acquiring-skills · git:20260605.5ea2ab7 · 2026-06-05 · sha256 717f2d4329145524
acquiring-skills git:20260605.5ea2ab7A
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--- name: acquiring-skills description: Discover and install skills from Hermes, ClawHub, GitHub, and other registries. Load this skill whenever a user asks for a capability you don't already have — image generation, social media, email, calendar, finance, DevOps, search, browser automation, etc. --- # Acquiring New Skills This skill teaches you how to safely discover and install skills from external sources, including the Hermes Skills Hub, ClawHub (OpenClaw), GitHub repositories, and Letta community repos. ## SAFETY - READ THIS FIRST Skills can contain: - **Markdown files** (.md) - Risk: prompt injection, misleading instructions - **Scripts** (Python, TypeScript, Bash) - Risk: malicious code execution ### Trusted Sources (no user approval needed for download) - `https://github.com/letta-ai/skills` - Letta's community skills - `https://github.com/anthropics/skills` - Anthropic's official skills - `official/*` - Hermes official optional skills (from `NousResearch/hermes-agent`) ### Untrusted Sources (ALWAYS verify with user) For ANY source other than the above: 1. Ask the user before downloading 2. Explain where the skill comes from 3. Get explicit approval This includes ClawHub community skills and arbitrary GitHub repos. ### Script Safety Even for skills from trusted sources, ALWAYS: 1. Read and inspect any scripts before executing them 2. Understand what the script does 3. Be wary of network calls, file operations, or system commands ### Cross-Harness Compatibility Skills from Hermes, OpenClaw, and other ecosystems were written for their own harnesses. After installing, **read the full SKILL.md before using it** and watch for: - **Harness-specific commands** — e.g. `hermes skills config`, `openclaw plugins install`, `/curator`, `/kanban`. These won't exist in Letta. Determine whether the underlying capability can be achieved with Letta tools (Bash, the Skill tool, etc.) or if the skill simply doesn't apply. - **Harness-specific paths and state** — e.g. `~/.hermes/skills/`, `~/.openclaw/skills/`, `~/.hermes/config.yaml`. Letta stores skills in the agent's memfs (`<memory-dir>/skills/`). Adapt any path references. - **Toolset assumptions** — some skills assume specific tool names or APIs (e.g. Hermes `web` toolset, OpenClaw `browser` tool). Map these to the equivalent Letta tools or note when no equivalent exists. - **Platform gating** — skills may declare `platforms: [cli, discord, telegram]` in frontmatter. Ignore platform restrictions that don't apply to Letta. - **Environment variables** — skills may require API keys or credentials. Check `requires.env` in frontmatter and note any setup the user needs to do. If a skill's core knowledge (procedures, API references, best practices) is useful but its commands are harness-specific, adapt the instructions mentally or suggest the user install the relevant CLI tool. If a skill is entirely about harness-specific plumbing with no transferable knowledge, skip it and look for an alternative. ## When to Use This Skill **DO use** when: - User asks for something where a skill likely exists (e.g., "help me test this webapp", "generate a PDF report") - You think "there's probably a skill that would bootstrap my understanding" - User explicitly asks about available skills or extending capabilities **DON'T use** for: - General coding tasks you can already handle - Simple bug fixes or feature implementations - Tasks where you have sufficient knowledge ## Ask Before Searching (Interactive Mode) If you recognize a task that might have an associated skill, **ask the user first**: > "This sounds like something where a community skill might help. Would you like me to search for available skills? I can check the Hermes catalog, ClawHub, or GitHub. Or I can start coding right away if you prefer." The user may prefer to start immediately rather than wait for skill discovery. Only proceed with skill acquisition if the user agrees. ## Skill Sources ### 1. Hermes Skills Hub (NousResearch) Hermes has a full Skills Hub with 88k+ skills across multiple registries. It includes official optional skills shipped with the project, plus community skills from skills.sh, well-known endpoints, GitHub repos, ClawHub, LobeHub, and browse.sh. **Searching Hermes skills:** The Hermes CLI has built-in search and browse: ```bash hermes skills browse # Browse all hub skills (official first) hermes skills browse --source official # Browse only official optional skills hermes skills search kubernetes # Search all sources hermes skills search react --source skills-sh # Search the skills.sh directory hermes skills search https://mintlify.com/docs --source well-known hermes skills inspect openai/skills/k8s # Preview before installing ``` The web catalog is at https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/skills. Hermes hub sources: | Source | Example identifier | Notes | |--------|--------------------|-------| | `official` | `official/security/1password` | Optional skills shipped with Hermes | | `skills-sh` | `skills-sh/vercel-labs/agent-skills/vercel-react-best-practices` | skills.sh directory | | `well-known` | `well-known:https://mintlify.com/docs/.well-known/skills/mintlify` | Skills hosted at `/.well-known/skills/` | | `url` | `https://sharethis.chat/SKILL.md` | Direct URL to a single SKILL.md | | `github` | `openai/skills/k8s` | GitHub repo/path | | `clawhub` | ClawHub registry skills | ClawHub marketplace | | `lobehub` | LobeHub registry skills | LobeHub marketplace | | `browse-sh` | `browse-sh/airbnb.com/search-listings-ddgioa` | browse.sh crawled skills | If Hermes is not installed, you can browse the official optional skills directly: ```bash # Browse the catalog on GitHub # https://github.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent/tree/main/optional-skills # Categories: autonomous-ai-agents, blockchain, creative, devops, finance, # health, mcp, mlops, productivity, research, security, ... # Or clone and browse locally git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent.git /tmp/hermes-browse ls /tmp/hermes-browse/optional-skills/ ls /tmp/hermes-browse/optional-skills/finance/ rm -rf /tmp/hermes-browse ``` **Installing Hermes skills** into Letta uses the `official/` prefix (for official optional skills): ```bash letta skills install official/finance/stocks letta skills install official/blockchain/solana letta skills install official/research/duckduckgo-search letta skills install official/mlops/flash-attention letta skills install official/creative/meme-generation ``` The `official/<category>/<skill>` form clones `NousResearch/hermes-agent` and copies from `optional-skills/<category>/<skill>`. For non-official Hermes hub skills, use the GitHub URL or shorthand form to install into Letta (e.g., `letta skills install openai/skills/k8s`). ### 2. ClawHub (OpenClaw) ClawHub (https://clawhub.ai) is the public registry for OpenClaw skills and plugins. It hosts community-contributed skills with versioning, security scans, and search. **Searching ClawHub skills:** ```bash # Browse the web registry # https://clawhub.ai # Or use the clawhub CLI if installed clawhub search "calendar" clawhub search "screenshot" clawhub explore # Or search via the API directly curl -s "https://clawhub.ai/api/v1/skills?q=calendar" | jq '.items[].slug' ``` **Installing ClawHub skills** uses the `clawhub/` or `clawhub:` prefix: ```bash letta skills install clawhub/nano-banana-pro letta skills install clawhub:nano-banana-pro letta skills install clawhub:nano-banana-pro@1.0.1 # pin a version letta skills install https://clawhub.ai/skills/my-skill # URL form also works ``` **Note:** A bare slug like `letta skills install nano-banana-pro` will NOT resolve through ClawHub — you must include the `clawhub/` or `clawhub:` prefix. ### 3. GitHub Repositories Any GitHub repository containing a `SKILL.md` can be installed directly. ```bash # Full repo (installs from repo root) letta skills install https://github.com/owner/repo # Subdirectory (tree URL) letta skills install https://github.com/owner/repo/tree/main/path/to/skill # SKILL.md blob URL (installs parent directory) letta skills install https://github.com/owner/repo/blob/main/path/to/skill/SKILL.md # Shorthand: owner/repo/path letta skills install owner/repo/path/to/skill ``` ### 4. Letta & Anthropic Community Repos | Repository | Description | |------------|-------------| | https://github.com/letta-ai/skills | Community skills for Letta agents | | https://github.com/anthropics/skills | Anthropic's official Agent Skills | These can be installed via the GitHub URL forms above, or manually cloned and copied. ## The `letta skills install` Command The CLI handles downloading, placing the skill in the agent's memory, and committing the change: ```bash letta skills install <source> --agent $AGENT_ID [--force] ``` Your agent ID is always available as `$AGENT_ID` in the environment. Pass it explicitly with `--agent` to install into your own memfs: ```bash letta skills install official/finance/stocks --agent $AGENT_ID letta skills install clawhub/nano-banana-pro --agent $AGENT_ID ``` | Flag | Purpose | |------|---------| | `--agent <id>` | Install into a specific agent's memfs (use `$AGENT_ID` for yourself) | | `-n <name>` | Resolve agent by name instead of id | | `--force` | Replace an existing skill with the same name | Also available as a top-level alias: `letta install <source> --agent $AGENT_ID`. **Managing installed skills:** ```bash letta skills list --agent $AGENT_ID letta skills delete <skill-name> --agent $AGENT_ID ``` ## Installation Locations When using `letta skills install`, skills are placed in the agent's memfs at `<memory-dir>/skills/<skill-name>/`. For manual installation: | Location | Path | When to Use | |----------|------|-------------| | **Agent-scoped** | `~/.letta/agents/<agent-id>/memory/skills/<skill>/` | Skills for a single agent (default) | | **Global** | `~/.letta/skills/<skill>/` | General-purpose skills useful across projects | | **Project** | `.skills/<skill>/` | Project-specific skills | **Rule**: Default to **agent-scoped**. Use **project** for repo-specific skills. Use **global** only if all agents should inherit the skill. ## Manual Download (When CLI Install Isn't Available) Skills are directories containing SKILL.md and optionally scripts/, references/, examples/. ```bash # Clone, copy, cleanup git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/anthropics/skills /tmp/skills-temp cp -r /tmp/skills-temp/skills/webapp-testing ~/.letta/agents/<agent-id>/memory/skills/ rm -rf /tmp/skills-temp ``` ## Registering New Skills After installing (via CLI or manual copy), skills are automatically discovered on the next message. Skills are discovered from `~/.letta/skills/`, `.skills/`, and agent-scoped `~/.letta/agents/<agent-id>/memory/skills/` directories. ## Search Strategy When looking for a skill to solve a user's problem: 1. **Search Hermes Skills Hub first** — `hermes skills search <query>` searches 88k+ skills across all registries. If Hermes CLI isn't available, browse the official optional-skills on GitHub (finance, mlops, blockchain, devops, research, creative, security, etc.). 2. **Search ClawHub** — community registry with versioning. Use `clawhub search` or the web UI. 3. **Search GitHub** — look for repos with `SKILL.md` files. Try `github.com/letta-ai/skills` and `github.com/anthropics/skills` first. 4. **Ask the user** — they may know of a specific skill repo or have preferences about sources. ## Complete Example User asks: "Can you help me track stock prices?" 1. **Recognize opportunity**: Stock/finance data — Hermes has a stocks skill 2. **Ask user**: "Hermes has an official stocks skill that covers quotes, history, search, and crypto via Yahoo. Want me to install it?" 3. **If user agrees, install**: ```bash letta skills install official/finance/stocks --agent $AGENT_ID ``` 4. **Review for compatibility**: Read the installed SKILL.md. Check for harness-specific commands, paths, or tools that need adaptation (see Cross-Harness Compatibility above). Confirm the skill's instructions make sense in Letta before using it. 5. **Invoke**: `Skill(skill: "stocks")` 6. **Use**: Follow the skill's instructions, adapting any harness-specific details as needed User asks: "Can you generate images with Nano Banana Pro?" 1. **Recognize opportunity**: Image generation skill on ClawHub 2. **Ask user**: "There's a nano-banana-pro skill on ClawHub. Want me to install it?" 3. **Install**: ```bash letta skills install clawhub/nano-banana-pro --agent $AGENT_ID ``` 4. **Review for compatibility**: Read the SKILL.md, check for any OpenClaw-specific commands or setup, adapt as needed. 5. **Invoke**: `Skill(skill: "nano-banana-pro")`