Skills

What Skills are

Skills are the main way CoPaw turns from a generic runtime into a useful assistant.

They define when the assistant should use a capability and how it should approach the task. In practice, Skills are how the workstation becomes yours instead of staying a stock install.

Why the SKILL.md pattern matters

CoPaw uses a workspace-friendly structure:

• a directory per skill;
• a SKILL.md file with explicit behavior guidance;
• optional scripts/ and supporting files when a workflow needs them.

That matters because the system stays:

• inspectable;
• editable;
• portable across environments;
• understandable by humans as well as the assistant.

Typical built-in Skill categories

You can think about the built-in surface in categories such as:

• document handling;
• browser work;
• file reading;
• scheduling and cron;
• productivity and communication;
• research utilities.

How to write a good Skill

Be explicit about triggers

Do not describe a Skill in vague language like "helps with tasks". Instead, say when it should activate.

Keep scope narrow enough to be trustworthy

A good Skill has a clear lane. It should not try to become a second system prompt for everything.

Put real operating steps in the body

The Skill body should tell the model what to do in practice:

• which commands to run;
• which files matter;
• what format the output should take.

Why Skills matter to the site

If the website wants to communicate why CoPaw is a workstation, Skills are one of the strongest proof points. They show that extension is a first-class user workflow, not a buried developer API.