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Skills are reusable context for Ask Sourcebot. They can capture organizational knowledge, define a workflow, or give Ask Sourcebot extra context for a class of questions.
Skills page overview

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Creating a skill

Go to Settings -> Skills and click Add skill. You can create a skill in three ways:
  • New skill: Create a skill directly in Sourcebot.
  • Import from file: Upload a local .md or .markdown file and review it before saving.
  • Import from repository: Choose a markdown file from an indexed repository and keep the skill synced to that file.
Each skill has four fields:
  • Name: A recognizable name for the skill.
  • Command: The slash command users type to run the skill, such as /deep-research.
  • Description: A short summary of when Ask Sourcebot should use the skill.
  • Instructions: The markdown context or guidance Ask Sourcebot uses when the skill runs.
Create a skill

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Writing instructions

Keep the description specific. Ask Sourcebot uses it to decide when a skill is relevant, and users see it when browsing slash commands. Put the useful context or guidance in the instructions.
Skill editor

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Using skills in chat

Type / at the start of an Ask Sourcebot prompt to browse available skill commands. When you select a skill, Ask Sourcebot expands the command into that skill’s instructions before answering. If the instructions include file mentions, those files are added to the chat context automatically. Ask Sourcebot may also load a matching skill automatically. When this happens, the chat details show the loaded skill name and command.
Skill slash command suggestions

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Personal and shared skills

Skills can be personal or shared:
  • Personal skills are private to you in the current workspace.
  • Shared skills are published to the workspace skill catalog.
You can add or remove shared skills from your own Ask commands from Settings -> Skills. Skill authors and organization owners can edit or delete shared skills. Organization owners can manage shared skills from Settings -> Workspace -> Ask Sourcebot. Owners can also enable Auto for a shared skill, which adds it to members’ Ask commands by default.
Workspace shared skills manager

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Importing skills

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Import from file

File imports support .md and .markdown files. If the file has front matter, Sourcebot uses it to prefill the skill name, command, and description. Supported front matter fields: 
---
name: Debug Build Failure
slug: debug-build
description: Investigate a failing CI or build error.
---
You can also use title instead of name, and command instead of slug. After importing a local file, the skill is editable in Sourcebot.

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Import from repository

Repository imports let you choose a markdown file from an indexed repository. Sourcebot prefills the create form from the file so you can review it, add a missing description, and save. The resulting skill stays synced to that file. Synced skills behave like manually-created skills, with a link back to their source file:
  • Every field stays editable. Local edits are kept until you sync.
  • Sourcebot checks whether the indexed source file has changed.
  • When an update is available, use Update from source to replace the skill’s content with the file’s.
  • When the skill is already up to date, use Force sync to restore the content from the source file.
  • Either action warns you first if it would overwrite local edits.
  • Fields the source file does not provide (for example, a missing description) keep their local values when you sync.
Synced repository skill

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Permissions and synced skills

Synced skills mirror content from a repository file, so Sourcebot only shows them to users who can access the source repository. If repository permission syncing is enabled, sharing a synced skill shows a warning before publishing it to the workspace. Members without access to the source repository will not see the skill. Organization owners can still see and manage shared synced skills from workspace settings, even if they do not have access to the source repository.

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Managing skills

From Settings -> Skills, you can:
  • Search personal and shared skills.
  • Create, edit, delete, or share skills.
  • Add or remove shared skills from your commands.
  • Make a shared skill personal if you manage it.
  • Update synced skills from their source file.
Synced skills show their source repository and file path, plus one of these statuses:
  • Up to date: The skill matches the indexed source file.
  • Update available: The indexed source file has changed.
  • Source file not found: The file was renamed, deleted, or no longer resolves at the imported revision.
  • Source repo unavailable: The repository is no longer available or visible.