Skip to main content
Skills are reusable instructions Roomote can use when a task needs a specialized workflow. Use Skills when the same guidance keeps showing up across tasks in an environment: a framework-specific review checklist, a release process, a design-system rule, a data workflow, or a repeatable debugging path. Skills are for durable playbooks that help a Roomote agent decide how to work. They are not a replacement for connecting providers, adding environment variables, or writing the one-off prompt for the current task.

​
What Skills settings controls

The Skills settings page is for admin-managed skills attached to environments. A skill only applies to tasks that run in an environment where it is enabled. You can add skills in two ways: The installed list shows which environments can use each skill. Edit a skill’s availability when it should apply to more or fewer environments.

​
When to use a custom skill

Create a custom skill when the instruction is:
  • repeatable across many tasks
  • specific enough that Roomote can tell when to use it
  • more detailed than a short line of environment guidance
  • durable enough to maintain over time
Good custom skills include:
  • a support-investigation workflow for your product
  • a design-system implementation checklist
  • a release-note drafting process
  • a database migration review guide
  • a customer-escalation triage playbook
If the instruction is only one sentence, it probably belongs in Agent Guidance, environment guidance, or the task prompt instead.

​
Write the description carefully

The description helps Roomote decide when the skill is relevant. Make it concrete. Prefer:
Avoid:
The skill content can be more detailed, but the description should quickly answer: “When should Roomote reach for this?”

​
How Skills interact with repository-defined skills

Some repositories define their own skills in the repository, usually as checked-in SKILL.md files. Those repository-defined skills travel with the repository and are best for instructions that should stay versioned with that codebase. Skills configured in Roomote settings are different:
  • Settings skills are environment-level. They apply to selected Roomote environments, even when the guidance is not checked into a repository.
  • Repository-defined skills are codebase-level. They apply when the task is working in that repository and the active workflow finds them relevant.
  • Both are supplemental. They help Roomote perform specialized work after a Roomote task is underway; they do not replace the built-in task flow, environment setup, or the user’s prompt.
  • Built-in Roomote skills stay authoritative. If a custom or repository-defined skill uses the same name as a built-in Roomote workflow, Roomote’s built-in workflow wins. Use distinct names for team skills.
Use repository-defined skills when the instruction should be reviewed and changed with the code. Use Settings skills when an admin wants to roll out a playbook across one or more environments without requiring a repository change.

​
Choosing the right home

​
Common issues

  • Roomote does not use the skill. Make the description more specific and confirm the task is running in an environment where the skill is enabled.
  • The skill applies too broadly. Narrow the description or limit it to fewer environments.
  • Two skills seem to overlap. Keep the more specific one, or split the workflow so each skill has a clear trigger.
  • A repository already has a similar skill. Prefer the repository-defined skill for codebase-owned behavior, and use Settings skills for cross-environment behavior.