Managing OpenClaw Skills

Complete step-by-step tutorial for installing, updating, and managing OpenClaw skills from ClawHub

Reference Documentation: For comprehensive skills information, see the Skills Reference Guide. This tutorial provides hands-on, step-by-step instructions for managing skills.

What Are Skills?

Skills are extensions that add functionality to OpenClaw. With 5,000+ community-built skills available on ClawHub, you can extend OpenClaw's capabilities without writing code.

Types of Skills:

  • Bundled Skills - Included with OpenClaw installation
  • Managed Skills - Installed from ClawHub via CLI
  • Workspace Skills - Custom skills in your workspace

For creating your own skills, see the Creating Your First Skill Tutorial.

Step 1: Browse Available Skills

Explore the ClawHub skills registry to find skills you need:

ClawHub Skills Website

Visit the ClawHub skills registry:

ClawHub Skills 
https://www.clawhub.ai/skills

Browse skills by category, search by name, or filter by popularity.

Ask OpenClaw

You can also ask OpenClaw to find and install skills for you:

Example Request 
You: "Find a skill for controlling Spotify"
OpenClaw: [Searches ClawHub, finds relevant skills, offers to install]

You: "Install the Spotify skill"
OpenClaw: [Installs the skill automatically]

You: "Install this repo as a skill and use it to analyze this X thread" (with a GitHub link)
OpenClaw: [Can install the repo as a skill and run it]

You can give OpenClaw a GitHub repo URL and ask it to install that repo as a skill—useful for community skills that aren’t yet on ClawHub or for trying a specific version.

Step 2: Install Skills

Install skills using the ClawHub CLI:

Install a Single Skill

Install Skill 
npx clawdhub@latest install <skill-name>

Example: Install the Sonos CLI skill:

Example Installation 
npx clawdhub@latest install sonoscli

Install Multiple Skills

Install multiple skills at once:

Install Multiple Skills 
npx clawdhub@latest install sonoscli spotify hue

Verify Installation

After installation, verify the skill is installed:

List Installed Skills 
openclaw skills list

You should see your newly installed skill in the list.

Step 3: List Installed Skills

View all installed skills using the CLI:

List Skills 
openclaw skills list

Output Example:

Skills List Output 
Installed Skills:
  - browser
  - filesystem
  - sonoscli
  - spotify
  - hue
  - calendar

This shows all skills currently available to your OpenClaw agent.

Step 4: Update Skills

Keep your skills up to date with the latest versions:

Update a Specific Skill

Update Skill 
npx clawdhub@latest install <skill-name> --force

The --force flag reinstalls the skill, updating it to the latest version.

Check for Updates

Currently, ClawHub doesn't have a built-in update checker. To check for updates:

  1. Visit the skill page on ClawHub
  2. Compare the version with your installed version
  3. Reinstall if a newer version is available

Update All Skills

To update all skills, you'll need to reinstall each one:

Update All Skills 
# List installed skills first
openclaw skills list

# Then reinstall each skill
npx clawdhub@latest install sonoscli --force
npx clawdhub@latest install spotify --force
# ... repeat for each skill

Step 5: Remove Skills

Remove skills you no longer need:

Manual Removal

Skills are stored in your workspace directory. To remove a skill:

Remove Skill 
# Remove skill directory
rm -rf ~/clawd/skills/<skill-name>

# Verify removal
openclaw skills list

Example: Remove the sonoscli skill:

Example Removal 
rm -rf ~/clawd/skills/sonoscli
openclaw skills list

Step 6: Security Best Practices

⚠️ Security Warning: ClawHub is an open repository where anyone can upload skills. Malicious skills have been discovered that attempt to steal cryptocurrency, access sensitive data, or compromise your system.

Review Before Installing

Always review skills before installation:

  • Check the skill source and author
  • Read skill documentation and reviews
  • Review the skill code if possible
  • Look for red flags (crypto wallets, data exfiltration, excessive permissions)

Red Flags to Watch For

  • Suspicious Tools: Skills requesting access to cryptocurrency wallets or sensitive files
  • Data Exfiltration: Skills that send data to external servers without clear purpose
  • Excessive Permissions: Skills requesting more tool access than necessary
  • Obfuscated Code: Skills with unclear or obfuscated instructions
  • Unknown Authors: Skills from unverified or new authors without reviews

Safe Installation Practices

  • Install skills from trusted sources only
  • Start with popular, well-reviewed skills
  • Test new skills in a sandboxed environment if possible
  • Monitor OpenClaw behavior after installing new skills
  • Report suspicious or malicious skills to the community

For more security information, see our Security Guide.

Step 7: Organize Your Skills

Keep your skills organized for easier management:

Skill Categories

Skills are stored in ~/clawd/skills/. You can organize them by:

  • Functionality: Group related skills together
  • Source: Separate ClawHub skills from custom skills
  • Status: Keep active and inactive skills separate

Documentation

Keep notes on your installed skills:

  • What each skill does
  • When you installed it
  • Any customizations you made
  • Known issues or limitations

Troubleshooting

Skill Not Working

  • Verify the skill is installed: openclaw skills list
  • Check skill documentation for requirements
  • Review OpenClaw logs for errors
  • Try reinstalling the skill

Installation Fails

  • Check your internet connection
  • Verify the skill name is correct
  • Ensure you have write permissions to ~/clawd/skills/
  • Try running with sudo if permission issues occur

Skill Conflicts

  • Some skills may conflict with each other
  • Remove conflicting skills and reinstall one at a time
  • Check skill documentation for known conflicts

For more troubleshooting help, see our Troubleshooting Guide.

Next Steps

Now that you can manage skills: