Assistant

Skills: Reusable Instructions for Assistant

A Skill is a saved set of instructions August can apply in any chat, such as your firm's way of preparing a closing checklist or summarizing a deposition. Type / in the Assistant composer to add one to a message, or give it a description so August loads it on its own when a request matches.

Open the Skills Library

The Skills library opens as a window over your current page. Open it either way:

  • In the left sidebar, click Create new and choose Skill.

  • On the home page, click the Skills button above the composer.

Filter the library by Favorites, Personal, Created by me, Shared with me, or August. The August filter shows prebuilt Skills from our team.

Create a Skill

Write the instructions the way you would brief a colleague: the steps to follow, the format you expect, and anything to avoid.

  1. In the Skills library, click New skill.

  2. Enter a Name (up to 64 characters). You invoke the Skill by typing / followed by this name.

  3. Enter a Description (up to 1,024 characters) that says when the Skill applies. Leave it empty if the Skill should only run when you pick it yourself.

  4. Write the Instructions (up to 40,000 characters). Type @ to attach documents the Skill should always use, such as a template or precedent.

  5. Optionally, add Categories to group related Skills.

  6. Click Save.

A Skill you create outside a project is personal and available in every project. A Skill you create inside a project belongs to that project.

Other ways to create a Skill

  • From a chat message: click Save as Skill under one of your messages. A new Skill opens with that message's text and attached documents filled in, ready to name and save.

  • From a file: click Import Skill File and choose a .md or .skill file. A Markdown file must start with a header block that gives the Skill's name and description, and can be up to 64 KB. A .skill file is a ZIP that contains a SKILL.md file and up to 100 supporting files.

  • By asking August: ask in chat, for example "Save these steps as a Skill called deposition-summary." August creates the Skill and shows a card linking to it in the library.

Use a Skill in Chat

A Skill you pick applies in full to that message. Skills with a description can also apply without you picking them.

  • Pick it yourself: type / in the composer and choose a Skill from the Skills menu, or keep typing to search by name. Then write your request as usual.

  • Let August choose: when your request matches a Skill's description, August loads that Skill before it answers, and the chat shows that it is loading the Skill. Skills without a description are never loaded this way.

To make a Skill apply to every run of an agent, add it to the agent's default context under Skills. In a project agent, only that project's Skills are listed; duplicate a personal Skill into the project to use it there. See Run an agent.

Manage Your Skills

Right-click a Skill in the library to manage it:

  • Add to favorites pins it under Favorites, here and in the Word Add-in.

  • Share gives specific people, or everyone on the project, Editor or Viewer access.

  • Edit changes its name, description, or instructions.

  • Duplicate makes a copy you can change. For a prebuilt August Skill, choose Duplicate to customize.

  • Delete removes it permanently. When you ask August to delete a Skill in chat, it asks for your approval first.

Write the description as a trigger, for example "Use when the user asks for a deposition summary or digest." A clear trigger helps August load the right Skill and leave the others alone.

Skills in the Word Add-In

The Skills tab in the Word Add-in lists your Skills with a search box and your favorites at the top. Click a Skill and it is added to your next message in the Assistant tab. You can also type / in the Word composer. Create and edit Skills in the August web app. See Word Add-In Overview.

The August mobile app doesn't offer the Skills library or the / menu.

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