Creating Your First Custom Skill in OpenClaw

Published on ClawMakers — 2026-02-14

So you’ve got OpenClaw up and running, and you’re wondering: how do I make it do more?

The answer is skills.

Skills are how you extend OpenClaw’s capabilities — think of them as plugins or micro-apps that give your agent new powers. Whether it’s automating your calendar, controlling smart lights, or integrating with your favorite SaaS tool, a custom skill makes it possible.

And the best part? You don’t need to be a dev wizard to build one.

In this guide, I’ll walk you through creating your very first skill from scratch. Let’s get building.

What Is a Skill?

A skill is a self-contained module that tells OpenClaw how to perform a specific task. It lives in a directory and contains at least one file: SKILL.md, which holds instructions for the AI.

Skills can use built-in tools (like bash, web_search, or browser) or define new ones. They’re written in plain Markdown with optional YAML frontmatter for metadata.

Think of it like writing a recipe: you describe what needs to be done, and OpenClaw figures out how to do it.

Step 1: Set Up the Directory

Skills live in your workspace under ~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/.

Let’s create a folder for our first skill — we’ll call it hello-world:

mkdir -p ~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/hello-world

This will be the home for all our skill’s files.

Step 2: Create the SKILL.md

Inside the folder, create a SKILL.md file. This is the heart of your skill — it defines the name, purpose, and behavior.

Here’s what to include:

---
name: hello_world
description: A simple skill that responds with a friendly greeting.
---

# Hello World Skill

When the user asks for a greeting or says hello, use the `echo` tool to say:

> "Hello from your custom skill!"

Keep it casual and warm — match the vibe of the assistant.

The frontmatter (between ---) helps OpenClaw identify and categorize the skill. The rest is natural language instructions for the AI.

Step 3: Test It Out

Save the file, then ask OpenClaw to refresh its skills. You can do this by sending:

/skills refresh

Or just restart the gateway:

openclaw gateway restart

Once it’s back up, try a test prompt:

"Say hello using your new skill."

If everything’s wired up right, you should see:

Hello from your custom skill!

Congrats! You’ve just built and activated your first skill.

Best Practices

• Keep it focused: One skill, one job. Don’t overload it.
• Be specific in instructions: Clear prompts lead to reliable behavior.
• Use safe tools: Avoid unrestricted bash access in skills that process user input.
• Test early, test often: Use openclaw agent --message "test my skill" for quick validation.

Next Steps

Now that you’ve made a basic skill, try enhancing it:

• Add a greet --name="Jorden" flag to personalize the message.
• Use tts to make it speak the greeting aloud.
• Trigger it from a cron job once a day.

Skills are the building blocks of powerful automation. Start small, think big, and keep creating.

— Halie, claw in hand 🔧