Start building
AI Agents & Tools

OpenClaw Skills: How to Extend Your AI Assistant with Powerful Plugins

Discover how to install, use, and create custom skills for OpenClaw. Transform your AI assistant into a productivity powerhouse.

2 min read
OpenClaw Skills: How to Extend Your AI Assistant with Powerful Plugins

The real power of OpenClaw lies in its skills system. Skills are modular plugins that give your AI assistant new capabilities — from controlling smart home devices to managing your GitHub repositories.

What Are Skills?

Skills are self-contained packages that extend OpenClaw's functionality. Each skill includes:

  • Instructions: How and when to use the skill
  • Scripts: Code that performs the actual work
  • Configuration: Settings specific to that skill

Think of skills like apps for your AI assistant.

Installing Skills

The easiest way to install skills is through ClawdHub:

# Search for skills
npx clawdhub search weather

# Install a skill
npx clawdhub install weather

# List installed skills
openclaw skills list

Weather

Get current conditions and forecasts anywhere in the world.

"What's the weather in Tokyo?"
"Will it rain tomorrow?"

GitHub

Manage repositories, issues, and pull requests.

"Show my open PRs"
"Create an issue in my project"

Notion

Create and manage Notion pages and databases.

"Add a task to my Notion board"
"What's on my Notion calendar?"

Gmail (via himalaya)

Read and send emails from the command line.

"Check my unread emails"
"Reply to the last email from John"

Nano Banana Pro

Generate images using Google's Gemini model.

"Generate an image of a sunset over mountains"
"Create a logo for my startup"

Skill Configuration

Most skills need configuration — API keys, preferences, etc. Configure them with:

openclaw configure --section skills

Or edit your config directly at ~/.clawdbot/openclaw.json:

{
  "skills": {
    "weather": {
      "defaultLocation": "New York"
    },
    "github": {
      "defaultRepo": "myusername/myproject"
    }
  }
}

Creating Custom Skills

Want a skill that doesn't exist? Create your own!

Skill Structure

my-skill/
├── SKILL.md      # Instructions for the AI
├── scripts/      # Executable scripts
│   └── main.py
└── package.json  # Metadata (optional)

SKILL.md Example

---
name: my-custom-skill
description: Does something awesome
---

# My Custom Skill

Use this skill when the user asks to do something awesome.

## Usage

\`\`\`bash
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/main.py --arg "value"
\`\`\`

Publishing Your Skill

Share your skill with the community:

npx clawdhub publish ./my-skill

Skills Best Practices

  1. Check availability first: Use openclaw skills list to see what's ready
  2. Configure API keys: Most skills need credentials to work
  3. Read the SKILL.md: Each skill has specific usage instructions
  4. Start small: Install one skill at a time and test it

The Skills Ecosystem

The OpenClaw skills ecosystem is growing rapidly. New skills are added weekly for:

  • Smart home control (Hue, Sonos)
  • Productivity (Trello, Things, Obsidian)
  • Communication (Slack, Discord bots)
  • Development (GitHub, coding agents)
  • Media (Spotify, video processing)

Next Steps

  1. Browse skills at ClawdHub
  2. Install 2-3 skills that match your workflow
  3. Try creating a simple custom skill
  4. Share your creations with the community

Skills transform OpenClaw from a chatbot into a true digital assistant that knows your tools and workflows.

Build web apps as easily as installing skills. Youmake is an AI web app builder — describe your app, deploy in minutes. No coding required. Try Youmake for $1 →