sensus
Install
Skills

Skills

Reusable procedures the agent loads on demand: write them once, use them whenever the task fits.

On this page
  1. Where skills live
  2. The format
  3. How the agent finds and uses them
  4. Working with skills
  5. Next steps

A skill is a reusable procedure the agent loads when a task matches: how to deploy this app, how you like release notes written, the steps for a recurring maintenance job. Skills keep that knowledge out of the system prompt until it is actually needed.

Where skills live

A skill is a folder with a SKILL.md inside:

~/.config/sensus/skills/<name>/SKILL.md

A flat ~/.config/sensus/skills/<name>.md works too, for a single-file procedure.

Sensus also ships a built-in skill, sensus: a self-reference the agent can load when you ask how Sensus itself works or how to configure it. Like the built-in agents, it is Sensus-owned: it refreshes when an update changes it, and an edit in place is rescued under a new name rather than lost.

The format

A skill is markdown: frontmatter with a name and a description, then the procedure as the body.

---
name: deploy
description: ship this app safely
---
1. run the tests
2. build
3. deploy and verify
  • name is how the skill is selected. It defaults to the folder or file name.
  • description is the one line shown in the skills index. It defaults to the first line of the body.
  • The body is the procedure itself: numbered steps, notes, commands, whatever is clearest.

How the agent finds and uses them

Only each skill’s name and description sit in the agent’s context. When a task matches, the agent loads the full body on demand. That keeps the prompt small, and it means editing a skill’s body never disturbs the rest of the conversation. /reload re-reads the skills folder.

Working with skills

  • /skills opens the skills manager: the list plus a preview of the highlighted skill.
  • /skill <name> loads a skill’s body into the chat so the agent follows it right now.
  • /learn <slug> drafts a new skill from the conversation you just had. Use it after you work out a process together, then /reload makes the skill visible.
  • An agent can limit which skills it sees with the skills field in its file; see Agents.

Next steps

  • Tools: the skills tools, and the rest of the toolbox
  • Agents: postures, including which skills each one may load
  • Memory: durable notes that are always available
  • Configuration: where Sensus keeps its files and settings