1What Are OpenClaw Skills?

Think of skills as capability packs — installable modules that teach your agent how to do new things. Want weather alerts? Install the weather skill. Need local business info? Install local-places. Want your agent to transcribe voice messages? Install whisper.

Each skill defines new tools your agent can use, along with instructions on when and how to use them. It's like giving your agent new senses and abilities.

Skills vs Regular Software

❌ Traditional Apps

• You open the app
• You navigate menus
• You input data manually
• You wait for results
• You close the app

✓ OpenClaw Skills

• You ask your agent
• Agent picks the right tool
• Agent gathers needed data
• Agent presents results
• You continue the conversation

🧠

The Magic

Your agent automatically knows when to use each skill based on context. You don't have to remember commands or switch between apps — just talk naturally, and your agent figures out what tools to use.

2ClawHub: The Skill Marketplace

ClawHub is where the OpenClaw community shares skills. It's like an app store, but for AI capabilities. Anyone can contribute, and everything is open source.

Browse Skills

Visit clawhub.com to explore available skills:

🌤️ Weather

Current conditions, forecasts, alerts

🍕 Local Places

Find restaurants, shops, services nearby

👀 Peekaboo

Take photos with your camera

🎤 Whisper

Transcribe audio to text

🏠 HomeKit

Control smart home devices

📧 Email

Send, read, and organize emails

3Installing Your First Skills

Installing skills is dead simple. One command, and your agent instantly knows how to use the new capability.

The clawhub Command

clawhub install <skill-name>

That's it. The skill downloads, installs, and configures automatically. Your agent immediately knows about the new tools and when to use them.

Let's Install Weather

1
Install the skill:
clawhub install weather
2
Get an API key: Follow the instructions to sign up for a free weather API key (usually OpenWeatherMap or WeatherAPI)
3
Test it: Ask your agent "What's the weather like?"

🚀

Pro Tip

Install 3-4 skills to start: weather, local-places, peekaboo, and whisper. This gives your agent a nice range of capabilities without being overwhelming.

4Understanding SKILL.md

Every skill has a SKILL.md file that defines how it works. Think of it as the instruction manual your agent reads to understand the new tools.

SKILL.md Structure

Title & Description

What this skill does and why you'd use it

Setup Instructions

API keys needed, configuration steps

Tools Definition

What commands the skill provides

Usage Examples

Sample conversations showing the skill in action

Agent Guidelines

When and how the agent should use these tools

Example: Weather Skill

# Weather SkillGet current weather conditions and forecasts for any location.## Tools- get_weather — Current conditions for a location - get_forecast — 5-day forecast - weather_alerts — Active weather warnings## Agent GuidelinesWhen users ask about weather: - Always include temperature and conditions - Mention rain/snow if relevant - Be conversational, not robotic - If no location given, ask for it## ExamplesUser: "What's the weather like?" Agent: *uses get_weather for user's default location* "It's 72°F and sunny in San Francisco. Perfect day to get outside!"

5Your Personal TOOLS.md

TOOLS.md is your personal environment notes — details specific to your setup that skills need to know.

What Goes in TOOLS.md

Device Names

• Camera locations and names
• Smart speaker room names
• HomeKit device labels

Preferences

• Preferred voice for TTS
• Default locations
• SSH hosts and aliases

Example TOOLS.md

# TOOLS.md - My Setup## Cameras- living-room → Main area, wide angle - front-door → Entrance, motion detection - kitchen → Above sink, good for cooking## Smart Home- Default room: Living Room - Main speaker: Kitchen HomePod - Thermostat: Nest (3rd gen)## TTS / Voice- Preferred voice: Nova (warm, British) - Default output: Kitchen speaker## Weather- Default location: San Francisco, CA - Units: Fahrenheit, MPH

6Essential Skills to Start With

Here are the skills most people install first. Each one unlocks a whole category of functionality.

🌤️

Weather

clawhub install weather

Current conditions, forecasts, alerts. Essential for daily planning.

Unlock: "What's the weather?", "Will it rain today?", "Should I bring a jacket?"

🍕

Local Places

clawhub install local-places

Find restaurants, shops, services nearby with ratings and hours.

Unlock: "Find good pizza nearby", "Coffee shops open now", "Best rated sushi"

👀

Peekaboo

clawhub install peekaboo

Take photos with your cameras and analyze what's in them.

Unlock: "Show me the front door", "What's in the kitchen?", "Take a photo"

🎤

Whisper

clawhub install whisper

Transcribe voice messages and audio files to text.

Unlock: Send voice messages that get transcribed, analyze audio files

Install All Four

clawhub install weather
clawhub install local-places
clawhub install peekaboo
clawhub install whisper

7Building Your First Custom Skill

Ready to create your own skill? Let's build a simple "dad jokes" skill that tells jokes on demand.

Step-by-Step: Dad Jokes Skill

1
Create the skill directory:
mkdir ~/.openclaw/skills/dad-jokes
2
Create SKILL.md: Define what your skill does and how to use it
3
Add a joke script: Simple script that returns random jokes
4
Test it: Ask your agent "Tell me a dad joke"

Sample SKILL.md for Dad Jokes

# Dad Jokes SkillTell terrible dad jokes on demand.## Tools- tell_dad_joke — Get a random dad joke## Agent GuidelinesWhen users ask for jokes, humor, or seem down: - Use tell_dad_joke to get a joke - Deliver it with confidence - Maybe add a groan or eye-roll emoji## ExamplesUser: "Tell me a joke" Agent: *uses tell_dad_joke* "Why don't scientists trust atoms? Because they make up everything! 🙄"

8Tips for Finding the Right Skills

With hundreds of skills available, how do you choose the right ones? Here's how to build your perfect skillset.

🎯 Start with Daily Needs

• What do you check first each morning?
• What apps do you use most often?
• What tasks take you the most time?
• What would you love to automate?

⚡ Quality over Quantity

• Better to have 5 skills you use daily
• Than 20 skills you never touch
• Install gradually and learn each one
• Remove skills that don't stick

🔍 Read the Reviews

• Check ClawHub ratings and comments
• Look for recent updates and maintenance
• See what APIs/services are required
• Check if it fits your platform (Mac/Linux)

🧪 Try Before You Commit

• Install and test skills immediately
• Most skills have free tiers or trials
• Easy to uninstall if they don't work out
• Ask in Discord for recommendations

Building Your Perfect Stack

Think of skills like a toolkit. A carpenter doesn't need every tool ever made — just the right ones for the jobs they do most often.

Start with the essentials (weather, local-places, peekaboo, whisper), then add specialized skills based on your specific needs and interests.

9What's Next

Now your agent has superpowers, but it's still pretty generic. In the next module, we'll make it truly yours by giving it personality and memory.

Coming Up: Memory & Personality

We'll customize your agent's personality, teach it about you, and set up memory systems so it remembers your conversations and preferences. This is where your AI goes from "pretty useful" to "indispensable."

Skills & Tools