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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.
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-project — architecture patterns, animations, automations, data calculations, and more
  • bricks-design — creative design guidance for building distinctive, polished BRICKS interfaces

BRICKS Project built-in skills

See the full skill reference in the BRICKS Project docs.

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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
  • Edit a skill’s SKILL.md content
  • Delete a skill

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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.