Skills

A Skill is a set of instructions (and sometimes scripts) that teaches Lino AI how to do one kind of work well — explaining a concept the Feynman way, writing a lab report in your school's format, downloading and transcribing a video. When you use a Skill, its instructions go with your message.

Skills are folders on your computer, in ~/.lino/skills. Each one has a SKILL.md file with a name, a one-line description and the instructions. This is the same layout Claude Code Skills use.

Use a Skill

• Type / in the composer and pick the Skill by name — each installed Skill is also a slash command (e.g. /feynman). Write your request after it.
• Or click + → Skills and tick the Skills you want for your next message.
• On the Start page, Learn something uses the feynman Skill when it is installed.

Example: /feynman entropy — Lino AI explains entropy simply, finds the gaps in your understanding, and fills them.

Install a Skill

From the community gallery

1. In the composer, click + → Skills → Community skills.
2. In the Browse tab, search (Search skills…) or scroll, and click a Skill to read it.
3. Press Install.

The official source is Lino's own Skill index. To add another, click Sources and enter a GitHub repository as owner/repo (a Lino index or a Claude Code marketplace). Third-party sources are not reviewed by Lino. Skills instruct the AI agent — only add repos you trust.

From a link, by asking

Paste a link to a Skill and ask: "Install this skill: https://github.com/…". Lino AI reads its SKILL.md, then asks to download it — a command that runs outside the sandbox, so you get a Run outside the sandbox card (in Auto, the review checks it first). The files it writes are shown to you on an Install this skill? card before they land.

Write your own

Ask Lino AI to make one ("Make a Skill for how I want meeting notes written"), or create a folder in ~/.lino/skills yourself. Any change Lino AI makes to a Skill is shown as a Change this skill? card first, in every mode — even with Bypass permissions.

Manage installed Skills

In Community skills, open the Installed tab:

• Update (or Update to v…) when a newer version is available. If you changed the Skill locally, you're asked before your changes are overwritten.
• Disable / Enable — a disabled Skill stays installed but Lino AI can't use it.
• Delete — removes the Skill folder (asks you to confirm).

+ → Skills → Open skills folder opens ~/.lino/skills in Finder, where you can edit SKILL.md files directly.

Tips

• A Skill without a description is installed but never offered.
• A Skill's scripts run under the same sandbox and approval rules as any other command. See Modes & permissions.
• Skills add instructions; they don't add new abilities beyond what Lino AI can do.