixed filename SKILL.md required in each skill directory. All scopes (workspace, global, system) use this same convention. |
global_scope | Translated Conversion type: Translated Actively mapped to the target provider’s equivalent field during conversion. Learn more → | Skill directory at ~/.codeium/windsurf/skills/<skill-name>/. Available in all workspaces on the user's machine; not committed to version control. Also discovered at ~/.agents/skills/<skill-name>/ and (if Claude Code config reading is enabled) ~/.claude/skills/<skill-name>/. |
project_scope | Translated Conversion type: Translated Actively mapped to the target provider’s equivalent field during conversion. Learn more → | Skill directory at .windsurf/skills/<skill-name>/. Committed with the repo; current workspace only. For cross-agent compatibility, also discovered at .agents/skills/<skill-name>/ and (if Claude Code config reading is enabled) .claude/skills/<skill-name>/. |
shared_scope | Translated Conversion type: Translated Actively mapped to the target provider’s equivalent field during conversion. Learn more → | OS-specific system path deployed by enterprise IT; read-only for end users. macOS: /Library/Application Support/Windsurf/skills/<skill-name>/; Linux/WSL: /etc/windsurf/skills/<skill-name>/; Windows: C:\ProgramData\Windsurf\skills\<skill-name>\. |
user_invocable | Translated Conversion type: Translated Actively mapped to the target provider’s equivalent field during conversion. Learn more → | Explicit @mention by skill name in Cascade input (e.g., @deploy-to-production). Always available regardless of auto-invocation eligibility. |
| Supporting resource files | Not portable Conversion type: Not portable Unique to this provider — can’t be carried across providers. Learn more → | Arbitrary additional files alongside SKILL.md (scripts, checklists, templates) bundle a multi-step workflow into a single skill directory. |
| UI-based skill creation | Not portable Conversion type: Not portable Unique to this provider — can’t be carried across providers. Learn more → | Skills can be created through the Cascade panel UI (Workspace or Global) without manually authoring files. |
Sources
| Source |
|---|
| https://docs.windsurf.com/windsurf/cascade/skills.md |