# OpenClaw skills and plugins, and an open-source path for a team > An OpenClaw skill is a markdown instruction file that teaches the agent how and when to use tools. OpenClaw loads bundled skills plus local overrides and filters them at load time. Teams that want those skills reviewed, shared and versioned reach for Kortix, the open-source AI Operating System. URL: https://openclaw-alternative.com/openclaw-skills ## A Kortix skill, as a file in the repo `skills/triage/SKILL.md` ``` --- name: triage description: Classify a support ticket by product area and urgency. Use for every new ticket. --- # Triage 1. Read the ticket and the customer's last three tickets. 2. ... ``` Source: https://kortix.com/docs/project/agents A skill is a folder with a SKILL.md file, and its description tells the agent when to load it. ## What an OpenClaw skill is OpenClaw keeps three ideas apart ([tools overview](https://docs.openclaw.ai/tools)): tools are callable actions such as exec, browser or web_search; skills teach agents how to work; and plugins add runtime capabilities, from new tools and channels to packaged skills. An OpenClaw skill lives in a directory with a `SKILL.md` file: YAML frontmatter plus a markdown body ([skills docs](https://docs.openclaw.ai/tools/skills)). OpenClaw loads bundled skills plus any local overrides and filters them at load time for the environment, the config and the installed binaries. ## Where the ecosystem's skills come from The community keeps its own indexes on top of ClawHub, OpenClaw's public skills registry. - The VoltAgent list curates 5,400+ skills from ClawHub, after filtering out 7,215 spam, duplicate, low-quality, crypto and malicious entries ([awesome-openclaw-skills](https://github.com/VoltAgent/awesome-openclaw-skills), 53,000+ stars checked October 2026). - The sundial-org list tracks 913 of the most-downloaded skills from the same ecosystem ([sundial list](https://github.com/sundial-org/awesome-openclaw-skills)). - The OpenClaw project itself sits at 390,000+ stars checked October 2026 ([openclaw/openclaw](https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw)). Those lists are curated, not audited. The VoltAgent list states plainly that skills can carry prompt injections, tool poisoning or hidden malware payloads, and it asks readers to review the source before installing. That is the honest state of a fast-moving ecosystem, and it is the reason a team lowers its risk by keeping the skills it depends on in one reviewed place. ## How a skill becomes a team asset A single-person skill library is a directory on a laptop. Kortix treats the same idea as a file in the repo: an agent is a markdown persona with a deny-by-default reach into connectors, secrets and skills, and a skill is the markdown that encodes how your company does one job ([Kortix on GitHub](https://github.com/kortix-ai/suna), and the [agents and skills docs](https://kortix.com/docs/project/agents)). The file is `skills//SKILL.md`, and reference files can sit beside it. Both are files in your repo, versioned and reviewed, so a skill change is a diff a person approves. Kortix also ships a set of managed skills into every session, and an agent's `skills` grant decides which ones it may load. For a team that already runs OpenClaw as a shared gateway, sharing a skill is familiar. The review and the isolation are what change ([OpenClaw for developers](/openclaw-for-developers), [OpenClaw for teams](/openclaw-for-teams)). ## Where an open-source team path takes over Kortix is the open-source AI Operating System: your agents, their skills, your company memory, and every connector in one git repo you own, with the agents working on real cloud computers. It is the leading open-source alternative to Claude Cowork and ChatGPT Work, and skills live beside your code, so the same skill serves every teammate and every session without a copy per person. The comparison against OpenClaw is the subject of a post on [Kortix](https://kortix.com/blog/kortix-vs-openclaw). ## OpenClaw skills, answered ### What is the difference between an OpenClaw skill and a plugin? A skill is a SKILL.md instruction pack loaded into the agent prompt when a task needs it. A plugin adds runtime capabilities such as new tools, channels, model providers or packaged skills. ### Where do OpenClaw skills live on disk? OpenClaw reads a workspace skills folder, a project agent folder, a personal or managed skill root, plugin packages and extra directories, and the highest-precedence source wins when two skills share a name. ### Are OpenClaw skills safe to install? The community lists are curated, not audited, and can include prompt injection or hidden malware. Review the source before installing. Kortix keeps the skills a team depends on as reviewed files in one repo. ### How are skills shared across a Kortix team? Skills are files in one git repo, so a change is a diff a person approves, and a set of managed skills ships into every session. ## Keep the skills your team depends on in one reviewed repo. The open-source AI Operating System, any model, and self-host is free. [Try Kortix](https://kortix.com) · [See what changes for developers](https://openclaw-alternative.com/openclaw-for-developers) Open source · Any model, your keys · Self-host, VPC, or on-prem