Introducing Agent Skills in VS Code

Key Takeaways

• Skills are folders containing skill.md files plus optional resources (scripts, images, templates)
• They load on demand when the agent detects a request matching the skill's description
• Skills are an open standard, transferable between VS Code, GitHub Copilot Cloud, and CLI agents
• Unlike static custom instructions, skills bring action-oriented automation into the mix

What Makes Skills Different from Instructions

Custom instructions define coding standards and preferences. Skills go further: they include scripts, examples, and workflows that make agents action-oriented. A skill for image manipulation doesn't just describe preferences—it knows which ImageMagick commands to run and how to locate binaries on any machine.

Skill Structure

skills/
└── prd-writing/
    ├── skill.md          # Required: defines name, triggers, workflow
    └── helpers.js        # Optional: scripts, templates, resources

The skill.md frontmatter defines:

• Name: Human-readable identifier
• When to use: Semantic description triggering automatic loading
• Workflow stages: Step-by-step process the agent follows

How Skills Load

flowchart LR
    Request[User Request] --> Detect{Agent Detects
Skill Match?}
    Detect -->|Yes| Load[Load skill.md
+ Resources]
    Detect -->|No| Default[Standard Response]
    Load --> Execute[Execute Workflow
with Context]
    Execute --> Result[Domain-Specific
Output]

Practical Examples

Notable Quotes

"Agent skills aren't just fancy instructions. They're portable, task-specific workflows that load only when you need them."

"Skills make agents know how to do the work and how you want it to be done."

Connections

• claude-code-skills - The same concept implemented in Claude Code: markdown files that extend agent capabilities with specialized knowledge and automatic triggering
• context-engineering-guide-vscode - Explains the broader VS Code context engineering approach that skills build upon, including custom instructions and planning agents