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What it does

The Load Skill tool lets agents load specialized instructions and file listings on demand. When a task matches a skill’s description, the agent calls this tool to get the full SKILL.md instructions and a manifest of bundled files available in the Python sandbox.
For complete information about Agent Skills, including setup, file management, and best practices, see Agent Skills.

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Key features

  • On-Demand Loading: Skills load only when needed, keeping the system prompt lean
  • Full Instructions: Returns the complete SKILL.md content (frontmatter stripped)
  • File Manifest: Lists all bundled files with their sandbox paths
  • Name-Based Lookup: Skills are loaded by name for natural agent interaction
  • Org-Scoped Security: Only loads skills belonging to the agent’s organization

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Parameters

ParameterTypeRequiredDescription
skill_namestringYesThe name of the skill to load (must match exactly)

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Common use cases

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Load a report generation skill

skill_name: "PDF Report Generator"
Load instructions for generating formatted PDF reports with bundled Python scripts.

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Load a data processing skill

skill_name: "CSV Data Pipeline"
Get instructions and scripts for processing and transforming CSV data files.

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Load a template-based workflow

skill_name: "MTS Itinerary Builder"
Load instructions for filling out Excel templates with specific formatting rules.

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What it returns

On success, the tool returns:
  • instructions: The full SKILL.md body content (frontmatter removed)
  • skillDirectory: The sandbox path where bundled files are located (e.g., skills/pdf-report-generator)
  • files: Array of bundled files, each with:
    • fileName — the file name (e.g., scripts/generate_report.py)
    • sandboxPath — full path in the sandbox (e.g., skills/pdf-report-generator/scripts/generate_report.py)
    • contentType — MIME type
    • fileSize — file size in bytes

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Best practices

  • Let the agent decide when to load a skill based on the <available_skills> section in its system prompt
  • Skills should be loaded before attempting any task they cover
  • After loading, the agent should follow the SKILL.md instructions step by step
  • Bundled files are available at their sandboxPath when using execute_python

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Troubleshooting

“Skill not found”
  • Verify the skill name matches exactly (case-sensitive)
  • Check that the skill hasn’t been deleted
  • Ensure the skill belongs to the agent’s organization
“Skill is not in this agent’s accessible skills”
  • The skill exists but isn’t assigned to this agent
  • Go to the agent’s configuration and add the skill
“Skill has no SKILL.md file”
  • The skill was created but its SKILL.md file is missing
  • Re-upload the SKILL.md content via the skill detail page