tools-only Skill Manager (Meta-Skill)
Purpose
This system skill grants you the ability to self-extend your capabilities. When you encounter a task you cannot solve with your current tools, use this skill to find and install the necessary tools dynamically.
Triggers & Activation
Activate this behavior when:
- Missing Capability: User asks for "PDF generation", "Video analysis", etc., and you lack a corresponding tool.
- Explicit Request: User asks you to "find a tool to do X".
- Error Recovery: You try to run a command and get "command not found".
Protocol: The Self-Extension Loop
When you need a new skill, follow this 4-Step Loop:
1. SEARCH (Discover)
Run ash search to look for official skills in the registry.
ash search <keywords>
2. EVALUATE (Analyze)
- Analyze the output description.
- Good Match: If a skill clearly solves the problem, proceed to Install.
- No Match: Inform the user you couldn't find a local skill, and suggest searching GitHub (
ash add user/repo).
3. INSTALL (Acquire)
Install the chosen skill.
ash add <skill-name>
Note: This command will automatically link the skill to your environment. No restart is usually required.
4. EXECUTE (Apply)
Once installed, immediately use the new tool to fulfill the user's original request. Do not just stop at installation.
Example Scenario
User: "Can you crop this image to 500x500?" Agent Internal Monologue: I don't have an image processing tool. Let me check the hub.
Step 1: Search
ash search image
Step 2: Evaluate
Output: images basic-image-processing-tools
Match found: images skill looks relevant.
Step 3: Install
ash add images
Step 4: Execute
Now I can use the newly installed crop_image tool to satisfy the request.