Load agent skills

Agent Skills are reusable instruction packages the agent loads on demand. Each skill is a subdirectory holding a SKILL.md in the agentskills.io format: the model sees the skill’s metadata up front and loads its full instructions only when a task calls for it. Strands harness wires skill loading in through the Strands Harness SDK’s skills plugin.

Where Strands harness looks

By default Strands harness scans ./.agent/skills for skills. If the directory exists, every skill inside it is registered; if it does not exist, skill loading is a no-op, so nothing happens until you add skills. Point it somewhere else, or at several directories, with skills:

Strands harness

Python

from strands_harness import create_harness

agent = create_harness(skills=["./team-skills", "./project-skills"])

TypeScript

import { createHarness } from '@strands-agents/harness'

const agent = await createHarness({
  skills: ['./team-skills', './project-skills'],
})

SDK

Python

# pip install strands-agents
from strands import Agent, AgentSkills

plugin = AgentSkills(skills=["./team-skills", "./project-skills"])
agent = Agent(plugins=[plugin])

TypeScript

// npm install @strands-agents/sdk
import { Agent } from '@strands-agents/sdk'
import { AgentSkills } from '@strands-agents/sdk/vended-plugins/skills'

const plugin = new AgentSkills({ skills: ['./team-skills', './project-skills'] })
const agent = new Agent({ plugins: [plugin] })

A directory that does not exist is skipped rather than erroring, so a list can include optional locations safely.

A skill on disk

A skills directory holds one subdirectory per skill, each with a SKILL.md:

.agent/skills/
  release-notes/
    SKILL.md
  incident-review/
    SKILL.md

The SKILL.md carries the skill’s name and description in front matter, followed by the full instructions the agent loads when it decides the skill applies.

Turn skill loading off

Pass None/null (or off on the CLI) to disable skill loading entirely, even if a skills directory is present:

Strands harness

Python

from strands_harness import create_harness

agent = create_harness(skills=None)

TypeScript

import { createHarness } from '@strands-agents/harness'

const agent = await createHarness({ skills: null })

SDK

Python

# pip install strands-agents
from strands import Agent

# Raw Strands Harness SDK loads no skills unless you add AgentSkills; omit it.
agent = Agent()

TypeScript

// npm install @strands-agents/sdk
import { Agent } from '@strands-agents/sdk'

// Raw Strands Harness SDK loads no skills unless you add AgentSkills; omit it.
const agent = new Agent()

For the underlying plugin, see the Strands Harness SDK’s Agent Skills documentation. For the full option list, see the configuration reference.