Use skills to apply reusable instructions

Skills are reusable instructions that teach Bolt how to handle specific scenarios. Each skill has a name, a description that tells Bolt when to apply it, and the instructions themselves. Skills are available on all plans. Use a skill for rules or workflows you need often, like UI copy guidelines or a launch checklist. Add your instructions and Bolt follows them automatically when planning and building, so you don’t have to explain them every time. Get started by writing a skill, asking Bolt to write one for you, or importing a skill from a source you trust. After a skill is in your workspace, you can turn it on in any project. Then, Bolt applies it whenever your prompt matches the skill’s description, or you can apply it manually by typing /$skill-name in the chat.

What’s the difference between skills and knowledge?

Skills only apply in certain situations (defined in the skill description), while knowledge applies to every prompt.

	When to use it	Example
Skills	Use for repeatable workflows and instructions.	”Use this checklist to test pages in the app against my accessibility guidelines”
Knowledge	Gives Bolt persistent context that applies to every prompt.	”This project is a mobile app built on React.js”

If you want Bolt to interact with an external tool (like getting information from Linear), you need a connector instead of a skill. Connectors give Bolt access to external tools and live data. To learn more, see Connect an MCP server.

Workspace, project, and Bolt-curated skills

Skills are available at the workspace level and the project level. You can add skills yourself or use built-in skills that Bolt manages for you.

Workspace skills

Skills you add in Workspace > Skills library are available to turn on or off in individual projects.

In a team workspace, this appears under your team’s name instead of the label Workspace.

Project skills

Skills you add in Project settings > Skills are stored in your project’s code. They’re always turned on. Skills available in your workspace can be on or off by default for each project, depending on the workspace type:

Personal workspaces: Skills are turned on by default in each project.
Team workspaces: Admins add skills, and they’re turned off by default. Team members turn them on.

Bolt-curated skills

Bolt maintains a built-in set of skills you can turn on in your projects. Unlike skills you add, you can’t edit or remove Bolt-curated skills. Bolt-curated skills include:

SEO/GEO
Skill Creator
Web Design Guidelines
Writing Guidelines

Skill Creator lets Bolt create skills for you in the chat. It’s always turned on. Other Bolt-curated skills are turned off by default. To use them, turn them on in your project. If you have your own skill covering the same topic as a Bolt-curated skill, leave the Bolt-curated skill turned off.

Go to your Skills settings

Workspace and project skills have their own settings where you add or manage available skills.

Skills library (workspace)

You can open the Skills library from the Bolt homepage or from inside a project. To open the Skills library for your workspace:

In the top-left corner of the screen, click the account dropdown, then click Settings.
In the left navigation, click Skills library.

Skills (project)

To open the Skills page for your project:

Open your Bolt project.
In the top menu, click the gear icon, then click Skills.

Use skills safely

Before importing a skill, read the SKILL.md file completely so you know what instructions you’re giving Bolt. Only use skills from developers or organizations you know and trust, or that you’ve read through yourself and fully understand. If a skill contains URLs you don’t recognize, requests for sensitive information (like credentials or API keys), or instructions that change Bolt’s behavior outside the scope of the task, it might be unsafe. If anything looks off, don’t import the skill. Find another skill on the same topic, or write one yourself.

Add a skill

Before you add a skill, decide where it should live. If you want it available for every project, add it to your workspace. If you only need it in one project, add it directly to that project.

If a project skill and a workspace skill have the same name, Bolt uses the project skill.

There are a few different ways to add skills. The following table shows where each method is available.

Method	Workspace	Project
Import from GitHub	✓	✓
Import from a file	✓	✓
Write manually	✓	✓
Create from chat		✓

To add a workspace skill, open the Skills library.
To add a project skill, open your project’s Skills page or start chatting with Bolt.

Import skills from GitHub

You can import skills from GitHub into a workspace or project.

To import a skill from GitHub:

Open the Skills library or your project’s Skills page.
Click Add skill, then click From GitHub.
For each skill you want to import:
1. In Repository URL, enter a public GitHub repository. Bolt automatically finds skills in the repo.
2. In the Skill folder name field, select the skill you want to import. If the repo contains a large number of skills, Bolt shows the first 100.
  To see the skill’s description before importing it, point to the question mark icon.
3. Click Create. When Bolt finishes importing a skill, you’ll see it listed among your available skills. If you added it from the Skills library, it shows under In your workspace. If you added it from your project’s Skills page, it shows under In this project.

After you import a skill from GitHub, it’s no longer linked to the source repository. To bring in later updates from GitHub, re-import the skill, then remove the outdated version.

Imported GitHub skills can be up to 2 MB in size.

Import from a file

You can import skills from a file into a workspace or project. Skills files must use a .md or .mdx file extension, or a .zip file containing .md or .mdx files. A .zip file can only contain one skill file, but you can include other Markdown files with examples for Bolt to reference when applying the skill. To import a skill from a file:

Open the Skills library or your project’s Skills page.
Click Add skill, then click Import from file.
Choose the .md, .mdx, or .zip file you want, then click Import.

Skills files have rules around their size and format. If you experience any problems importing your skills file, check that your file meets the skills file requirements.

Individual .md or .mdx files can be up to 256 KB in size. .zip files can be up to 2 MB in size, including a 256 KB limit for the included skills file.

Write instructions manually

In team workspaces, only admins can write a skill to the workspace library. Any team member can write a skill directly in a project. For help writing an effective skill, including examples of each part, see Skills file requirements. To write a skill in Bolt:

Open the Skills library or your project’s Skills page.
Click Add skill, then click Write manually.
Fill out the different parts of the skill:
- Skill name: Add a unique name in the format your-skill-name.
- Description: Describe what the skill does and when Bolt should use it.
- Instructions: The complete instructions to define what the skill does.
Click Create.

Skills you write can be up to 256 KB in size.

Create a skill from chat

Bolt has a built-in /skill-creator skill it can use to write a skill for you. If you have a workflow in mind, describe it and ask Bolt to create it as a skill. You can also ask Bolt to create a skill based on the work you’ve done in chat. If you discover a great workflow while building, this lets you save and reuse it later. To create a skill from chat, do one of the following:

In the chatbox, send a prompt describing the skill you want.
In your project’s Skills page, click Add skill > Build with Bolt.

When Bolt creates a skill, it’s saved in that project and turned on automatically. You can see it on your project’s Skills page, under In this project.

Turn skills on or off in a project

When a skill is turned on, Bolt applies it automatically when your prompt matches the skill’s description, and you can apply it by typing /$skill-name in the chat. There’s no limit to how many skills you can turn on in a project. Skills have to be turned on for Bolt to use them. If you turn off a skill, you can’t select it in that project, and Bolt won’t automatically apply it, either. You can turn workspace skills on or off per project so that only skills that fit the project get applied. Skills you add to a project or create from chat are always on for that project. If your project is shared, skills you turn on are available to all collaborators working in the project.

How the skill was added	Projects in a personal workspace	Projects in a team workspace
Skills library	On by default	Off by default
Directly in a project	Always on	Always on
Created from chat	Always on	Always on

To turn a skill on or off in a project:

Open your Bolt project.
In the top menu, click the gear icon, then click Skills.
Find the skill you want, then turn it on or off.

When you send a prompt, Bolt looks at all the skills available in the project and applies whichever ones are relevant to your prompt. Bolt can automatically apply more than one skill to the same prompt. When a skill is triggered, the skill name shows in the chat, so you can see which skills have been applied to the current response.

Apply a skill manually in the chat

There are two ways to apply a skill in chat:

Select the skill by clicking the plus icon then pointing to Skills to show the available skills in your project.
Type the skill name using a slash command.

When you apply a skill manually, you can select one skill per prompt.

The chatbox showing Skills selected and available skills showing in the menu.

In the chatbox, click the plus icon.
Click Skills. A list appears that shows skills available in your project.
Click the skill name to insert it into the chatbox.

Type the skill name

The chatbox showing a skill typed as a slash command and matching skills showing in the menu.

In the chatbox, type /$skill-name. For example, /write-app-copy. As you type, a menu opens showing the skills available in that project.
Hover over a skill to see its name and description.
Click the skill you want to apply.

Apply a skill to your first prompt

To use a skill in your first prompt, you have to pick from the Skills menu in the chatbox on the Bolt homepage. You can choose from any skill in your workspace, including Bolt-curated skills. The skill you choose stays turned on for the project afterward.

Manage skills

Click the three dots icon next to a skill to access the following options:

Edit: Edit the skill’s name, description, or instructions.
Delete: Remove the skill.
Download: Download the skill file to your computer.
Add to Skill library: Available for project skills. To learn more, see Add a project skill to your workspace.

Add a project skill to your workspace

If you write a skill in one project and want to reuse it elsewhere, you can add it to your workspace’s Skills library so it’s available to turn on in other projects. In a personal workspace, you can add any project skill to your workspace. In a team workspace, only a team admin can add a project skill to the Skills library, but team members can download the skill and share it with an admin. To add a project skill to your workspace:

In the project’s Skills page, find the skill you want to add, then click the three dots icon next to the skill’s name.
Click Add to Skill library.

After you’ve added a project skill to the Skills library, the two copies are independent. Editing the project skill doesn’t change the workspace skill, and editing the workspace skill doesn’t change the project skill.

If the same skill exists in a project and workspace, Bolt uses the project skill.

Download a project skill

If you don’t have permission to add a skill to the Skills library, or you want to share it outside Bolt, you can download it as a file. To download a project skill:

In the project’s Skills page, find the skill you want, then click the three dots icon next to the skill’s name.
Click Download.

This saves the skill’s SKILL.md file to your computer. You can share it with a workspace admin, or import it into a workspace or another project yourself.

Permissions in team workspaces

Admins can add, edit, download, and delete skills in their team workspace. When a skill is deleted, it’s deleted for all team members and removed from their projects.
Team members can view workspace skills and turn them on or off per project. Members can’t add workspace skills but can add skills in a project and edit, download, and delete any skills they’ve added.

Duplicate or transfer a project that uses skills

When you duplicate a project, the duplicate stays in the same workspace, so all the same skills are available. When you transfer a project, only skills added directly to the project move with it. Workspace skills don’t transfer because they belong to the workspace, not the project.

Delete a project that uses skills

Project skills are stored in the project’s code, so deleting the project deletes the skill along with it. To keep a project skill, add it to your workspace’s Skills library or download it before you delete the project. Deleting a project doesn’t affect workspace skills, since those are stored separately from any one project’s code.

Skills file requirements

Every skills file needs two parts:

A frontmatter section, which needs entries for name and description
Instructions, which define the rules or workflow you want Bolt to apply

Frontmatter

A clear, specific description is important in making sure Bolt applies your skill in the right situations. Start with “Use when” and write the description to include a trigger, scope, and boundary:

Trigger: The situations when Bolt should apply the skill. For example, “Use when writing or editing any text that appears in an app’s interface.”
Scope: Specific examples when the skill applies. For example, “Covers button labels, calls to action, headings, and empty states.”
Boundary: Specific examples when the skill doesn’t apply. This helps distinguish between similar skills and prevents Bolt from using the skill where it isn’t relevant. For example, “Doesn’t apply to placeholder content or sample user data like names or emails.”

Combine these elements into a short paragraph that covers when Bolt should apply the skill, what it applies to, and when it doesn’t apply.

The description is the main way you can control when Bolt uses a skill. If Bolt applies a skill too often, the description is probably too broad. If it never applies the skill automatically, the description is too narrow or doesn’t match how you’re prompting.

A frontmatter section looks like this:

---
name: write-app-copy
description: "Use when writing or editing any text that appears in an app's interface. Covers button labels, calls to action, headings, and empty states. Doesn't apply to placeholder content or sample user data like names or emails."
---

When you import a skill from GitHub or from a file, Bolt checks that each file has a valid frontmatter section at the top of the file, and that it follows a certain format. If your frontmatter isn’t formatted correctly, you’ll see an error.

Frontmatter field	Can include	Can’t include	Size limit
`name`	Lowercase letters, numbers, and hyphens	Spaces, underscores, XML tags, or reserved words (like “anthropic” or “claude”)	Maximum 64 characters
`description`	Free-form text, including spaces, full sentences, and punctuation	XML tags	Maximum 1024 characters

If you write the skill yourself, Bolt helps you observe these rules. For example, Bolt automatically changes any spaces, underscores, or capital letters you enter in the Skill Name field so they fit the frontmatter requirements. That’s why you’ll notice all skill names you write in Bolt follow the format your-skill-name.

Instructions

Instructions define the rules, guidelines, and workflows you want Bolt to follow when applying your skill. Follow these tips to write an effective skill:

Cover one topic per skill. Skills work best when they focus on a specific, well-defined topic. If you find yourself writing sections that feel unrelated, consider splitting them into separate skills.
Write in plain language. Use short, clear sentences. Avoid jargon and unnecessary detail.
Use headings to separate distinct subtopics. If your skill covers more than one aspect of a topic, headings help Bolt apply the right section to the right situation.

    # Write app copy for your Bolt project

    Read this skill before writing or editing UI copy. Apply these principles to button labels, calls to action, headings, and empty states.

    ## Core principle

    Good UI copy is invisible. It tells users what to do, what happened, or what to expect without drawing attention to itself. When copy is unclear or inconsistent, users slow down or lose trust in the product.

    ## Voice and tone

    - Write in second person ("you") when addressing the user.
    - Use present tense.
    - Keep the tone friendly but not overly casual. Match the formality of the product's audience.
    - Use contractions to keep copy conversational.
    - Don't use jargon unless the target audience expects it.

    ## Buttons and calls to action

    - Use verb-first labels that describe the action. Write "Save changes" not "OK."
    - Be specific. Write "Delete account" not "Confirm."
    - Keep labels short. Two to four words is usually enough.
    - Match the label to the outcome. If clicking a button creates something, the label should say "Create," not "Submit."

    ## Headings and section titles

    - Use sentence case. Capitalize only the first word and proper nouns.
    - Write headings that describe the content in the section, not just name it. Write "Your recent orders" not "Orders."
    - Keep headings short. If a heading needs more than a few words, consider whether the section is too broad.

    ## Empty states

    - Tell users why the space is empty and what they can do about it.
    - Include a call to action when there's a relevant next step.
    - Keep the tone encouraging, not clinical. Write "You haven't added any products yet. Click Add product to get started" not "No products found."

    ## Consistency

    - Use the same word for the same thing throughout the app. If a feature is called "Projects" in one place, don't call it "Work" or "Items" somewhere else.
    - Use the same verb patterns for similar actions. If one action uses "Add," similar actions should use "Add" too, not "Create," "New," or "Insert."

Troubleshooting

If Bolt doesn’t apply a skill automatically when you expect it to, try rewording your prompt to match the skill’s description more closely, or apply it manually in the chat. A skill applies automatically when it’s turned on for the current project and your prompt closely matches the trigger, scope, and boundary described in the skill’s description. See Skills file requirements for tips on writing a clearer description.

FAQs

Can I use skills I wrote for other tools in Bolt?

Bolt skills use an open format shared by other AI tools, so you can bring in a skill you built somewhere else by importing from GitHub or importing from a file.

Can skills reference each other?

Bolt looks at all the skills available in a project and applies the ones that are relevant to your prompt. Skills can’t directly reference each other, but Bolt can apply multiple skills independently to the same task.

How will I know which skills Bolt applied?

When a skill is triggered, the name shows in the chat, so you can see which skills have been applied to the current response. If Bolt applies more than one skill, you may have to expand the actions taken menu in the chat to see the individual skill names.

An expanded actions taken panel in the Bolt chat listing three invoked skills: writing-guidelines, seo-geo, and web-design-guidelines.

What happens if two skills give conflicting information?

Bolt looks at all the skills available in a project and applies the ones that are relevant to your prompt. We recommend that you keep skills focused and avoid having multiple skills with conflicting information that can apply to the same workflow. To learn more about writing a skill, see Skills file requirements.

Does turning on more skills use more tokens?

The number of skills you have turned on shouldn’t meaningfully affect how many tokens Bolt uses. When a skill is turned on, Bolt only looks at its name and description until you send a prompt that matches the skill. Then, it uses tokens to read the skill’s full instructions so it can apply the skill.

If multiple teammates edit the same skill, which version will Bolt use?

In a team workspace, only admins can edit skills. The latest saved edit becomes the current version for everyone. If you need version control for your skills file, we recommend maintaining the skill in GitHub, and importing it from there instead.

​What’s the difference between skills and knowledge?

​Workspace, project, and Bolt-curated skills

​Workspace skills

​Project skills

​Bolt-curated skills

​Go to your Skills settings

​Skills library (workspace)

​Skills (project)

​Use skills safely

​Add a skill

​Import skills from GitHub

​Import from a file

​Write instructions manually

​Create a skill from chat

​Turn skills on or off in a project

​Apply a skill manually in the chat

​Pick from the Skills menu

​Type the skill name

​Apply a skill to your first prompt

​Manage skills

​Add a project skill to your workspace

​Download a project skill

​Permissions in team workspaces

​Duplicate or transfer a project that uses skills

​Delete a project that uses skills

​Skills file requirements

​Frontmatter

​Instructions

​Troubleshooting

​FAQs

What’s the difference between skills and knowledge?

Workspace, project, and Bolt-curated skills

Workspace skills

Project skills

Bolt-curated skills

Go to your Skills settings

Skills library (workspace)

Skills (project)

Use skills safely

Add a skill

Import skills from GitHub

Import from a file

Write instructions manually

Create a skill from chat

Turn skills on or off in a project

Apply a skill manually in the chat

Pick from the Skills menu

Type the skill name

Apply a skill to your first prompt

Manage skills

Add a project skill to your workspace

Download a project skill

Permissions in team workspaces

Duplicate or transfer a project that uses skills

Delete a project that uses skills

Skills file requirements

Frontmatter

Instructions

Troubleshooting

FAQs