Skills

A skill teaches Toby how you like a particular task done. For example: "When I ask for a weekly status update, use the headings Done, In progress, and Blocked, and keep it under 200 words." Once the skill exists, Toby uses it whenever a request matches. You don't have to repeat the instructions.

Create a skill#

The easiest way is to ask in chat:

Create a skill for meeting follow-up emails: thank people, list decisions and
owners, and keep it under 150 words.

Toby writes the skill and saves it. You can review and edit it in Skills in the sidebar.

How skills run#

On each chat turn, Toby’s pretreatment step may select relevant skills from your catalog based on your message. Selected skill bodies are injected into the system prompt for that turn.

You do not pick skills manually each message—Toby chooses from names and summaries in the catalog. Write a clear summary so the right skill is selected.

Manage skills#

Built-in flow builder#

Toby includes an editable flow-builder skill to help turn a description into a reusable flow. Try: “Create a Home action that summarizes my upcoming calendar events.” Toby checks available tools, asks for required details, and saves the flow without running it. For new AppleScript or TypeScript steps, Toby can draft the script and guide you through saving it in Script Tools.

The skill appears automatically in your global Skills catalog. You can edit, disable, or delete it like other skills; Toby preserves those choices.

Manage in the app#

Open Toby.app and click Skills in the sidebar. The Skills workspace lists each skill in a second column. Nothing is selected until you choose a skill. Select one to open its page, or click empty space in the list to clear the selection. The skill page has About and Instructions tabs. About shows the icon, name, summary, and enabled state. Instructions shows the markdown body sent to the model. Use toolbar Edit to change those fields in a sheet (Save persists, Cancel discards). Use + in the toolbar, or the create link when nothing is selected, to open a New Skill sheet (nothing is created until you Save). You can also delete existing skills from the toolbar.

Create on disk (advanced)#

Each skill is a Markdown file at ~/.toby/skills/<folder-name>/SKILL.md. The skill's summary goes in the frontmatter description key:

---
name: organize-email-by-project
description: Steps to triage email into project labels and archive noise.
---

# Organize email by project

1. Search unread messages from the last 7 days.
2. Group by project name mentioned in the subject or body.
3. Suggest one label per project; ask before applying changes.
4. Archive promotional mail older than 30 days unless starred.

To add a skill manually:

1. Create a folder under ~/.toby/skills/<folder-name>/.
2. Add a SKILL.md file with frontmatter (name, plus the skill summary in description) and the instructional body.
3. Open the Skills window in Toby.app to confirm it appears in the list.

Skills vs personas#

The same skill with different personas can produce different prioritization—for example, an email-organize skill under a technologist vs project manager persona (see Examples).

Project-local skills#

A project can include skills under its own folder:

~/.toby/projects/<project-id>/.agent/skills/<skill-name>/SKILL.md

Those skills are available when the project is active. Prefer project-local skills for procedures that should not apply globally. Global skills under ~/.toby/skills/ still work for every session.

New projects include a project-organization skill that records how that project's folder is laid out. Toby attaches it on every project chat and updates it as the layout evolves, so organization stays consistent from chat to chat.

Related#

• Personas
• Projects
• Examples