Gamut

Skillsets

Skillsets Overview

Skillsets are Git-backed collections of skills, self-contained packages of instructions that teach an agent a specific task. Installing a skill gives an agent that capability without building it from scratch.

What is a skill?

A skill is a directory containing a SKILL.md file and optional supporting files (templates, reference data, configuration). The frontmatter declares metadata, and the Markdown body holds the instructions the agent follows: reviewing an NDA, querying a database, triaging support tickets.

A typical SKILL.md:

---
name: NDA Review
description: Reviews NDAs for standard clause coverage and flags unusual terms.
metadata:
  version: 1.2.0
  required_env_vars:
    - name: LEGAL_DB_API_KEY
      description: API key for the legal document database
---
 
# NDA Review
 
When asked to review an NDA, follow these steps:
 
1. Extract all defined terms and party names.
2. Check for standard clauses: confidentiality, term, exclusions, remedies.
3. Flag any unusual or non-standard provisions.
...

What is a skillset?

A skillset is a Git repository that bundles skills under an index.json manifest at the root:

my-skillset/
  index.json
  skills/
    nda-review/
      SKILL.md
    supabase-query/
      SKILL.md
      schema-reference.json
    email-triage/
      SKILL.md
      templates/
        escalation.md

The manifest declares the skillset's name, description, and version, and lists every skill with its path and version:

{
  "skillset_name": "Legal & Ops Skills",
  "description": "Shared skills for the legal and operations team.",
  "version": "2.1.0",
  "skills": [
    {
      "name": "NDA Review",
      "path": "skills/nda-review/SKILL.md",
      "description": "Reviews NDAs for clause coverage and flags unusual terms.",
      "version": "1.2.0"
    },
    {
      "name": "Supabase Query",
      "path": "skills/supabase-query/SKILL.md",
      "description": "Queries a Supabase database and returns formatted results.",
      "version": "1.0.0"
    }
  ]
}

Skill providers

Gamut supports three skill providers.

GitHub

The default provider. Register a skillset by its repository URL (HTTPS or SSH). Gamut clones the repository and keeps a cached copy that refreshes on pull.

GitHub skillsets support full collaboration: modify an installed skill locally, then submit the change back upstream as a pull request.

Requirements: Git installed. SSH authentication for private repositories.

Platform

Platform skillsets are managed through the Gamut platform. Connecting to a platform organization syncs any skillsets it publishes to the local instance. Modified skills are submitted through the platform's review queue rather than a GitHub pull request.

Requirements: An active platform connection with a valid organization.

Public

Public skillsets are read-only collections on public GitHub repositories, downloaded as ZIP archives, so Git is not required. They are consume-only and cannot be published to.

Gamut ships with SkillfulAgents/public-skillset as the default, a starter collection of agent templates and skills.

How skills extend agents

Installing a skill copies its files into the agent's workspace at .claude/skills/<skill-name>/. The agent reads the SKILL.md content as part of its context, gaining the skill's instructions and knowledge.

Skills can declare required environment variables (API keys, service configuration) in their frontmatter. Gamut collects the values during installation and stores them as agent secrets.

Next steps