Android skills are AI-optimized instructions, to help AI tools and agents better understand and execute specific patterns that follow best practices and guidance on Android development. They are housed in the [Android skills GitHub repository](https://goo.gle/android-skills). You can use an Android skill to do tasks such as the following: - Migrate from XML to Compose - Upgrade to AGP 9 - Set up newer frameworks like Navigation 3 - Modernize your app UI by making it edge-to-edge - Improve performance by auditing your R8 configuration By using Android skills, you can help ground LLMs with more recent knowledge and context on specialized Android workflows. Android skills follow the [agent skills](https://agentskills.io/home) open standard, so they are compatible with any AI tool that supports skills. This page explains how to use skills in Android Studio and how to use the [Android CLI](https://developer.android.com/tools/agents/android-cli) to install skills for use with any agent and tooling of your choice. > [!NOTE] > **Note:** How to structure and use skills might differ slightly based on the agent and development environment you're using. Be sure to check the documentation for your agent and tooling. ## Key benefits of Android skills Android skills provide a number of key benefits that aim to accelerate your agentic workflow towards more efficiently producing high-quality Android code: - **Ground with expert knowledge:** Provide more Android-specific context to agents, grounding them on demand and extending their default knowledge and expertise beyond the regular model training cycle. - **Repeatable workflows:** Provide standard instructions to help ensure that multi-step tasks in Android development are performed consistently. - **Resource bundling:** Include scripts, templates, or additional documentation alongside your main SKILL.md instructions so the agent has everything it needs in one place, avoiding the need to manually attach files for a prompt. - **Shared expertise:** Package your team's Android development patterns into shared folders for unified access and collaboration. ## Use Android skills Android skills are integrated in the Android CLI, to be used with any agent of your choice. ![gemini_cli_skills_demo.gif](https://developer.android.com/static/tools/agents/videos/gemini_cli_skills_demo.gif) ### Android CLI We recommend installing an Android skill using the [Android CLI](https://developer.android.com/tools/agents/android-cli), which makes it easier to discover, download, and manage skills for any agent of your choice. - To see the list of available skills, run [`android skills list`](https://developer.android.com/tools/agents/android-cli/commands/skills_list). - To install a skill, run [`android skills add skill-name`](https://developer.android.com/tools/agents/android-cli/commands/skills_add). If you already have the skill installed, `skills add` will update it to the latest version. > [!NOTE] > **Note:** If you customize a skill, you should rename it, or it will get overwritten when you update it using `skills add`. ### Android Studio You can download a skill from the [Android skills GitHub repo](https://goo.gle/android-skills) and [import it into your project in Android Studio](https://developer.android.com/studio/gemini/skills). ## Activate a skill The agent automatically activates skills that are relevant to your task. To use a skill, prompt the agent to complete a task that is related to the skill, for example "Make my app UI edge-to-edge." The agent should automatically find and use the skill if it's available. In [Android Studio](https://developer.android.com/studio/gemini/skills), you can also invoke a skill manually directly by typing `@skill-name` in the chat window. ## Create your own skills You can create your own skills to package and share your team's workflows. To learn more about skill requirements, see the [agent skills specification](https://agentskills.io/specification). The agent looks for skills starting from the `.skills/` or `.agent/skills/` directories located at your project root. To build a custom skill, follow these steps: 1. **Create a directory** for your skill (for example, `my-new-skill/`). 2. **Create a `SKILL.md` file** (case-sensitive) inside the new directory. Skills must follow these rules: - **One directory per skill:** Each skill must have its own unique directory that includes a `SKILL.md` file and any [additional resources](https://developer.android.com/tools/agents/android-skills#directories). - **Nesting:** All skills must be in the `.skills/` or `.agent/skills/` directory at the project root. However, you can use subdirectories for better organization (for example, `skills/ui-flows//SKILL.md` or `skills/testing//SKILL.md`). - **Scope:** Only skills located within the project's codebase are supported. ![Directory structure showing the location of skill files in a project](https://developer.android.com/static/studio/images/skill-files.png) Skill files structure. The `SKILL.md` file uses a YAML block for metadata and standard Markdown for the instructions. - `name`: A unique identifier for the skill. This should match the directory name. - `description`: A clear explanation of what the skill does and when the agent should use it. - **Body:** The Markdown body below the YAML block contains the instructions that guide the agent's behavior when the skill is active. --- name: skill-name description: A description of what this skill does and when to use it. metadata: author: example-org version: "1.0" --- Skill content ### Format guidelines - **Name:** Maximum of 64 characters (lowercase letters, numbers, and hyphens only). - **Description:** Maximum of 1024 characters. - **Body content:** Aim for 10k--20k characters (\~2,500--5,000 tokens). If your instructions exceed this, consider moving detailed documentation to a resource file as described in [Optional skill directories](https://developer.android.com/tools/agents/android-skills#directories). ### Optional skill directories To keep your `SKILL.md` file concise and modular, you can include additional resources in the following optional directories within your skill's folder: - `scripts/`: Contains executable code (for example, Python or Bash) that the agent can run. - `references/`: Contains detailed technical documentation, API references, or domain-specific guides. - `assets/`: Contains static resources such as document templates, UI diagrams, or JSON schemas. When referring to these files within your `SKILL.md` instructions, use relative paths from the skill root. For example: `Run the script at scripts/cleanup.py`. ## How skills work Skills represent on-demand expertise. This structure lets the agent maintain a large number of specialized capabilities without cluttering the model's immediate context window. The model autonomously decides when to employ a skill based on your request and the skill's description. When a relevant skill is identified, the model dynamically pulls in the full instructions and resources required to complete the task.