Skills and tools

Two related things. A tool is one action. A skill is a package: instructions, optional tools, and config for a job (mail, browser, calendar).

Tools: the atomic actions

Core tools are available in every conversation:

Tool	What it does
`file_read`	Read a file in the workspace
`file_write`	Create or overwrite a workspace file
`file_edit`	Find-and-replace in a workspace file
`bash`	Run a shell command sandboxed to the workspace
`web_search`	Search the internet
`web_fetch`	Fetch and extract content from a URL
`memory_manage`	Save, update, or delete long-term memory
`memory_recall`	Search long-term memory
`skill_load`	Activate a skill for this conversation
`skill_execute`	Run a tool provided by a loaded skill
`credential_store`	Prompt, store, or connect credentials (OAuth). Secrets do not go through chat.

Host tools can reach the rest of the Linux machine. They need guardian approval (host computer access):

Tool	What it does
`host_file_read`	Read a file on the host
`host_file_write`	Write a file on the host
`host_file_edit`	Edit a file on the host
`host_bash`	Run a shell command on the host (not sandboxed to the workspace)

Skill tools appear after skill_load. Loading Browser enables assistant browser commands (navigate, click, type, snapshot, extract). Loading Gmail adds archive, label, draft, send, and related tools. See Permissions.

Skills: bundles of capability

Tool: "I can draft an email."
Skill: "I know Gmail workflows" or "I know how to drive the browser CLI."

At minimum a skill is SKILL.md: when and how to use it. Skills that ship their own tools also include a tools manifest and implementation files. Cadence first-party skills live in the open-source catalog. Custom skills live in the hatch workspace skills/ directory. See The workspace.

Built-in skills

Cadence ships a first-party catalog (communication, calendar, browser, scheduling, and more). The live list on a hatched assistant is assistant skills list, not a frozen count on this page. Setup skills (Twilio, Slack app, LLM provider keys) exist so you can connect services with keys you already have.

Category	Examples	What they enable
Communication	Gmail, Slack, Messaging, Phone, email setup	Read and send after you connect credentials. Voice and SMS via Twilio.
Research and content	Browser, Document, Image Studio, Media, Transcribe	Pages, long-form writing, images, audio/video ingest.
Productivity	Calendar, Contacts, Tasks, Followups, Notifications, Schedule, Playbooks	Events, queues, reminders, trigger-action rules.
Machine	Host tools, Watcher, Heartbeat	Approved host access on Linux. Polling. Periodic check-ins.
Development	App Builder, ACP, Subagent, plugin builder	Apps in conversation, external coding agents, background work.
System	Skill management, skills catalog, ChatGPT import, self-knowledge	Create skills, discover the catalog, import history, answer "what can you do?" from live sources.

Full one-liners: Skills reference. Native macOS GUI click-and-type (Computer Use) is a Mac client skill, not the Linux 0.1 path.

How skills load

Skills are not all active at once. The assistant sees a catalog (names, descriptions, activation hints) every turn. When a skill is relevant, it calls skill_load. Then:

The skill's SKILL.md is injected into context
Its tools become available
It stays loaded for the rest of that conversation

That keeps context small. Only the skills that matter take space.

Custom and community skills

Build your own. Describe what you want. The assistant can scaffold SKILL.md plus optional notes and scripts into workspace skills/. Example: "Build me a skill that watches a TypeScript subreddit for new posts." See Your first skill.

Learn from completed work. After the assistant has actually done a procedure, it can save a reusable skill from that work.

Install from the community. Skills published on skills.sh can be inspected, audited, and installed. A skill is a folder. You can read, edit, or delete it.

Voice

Voice is optional. TTS providers in the catalog include ElevenLabs, Fish Audio, and Deepgram. You pick a voice, a push-to-talk key on desktop, and how long silence keeps a voice turn open. Configure in Settings or by asking. You bring those provider keys too.

The difference, summarized

	Tools	Skills
What	Single action	Tools plus instructions
Example	`gmail_draft`	Browser skill (`assistant browser`)
Availability	Core always on; skill tools after load	Loaded per conversation when relevant
Permissions	Gated by target (sandbox vs host) and risk	The skill itself is not a permission; its tools are
Extensible	MCP servers or custom skill tools	Write one, or install from skills.sh