Creating Your First Skill

This tutorial will guide you through creating your first OpenClaw skill. We'll build a simple but practical skill that demonstrates the core concepts. By the end, you'll understand how to create, test, and share skills. Estimated time: 20-30 minutes.

We'll create a Random Quote Skill that:

• Provides inspirational quotes when asked
• Demonstrates basic skill structure
• Shows how to use built-in tools
• Can be easily extended later

This is a simple example, but it covers all the fundamentals you need to build more complex skills.

Before starting, ensure you have:

• OpenClaw installed and running - Complete the Getting Started Tutorial first
• A channel connected - Follow the Channel Setup Tutorial
• Basic text editor - Any editor works (nano, VS Code, etc.)
• Access to your workspace - Default location is ~/clawd

Before writing code, let's plan what our skill will do:

Skill Purpose

Random Quote Skill will:

• Respond when users ask for quotes, inspiration, or motivation
• Provide a random quote from a predefined list
• Be simple enough to understand, but extensible

What Tools Do We Need?

For this skill, we'll use OpenClaw's built-in capabilities. We don't need external APIs - we'll store quotes in the skill file itself. This keeps it simple for learning.

Skills are stored in your workspace. Let's create the directory structure:

mkdir -p ~/clawd/skills/random-quote

Directory structure: Skills are organized as ~/clawd/skills/<skill-name>/. The skill name should be lowercase with hyphens (kebab-case).

Every skill needs a SKILL.md file. This is a Markdown file that defines your skill.

Step 3.1: Create SKILL.md

Create the skill file in your skill directory:

touch ~/clawd/skills/random-quote/SKILL.md
# or open in your editor:
code ~/clawd/skills/random-quote/SKILL.md

Step 3.2: Write the Skill Content

Open SKILL.md and add the following content:

# Random Quote Skill

## Description
Provides inspirational and motivational quotes when users ask for quotes, inspiration, or motivation. 
This skill demonstrates basic skill structure and can be extended with more quotes or API integration.

## Tools
This skill uses OpenClaw's built-in capabilities to select and return quotes. No external tools required.

## Instructions
When the user asks for:
- A quote
- Inspiration
- Motivation
- A random quote
- Something uplifting

Respond with a random quote from the following list, formatted nicely:

1. "The only way to do great work is to love what you do." - Steve Jobs
2. "Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower." - Steve Jobs
3. "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." - John Lennon
4. "The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." - Eleanor Roosevelt
5. "It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light." - Aristotle
6. "The only impossible journey is the one you never begin." - Tony Robbins
7. "In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity." - Albert Einstein
8. "Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts." - Winston Churchill

Vary your responses and make them feel natural. You can add context or commentary to the quote if appropriate.

## Examples
- User: "Give me a quote"
  Response: "Here's an inspiring quote for you: 'The only way to do great work is to love what you do.' - Steve Jobs"

- User: "I need some motivation"
  Response: "Here's something to inspire you: 'The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.' - Eleanor Roosevelt"

- User: "Random quote please"
  Response: "Here's a quote: 'In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.' - Albert Einstein"

Save the file after adding this content.

Understanding the Skill Structure

Let's break down what each section does:

• Description - What your skill does (used by OpenClaw to understand when to use it)
• Tools - What capabilities your skill uses (can be built-in or external APIs)
• Instructions - How OpenClaw should use this skill (triggers, behavior, examples)
• Examples - Concrete examples of how the skill should work

Now we need to tell OpenClaw about your new skill. There are two ways to do this:

Method A: Ask OpenClaw (Easiest)

Simply ask OpenClaw to enable your skill via your connected channel:

• "Enable the random-quote skill"
• "Use the random-quote skill"
• "Activate random-quote"

OpenClaw will automatically detect and enable the skill!

Method B: Manual Configuration

Alternatively, add it to your configuration file:

{
  "agent": {
    "model": "anthropic/claude-opus-4-5"
  },
  "skills": {
    "enabled": ["random-quote"]
  }
}

After adding to config, restart your Gateway for changes to take effect.

Now let's test that your skill works!

Step 5.1: Send Test Messages

Via your connected channel (Telegram, WhatsApp, etc.), try asking:

• "Give me a quote"
• "I need inspiration"
• "Random quote please"
• "Motivate me"

Step 5.2: Verify Response

OpenClaw should respond with a quote from your skill. If it does, congratulations - your skill is working! 🎉

Now that your basic skill works, here are ways to enhance it:

Add More Quotes

Expand your quote list in the Instructions section. Add quotes from your favorite authors, speakers, or sources.

Add Categories

You could extend the skill to support categories:

• "Give me a motivational quote"
• "Quote about success"
• "Inspirational quote"

Update the Instructions section to handle these variations.

Integrate External API

For a more advanced version, you could:

• Use a quotes API (like quotable.io or similar)
• Add a tool that fetches quotes from the web
• Store quotes in a database

See the Skills Reference for examples of skills using external APIs and tools.

Skill Not Working

If OpenClaw doesn't use your skill:

1. Check file location: Ensure SKILL.md is in ~/clawd/skills/random-quote/SKILL.md
2. Verify skill is enabled: Check your configuration or ask OpenClaw to list enabled skills
3. Check file format: Ensure it's valid Markdown and the structure is correct
4. Restart Gateway: Sometimes a restart is needed to load new skills

Skill Not Triggering

If the skill doesn't activate when you ask for quotes:

• Review your Instructions section - are the triggers clear?
• Try more explicit requests like "use the random-quote skill"
• Check that the Description mentions quotes/inspiration

Wrong Responses

If OpenClaw responds but not with quotes:

• Make your Instructions more specific
• Add more examples to clarify expected behavior
• Ensure the skill description clearly states its purpose

Congratulations on creating your first skill! Here's what to explore next:

Once you're comfortable with basic skills, explore these advanced patterns:

• API Integration - Connect to external services and APIs
• File Operations - Read and write files on the system
• Database Access - Store and retrieve data
• Complex Tools - Create custom tools with multiple parameters
• Conditional Logic - Skills that adapt based on context

Browse the ClawHub skills registry to see examples of advanced skills created by the community.