Skills

Skills are behavioral recipes. A Skill is a folder with a SKILL.md file — no code, no build step. They tell the Brain how to approach a task by providing structured instructions.

SKILL.md Format

---
name: summarize
description: "Summarize text, articles, or documents"
---
When asked to summarize content:
1. Identify the key points
2. Condense into 3-5 bullet points
...

The frontmatter defines metadata (name, description, required tools). The body contains the instructions the Brain follows.

Progressive Loading

Skills are loaded on demand, not all at once. The Brain sees a compact list of available skills with descriptions. When a skill matches the current task, the Brain calls skill_read to load the full instructions.

This keeps the context window lean — only relevant skills are loaded.

Skill Tools

Tool	Purpose
skill_read	Load full skill instructions
skill_read_reference	Access skill reference files
skill_list_files	List files in a skill directory
skill_run_script	Run a script bundled in the skill, confined to its directory

Bundled Scripts

A skill can ship runnable scripts (.js, .py, .sh) alongside its SKILL.md. The Brain runs them with skill_run_script, which is confined to the skill's own directory and runs with only the skill's declared environment (metadata.openclaw.requires.env) plus a PATH/HOME baseline — not the engine's full env. The interpreter is chosen by extension, and output is bounded (120s default, 600s cap). Scripts only run for a skill whose declared requirements (tools, bins, env) are met. This lets a skill do real work — transcode video, call a CLI — while the SKILL.md stays pure instructions.

Installing Skills

From VoleHub

VoleHub is OpenVole's own registry. Skills install with every bundled file (SKILL.md + scripts/references), each verified against a per-file SHA-256 in the registry's INDEX.json:

vole skill install resolve-autocut   # fetches all files, verifies hashes
vole skill hub                        # list installed VoleHub skills
vole skill uninstall resolve-autocut

Publish your own with vole skill publish <dir>, which prints the files manifest (with hashes) to add to INDEX.json.

From ClawHub

ClawHub has 13,000+ community skills:

vole clawhub install summarize
vole clawhub search email

Create Local Skills

vole skill create email-triage

This creates a new skill directory in .openvole/skills/email-triage/ with a template SKILL.md.

Manage Skills

vole skill list          # List loaded skills
vole skill add my-skill  # Add a local skill
vole skill remove my-skill

OpenClaw Compatibility

OpenVole loads OpenClaw skills natively — same SKILL.md format, same metadata.openclaw.requires fields. Skills written for OpenClaw work on OpenVole and vice versa.

Configuration

Add skills to your vole.config.json:

{
  "skills": ["clawhub/summarize", "local/email-triage"]
}