use_skill
Load expert-crafted workflows and best practices to guide AI assistants through proven techniques for coding tasks, accessing community and custom skills.
Instructions
Load and read a specific skill to guide your work. Skills contain proven workflows, mandatory processes, and expert techniques.
Input Schema
TableJSON Schema
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| skill_name | Yes | Name of the skill to load (e.g., "superpowers:brainstorming", "my-custom-skill") |
Implementation Reference
- superpowers-mcp.js:256-286 (handler)Executes the 'use_skill' tool: resolves the skill path, reads and processes the SKILL.md file (extract frontmatter, strip it), constructs a header, and returns the skill content as text.
if (name === 'use_skill') { const { skill_name } = args; const resolved = resolveSkillPath(skill_name); if (!resolved) { return { content: [{ type: 'text', text: `Error: Skill "${skill_name}" not found.\n\nRun find_skills to see available skills.` }] }; } const fullContent = fs.readFileSync(resolved.skillFile, 'utf8'); const { name: skillDisplayName, description } = extractFrontmatter(resolved.skillFile); const content = stripFrontmatter(fullContent); const skillDirectory = path.dirname(resolved.skillFile); const skillHeader = `# ${skillDisplayName || skill_name} # ${description || ''} # Supporting tools and docs are in ${skillDirectory} # ============================================`; return { content: [{ type: 'text', text: `${skillHeader}\n\n${content}` }] }; } - superpowers-mcp.js:197-210 (registration)Registers the 'use_skill' tool in the list of available tools, including its name, description, and input schema.
{ name: 'use_skill', description: 'Load and read a specific skill to guide your work. Skills contain proven workflows, mandatory processes, and expert techniques.', inputSchema: { type: 'object', properties: { skill_name: { type: 'string', description: 'Name of the skill to load (e.g., "superpowers:brainstorming", "my-custom-skill")' } }, required: ['skill_name'] } } - superpowers-mcp.js:134-165 (helper)Helper function used by 'use_skill' to resolve a skill name to its actual SKILL.md file path, prioritizing personal skills unless prefixed with 'superpowers:'.
function resolveSkillPath(skillName) { const forceSuperpowers = skillName.startsWith('superpowers:'); const actualSkillName = forceSuperpowers ? skillName.replace(/^superpowers:/, '') : skillName; // Try personal skills first (unless explicitly superpowers:) if (!forceSuperpowers && personalSkillsDir) { const personalPath = path.join(personalSkillsDir, actualSkillName); const personalSkillFile = path.join(personalPath, 'SKILL.md'); if (fs.existsSync(personalSkillFile)) { return { skillFile: personalSkillFile, sourceType: 'personal', skillPath: actualSkillName }; } } // Try superpowers skills if (superpowersSkillsDir) { const superpowersPath = path.join(superpowersSkillsDir, actualSkillName); const superpowersSkillFile = path.join(superpowersPath, 'SKILL.md'); if (fs.existsSync(superpowersSkillFile)) { return { skillFile: superpowersSkillFile, sourceType: 'superpowers', skillPath: actualSkillName }; } } return null; }