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Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.bricks.tools/llms.txt

Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

Skills are reusable instruction documents that provide context and rules to the AI agent. Use skills to define specialized workflows, coding patterns, or domain knowledge that the agent should follow.

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Using skills

Type / in the chat input bar to trigger the skill command autocomplete. Select a skill to inject its content as context for your message. The skill appears as a removable pill in the input bar. You can activate multiple skills in a single message. The agent receives all skill content alongside your prompt.

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Skill scopes

Skills can be defined at two levels:
ScopeLocationApplies to
Global~/.bricks-project-desktop/skills/All projects
Project<project>/.bricks/skills/Current project only
When a project skill has the same name as a global skill, the project skill takes precedence.

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Skill structure

Each skill is a directory with the following structure: 
my-skill/
├── SKILL.md          # Required: metadata + instructions
├── rules/            # Optional: additional rule files (.md)
└── references/       # Optional: reference files (.md)

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SKILL.md format

The SKILL.md file contains YAML frontmatter followed by markdown content: 
---
name: my-skill
description: A brief description of what this skill does
metadata:
  author: Your Name
  version: 1.0.0
license: MIT
allowed-tools:
  - read_file
  - write_file
  - edit_file
---

Your skill instructions go here. This content is included
in the agent's context when the skill is activated.

## Rules

- Follow these coding patterns...
- Always use this approach...

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Frontmatter fields

FieldDescription
nameSkill name (used for display and matching)
descriptionShort description shown in the skill list
metadataObject with author and version fields
licenseLicense type
allowed-toolsList of tools the agent can use when this skill is active

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Built-in skills

CTOR ships with built-in skills at both global and project scope. These are available out of the box. Built-in global skills are automatically installed to ~/.bricks-project-desktop/skills/ on startup. If you delete a built-in skill, it will not be reinstalled — you can reinstall it from the skills panel. Built-in skills display a Built-in tag in the skills list.

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Global skills

Collaborative design exploration before creative work. Guides the agent through understanding project context, asking clarifying questions, proposing approaches with trade-offs, and getting approval before implementation. Adapted from superpowers.Use when: You have a feature idea or creative task that needs design exploration before coding. Optional — skip if the task is already well-defined.
Creates step-by-step implementation plans saved to plan/ in the project directory. Plans assume zero codebase context and include bite-sized tasks with file mappings, testing steps, and verification criteria. Adapted from superpowers.Use when: You have a spec or requirements for a multi-step task and want a detailed plan before touching code.
Loads a written implementation plan, reviews it critically, executes all tasks with verification, and reports when complete. Works with plans created by the writing-plans skill. Adapted from superpowers.Use when: You have a written implementation plan and want the agent to execute it step by step.
Guide for creating new skills via chat. Teaches the skill creation lifecycle from planning to iteration — covering skill anatomy, progressive disclosure design, and bundled resources.Includes helper scripts for initializing, validating, and packaging skills.Use when: You want to create a new skill for the agent.
Extracts reusable prompt templates from existing BRICKS applications. Analyzes the project’s design, data flow, and key features, then produces a concise 5–10 item requirement list in plain language that can be used as a prompt to recreate a similar application.The process:
  1. Read the project — analyze visual design, components, state model, data flow, and key behaviors
  2. Identify key points — distill the application into its essential characteristics
  3. Write the template — produce a numbered list of 5–10 plain-language requirements
  4. Present and refine — iterate with you until the template is right
  5. Save — write the final template to template.md in the project root
Use when: You want to extract a reusable template from an existing BRICKS application — useful for creating starting points for similar projects.
Generates and edits raster images for the current project using CTOR’s configured image providers (OpenAI gpt-image-2, OpenAI Codex backend, or Google Nano Banana through Gemini API or Vertex AI). Includes a bundled Bun script that resolves provider credentials, writes outputs into the project (default: output/imagegen/output.png), and supports size, quality, aspect-ratio, and format options.The skill is active only when at least one image-capable provider is configured. With --provider auto, CTOR prefers the provider of the active chat model when it supports image generation, and otherwise falls back to the configured default.Use when: You need a generated bitmap asset (photo, illustration, texture, sprite, mockup, product image, UI concept) or want to edit an existing raster image. Skip when SVG, HTML/CSS, canvas, or an existing native asset is the better deterministic output.
Reference for the BRICKS CLI tool (bricks-cli). Covers BRICKS Foundation management, application and module operations, media flow, LAN device discovery, ACP bridge, and MCP server integration.Key capabilities:
  • BRICKS Foundation management — list, control, screenshot, and monitor devices
  • BRICKS Foundation groups — dispatch commands, refresh, and monitor groups
  • Applications — list, update, bind devices, init and deploy projects
  • Modules — list, update, init projects
  • Media flow — manage media boxes, upload files with processing options
  • DevTools — discover devices on your local network via UDP broadcast
  • MCP server — start a local MCP server for tool integration
  • ACP bridge — bridge with the CTOR agent
Use when: You need to interact with the BRICKS API or manage BRICKS Foundation from the command line.

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Project skills

BRICKS projects include built-in skills with domain knowledge for building BRICKS applications:
  • bricks-ctor — architecture patterns, animations, automations, data calculations, and more
  • bricks-design — creative design guidance for building distinctive, polished BRICKS interfaces

bricks-ctor built-in skills

See the full skill reference in the bricks-ctor docs.

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Installing skills

Install third-party skills from a public GitHub repository or a local folder. In the skills panel, click + Install Skills to open the installer.

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From a GitHub repository

Pick GitHub Repository and enter a repo spec:
  • owner/name — uses the repository’s default branch
  • owner/name@branch — pin a specific branch
  • A full GitHub URL — https://github.com/owner/name or https://github.com/owner/name/tree/branch
Click Detect. CTOR downloads a tarball of the target branch and recursively scans it for SKILL.md files.

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From a local folder

Pick Local Folder, click Pick Folder to choose a directory, then click Detect. CTOR scans the folder for SKILL.md files. If the picked folder is itself a skill (contains SKILL.md at its root), it is treated as a single skill.

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Selecting and installing

Detected skills are listed with their names and descriptions. Toggle the ones you want to install, or use Select all / Select none. Then choose the install scope in the footer:
  • Global — installs to ~/.bricks-project-desktop/skills/
  • Project — installs to <project>/.bricks/skills/ (only available when a project is open)
Click Install (N) to install the selected skills. If any of them already exist at the target scope, CTOR shows a confirmation banner listing the conflicts and asks you to confirm before overwriting.

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Managing skills

Click Skills in the sidebar to open the skills panel. From here you can:
  • Toggle between Project and Global scope
  • View all available skills with their descriptions
  • Enable or disable a skill with the switch on each card
  • Edit a skill’s SKILL.md content
  • Delete a skill

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Enabling and disabling skills

Each skill card has a switch that toggles whether the skill is loaded into the agent’s context. Disabled skills stay listed but are skipped when you trigger / autocomplete and won’t be passed to the agent. This applies to built-in skills too — use the switch to silence a built-in skill (such as imagegen) without removing it.

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Rules and references

The rules/ and references/ subdirectories can contain additional markdown files that are loaded alongside the main SKILL.md content:
  • Rules — additional instructions or constraints for the agent
  • References — background knowledge, API docs, or examples
All .md files in these directories are included when the skill is activated.