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Skills are instructions that live in your repository and guide how agents approach work. They help agents follow multi-step processes like research, planning, implementation, and review instead of doing everything in a single pass.

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How it works

Place skills in the dotfile directory for your coding agent at the root of your repository:
  • .claude/ for Claude Code
  • .codex/ for Codex
  • .opencode/ for OpenCode
  • .cursor/ for Cursor
The agent picks up these skills when working on tasks in that repo. You need to instruct the agent to use a skill, either in the task description or after a PR is opened via the feedback loop: 
@tembo Use the implementation skill for this task

@tembo Now use the code-review skill to review your changes

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Example

A skill that guides the agent through a structured implementation flow: 
# Implementation Skill

1. Research the codebase to understand existing patterns
2. Create a plan with specific files and changes
3. Implement the plan following project conventions
4. Run tests and fix any failures
5. Self-review the diff before opening a PR

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What skills are good for

  • Enforcing a research-then-implement workflow
  • Requiring test coverage before opening a PR
  • Defining code review checklists the agent runs against its own output
  • Setting quality thresholds for different task types

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What’s coming

We’re building first-party skill support and planning mode so Tembo can handle work in staged steps: Research → Plan → Implement → Review → Iterate This will improve PR quality on larger tasks, where today the agent may need a few iterations before the output is merge-ready. Rule files and skills in dotfile directories are the best way to guide agents today.