Rules And Skills

Skills

Skills are reusable guidance assets.

Each skill includes:

• a name
• a description
• a SKILL.md
• optional supporting files

From the Skills UI, you can:

• create a new skill
• import a skill from GitHub
• open a skill and browse its files
• edit custom skills directly in the app
• upload additional files into a custom skill
• attach selected skills to an agent from the agent form

Built-in skills can be read-only. Custom skills can be edited or deleted.

When To Use A Skill

Use a skill when:

• the guidance should be shared across multiple agents
• the instructions are deep enough that they deserve their own file
• you want supporting reference files, not just one text box

Use agent custom instructions when the guidance is specific to one agent and does not need its own reusable package.

Rules

Rules live in the playbook system, which is surfaced through the same Rules & Skills page.

They can be learned automatically from past agent behavior, and you can also add, edit, pin, or delete them manually.

When an agent runs a task, Cofounder injects the relevant rules based on the task and context.

What Rules Are Good For

Rules are a good fit for durable operating guidance like:

• always verify production-impacting actions before execution
• prefer reading existing implementation before proposing a refactor
• check deploy state before reporting an incident resolved

How Rules Differ From Skills

Rules:

• are playbook items
• can be learned automatically or added manually
• are injected into agents when relevant to the task
• can be pinned, edited, and reused as persistent learnings

Skills:

• are file-backed guidance packages
• can include SKILL.md plus supporting files
• are attached directly to agents by name
• can be built in or custom

Next Steps

• Agents Overview
• Custom Agents
• Integrations Overview