> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.skaro.dev/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Skills

> LLM instruction packs that enhance code generation for your stack.

Skills are YAML files with additional instructions that Skaro injects into LLM prompts during phase execution. They teach the LLM framework-specific patterns, testing conventions, and architectural rules — beyond what the constitution covers.

The constitution defines **what** your project uses (stack, standards, constraints). Skills define **how** the LLM should write code for that stack.

## How Skills Work

When a phase runs, Skaro builds a system prompt for the LLM. Skills are injected between the constitution and architectural invariants:

```
LANGUAGE → ENVIRONMENT → CONSTITUTION → SKILLS → INVARIANTS → ADR INDEX
```

Each skill is filtered by the current **phase** and **role** before injection. A skill that targets `implement` + `coder` won't appear in the `tests` phase run by the `reviewer` role.

## Skill Sources

Skills come from three places, in priority order (last wins on name conflicts):

| Source      | Location                                 | Description                                                        |
| ----------- | ---------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Bundled** | `templates/skills/` (inside the package) | 28 skills shipped with Skaro, covering all 12 constitution presets |
| **Global**  | `~/.skaro/skills/`                       | Your personal skills, shared across all projects                   |
| **Project** | `.skaro/skills/`                         | Skills specific to one project                                     |

If a global skill and a bundled skill have the same name, the global one wins. Project skills override everything.

## Activation

A skill must be explicitly activated to take effect. There are two ways:

### Preset Activation

When you select a constitution preset (e.g., React, FastAPI), Skaro automatically activates the skills linked to that preset. The mapping is defined in `templates/skills/_registry.yaml`.

For example, selecting the **React** preset activates:

* `typescript-strict` — strict TypeScript practices
* `react-components` — component design patterns
* `react-testing` — testing with Vitest + Testing Library
* `react-state` — state management patterns

You can disable any preset skill individually without losing the others.

### Manual Activation

From the dashboard (**Settings → Skills**) or CLI, you can enable any skill from the full catalog — regardless of which preset is active. This is useful when:

* Your project doesn't use a preset (you wrote the constitution manually)
* You need skills from multiple presets (e.g., React frontend + FastAPI backend)
* You created custom skills

## Browsing the Catalog

### Dashboard

Go to **Settings → Skills** to see all available skills. Each entry shows:

* **Status icon** — ✓ active, ✗ disabled, ○ available
* **Name** — skill identifier
* **Source badge** — `preset`, `global`, `project`, or framework badges (`react`, `fastapi`, ...)
* **Phases** — which phases the skill applies to

Click a skill name to expand and view its full instructions. Click the status icon to toggle activation.

### CLI

```bash theme={null}
skaro skills list
```

Output:

```
  Preset: react

  Skill                  Source   Status    Phases
  typescript-strict      preset   active    implement, plan, fix
  react-components       preset   active    implement, plan
  react-testing          preset   active    implement, tests, plan
  react-state            preset   active    implement, plan
  fastapi-endpoints      bundled  available implement, plan, tests
  django-patterns        bundled  available implement, plan
  ...
```

```bash theme={null}
skaro skills info react-components
```

Shows the full instructions content.

## Bundled Skills Reference

Skaro ships 28 skills organized by stack:

### Shared Skills

These are reused across multiple presets:

| Skill               | Used By                                                               | Phases                 |
| ------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------- |
| `typescript-strict` | react, vue, sveltekit, nextjs, angular, express, nestjs, react-native | implement, plan, fix   |
| `python-standards`  | fastapi, django                                                       | implement, plan, fix   |
| `pytest-patterns`   | fastapi, django                                                       | implement, tests, plan |
| `nodejs-backend`    | express, nestjs                                                       | implement, plan, fix   |
| `react-components`  | react, nextjs                                                         | implement, plan        |
| `react-testing`     | react, nextjs                                                         | implement, tests, plan |

### Per-Preset Skills

| Preset           | Skills                                                                           |
| ---------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **react**        | `typescript-strict`, `react-components`, `react-testing`, `react-state`          |
| **vue**          | `typescript-strict`, `vue-composition`, `vue-testing`                            |
| **sveltekit**    | `typescript-strict`, `svelte-patterns`, `svelte-testing`                         |
| **nextjs**       | `typescript-strict`, `react-components`, `react-testing`, `nextjs-app-router`    |
| **angular**      | `typescript-strict`, `angular-architecture`, `angular-testing`                   |
| **fastapi**      | `python-standards`, `fastapi-endpoints`, `fastapi-sqlalchemy`, `pytest-patterns` |
| **django**       | `python-standards`, `django-patterns`, `django-testing`, `pytest-patterns`       |
| **express**      | `typescript-strict`, `nodejs-backend`, `express-patterns`, `express-testing`     |
| **nestjs**       | `typescript-strict`, `nodejs-backend`, `nestjs-architecture`, `nestjs-testing`   |
| **react-native** | `typescript-strict`, `react-native-patterns`, `react-native-testing`             |
| **flutter**      | `flutter-architecture`, `flutter-testing`                                        |
| **kotlin-mp**    | `kotlin-mp-architecture`, `kotlin-mp-testing`                                    |

## Configuration in config.yaml

The skills state is stored in `.skaro/config.yaml`:

```yaml theme={null}
skills:
  preset: react               # Active preset (set when you choose a constitution template)
  active:                      # Manually enabled skills (non-preset)
    - fastapi-endpoints
    - our-custom-rules
  disabled:                    # Explicitly disabled preset skills
    - react-testing
```

* `preset` — set automatically when you select a constitution preset
* `active` — skills you enabled manually (bundled, global, or project)
* `disabled` — preset skills you turned off