OpenClaw Skills Guide
A skill is one capability your agent can use — like 'send email' or 'scrape webpage' or 'update CRM.' You add skills to extend what your agent can do.
Think of skills as plugins. Install what you need. Skip what you don't. Your agent stays fast and focused.
What Are Skills?
A skill is basically a power-up for your agent. One skill does one thing — send an email, query a database, scrape a page, call an API. Your agent knows when to use it, figures out the steps, and runs it. You just describe what you need.The skill system keeps the agent core small. Install only what you need. No bloat, no unused code. When you need a new integration, you add a skill instead of rebuilding anything.Skills run inside the agent process. They receive structured inputs and return structured outputs. The agent decides when to call each skill based on the task and your instructions. Check [use cases](/openclaw/use-cases) to see skills in action.OpenClaw ships with over 80 bundled skills already installed — GitHub, Slack, Notion, Telegram, Discord, OpenAI Whisper, and more. Check those first before you go hunting on [ClawHub](/openclaw/clawhub-guide). You might already have what you need.
Skills on ClawHub
Community-built and growing weekly
Bundled Skills
Pre-installed out of the box
GitHub Stars
Most-starred AI agent on GitHub
Skill Categories
Cover every workflow type
ClawHub Skill Categories
5,705 total skills across 10 major categories. Find exactly what your workflow needs.
AI & LLMs — 287 skills
Prompting chains, model wrappers, embedding pipelines, and AI-powered analysis tools. Connect GPT-4, Claude, Gemini, and local models directly into your workflows.
Search & Research — 253 skills
Web search, Reddit crawlers, LinkedIn scrapers, academic paper finders, competitive intelligence tools. Get data from anywhere on the web without leaving your agent.
DevOps & Cloud — 212 skills
AWS, GCP, Docker, Kubernetes, CI/CD hooks, server monitoring, log analysis. Automate your infrastructure the same way you automate your business processes.
Web & Frontend — 202 skills
Browser control, form filling, screenshot capture, DOM extraction, SPA navigation. Skills for sites that don't have APIs — and for those that do.
Marketing & Sales — 143 skills
GoHighLevel, HubSpot, Pipedrive, email sequences, ad platforms, landing page tools. The full stack for sales and marketing automation.
Browser & Automation — 139 skills
Playwright, Puppeteer, Selenium wrappers, click-path recorders, captcha handlers. When a website needs to be driven like a real user, these are your tools.
Productivity & Tasks — 135 skills
Notion, Obsidian, Todoist, Linear, calendar tools, note syncing. Keep your personal and team systems updated automatically as work happens.
Coding Agents & IDEs — 133 skills
GitHub, GitLab, code review automation, PR description generators, test runners, file diff tools. Bring AI into your dev workflow without switching context.
Communication — 132 skills
Slack, Discord, Telegram, WhatsApp, iMessage, email. Send messages, read threads, summarize conversations, and route notifications across every channel you use.
CLI Utilities — 129 skills
Shell command wrappers, file system tools, process managers, cron helpers. Low-level building blocks for power users who want precise control over their automation.
Best Skill Combos by Business Type
Don't start from scratch. These stacks cover 80% of what each business type needs to automate.
How to Install a Skill
1. Find the skill you need
2-5 minBrowse ClawHub (the skill marketplace) by category or search by keyword. Each skill shows description, version, install count, and compatibility. You can also run `clawhub search <keyword>` from the terminal to find skills without opening a browser.
2. Install via CLI or UI
< 1 minRun `clawhub install <slug>` from your terminal — this is the fastest path. Or open the Skills panel in your OpenClaw UI and click Install. Dependencies pull automatically. No manual config unless the skill needs API keys.
3. Add your credentials
5-10 minAdd API keys, tokens, or connection strings to your .env file. Skills read from environment variables — your credentials never get bundled into the skill code. The [workshop](/workshop) covers secure credential storage in detail.
4. Verify load precedence
1 minOpenClaw loads skills in this order: /skills in your workspace → ~/.openclaw/skills → bundled skills → extraDirs config. If you have a custom version of a bundled skill in /skills, it takes priority automatically.
5. Test with a real task
5-10 minGive your agent a task that uses the new skill. Check the output. If something fails, look at the agent logs — they show which skill was called and what it returned. Fix the config before building on top of it.
5 Steps to Building Your Automation Stack
1. Start with one skill
Day 1Pick the single highest-leverage task in your week — the one you do manually that takes the most time. Install the skill that handles it. Get it running perfectly before adding anything else. Scope creep kills stacks before they ship.
2. Add a communication skill
Day 2Connect your agent to wherever your team communicates — Slack, Discord, or email. Now your automations can report back to you. You'll catch failures fast and stay in the loop without checking dashboards. All three come bundled.
3. Add a CRM or calendar skill
Day 3-5Most revenue-impacting workflows touch either a CRM (tracking leads) or a calendar (tracking time). Add the skill for your system — GoHighLevel, HubSpot, Notion, Google Calendar. Now your agent can read and write business records.
4. Add a reporting skill
Week 2Connect Google Sheets, Notion, or your database. Set up a weekly summary task: the agent reads data from your CRM and communication tools, aggregates it, and writes a report. Now you have visibility without manual aggregation.
5. Add custom skills for your niche
OngoingOnce the foundation runs reliably, add skills specific to your business. Proprietary tools, internal APIs, industry-specific data sources. These are the skills no one else has — and they're your competitive moat.
Ready to install your first skill?
The workshop walks you through setup and gets your first automation running in about an hour.
Bundled Skills (Pre-Installed)
OpenClaw ships with a core set of skills installed and ready to use on day one. No installation required — just add your credentials and go.Communication: discord, slack, telegram, whatsapp, imsgAI & models: gemini, openai-image-gen, openai-whisper, openai-whisper-apiDev & code: github, gh-issues, coding-agent, skill-creatorNotes & productivity: notion, obsidian, bear-notes, apple-notes, apple-remindersUtilities: 1password, summarize, nano-pdf, blogwatcher, canvas, himalaya, oracle, peekaboo, sag, session-logs, clawhubStart here before browsing ClawHub. The skill you need might already be waiting.
Skills FAQ
Ready to install your first skill?
The workshop walks through skill installation, configuration, and building your first workflow in about an hour. Join the community for skill recommendations and stack advice.
Browse Premium Skills
Pre-built automation packs ready to deploy.