> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.simplefunctions.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Skills > Agent skills — built-in cognitive guardrails plus user-defined slash commands stored on SimpleFunctions and runnable from any agent. A **skill** is a packaged prompt + metadata that any SimpleFunctions agent can invoke as a slash command. SimpleFunctions ships \~19 built-in skills (cognitive guardrails like `/precheck`, `/discipline`, plus 16 topical context packs), and authenticated users can author and publish their own. There are two layers: | Layer | Source | Auth | Purpose | | ----------- | ------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Built-in | `GET /api/skills` | none | Cognitive guardrails and topical context packs maintained by SimpleFunctions. | | User skills | `/api/skill*` (CRUD) and `/api/public/skill*` (catalog) | required for write | Custom skills the user authored. Forkable. Optionally publishable. | ## Built-in skills The CLI ships built-in skills directly. Inside `sf agent`, type `/` to run one. List them via the public API: ```bash theme={null} curl https://simplefunctions.dev/api/skills ``` ```json theme={null} { "count": 19, "description": "Agent cognitive guardrails and workflows for prediction markets.", "install": "npm install -g @spfunctions/cli", "usage": "Inside sf agent, type / to run a skill.", "skills": [ { "name": "precheck", "trigger": "/precheck", "description": "Pre-trade adversarial check — argue against the trade before executing it.", "author": "simplefunctions", "version": "1.0.0", "category": "risk-management", "tags": ["trading", "pre-trade", "adversarial", "bias-check"], "toolsUsed": ["inspect_book", "get_context", "what_if", "scan_markets"], "estimatedTime": "1-2 minutes", "auto": "before_trade" } ] } ``` This endpoint is **public, cached 1h**. It is the single source of truth for what built-in skills the running CLI exposes. ## User skills — full schema A user skill row contains: | Field | Type | Notes | | ------------------------ | ----------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------- | | `id` | uuid | Primary key. | | `userId` | uuid | Owner. | | `name` | string | Display name. | | `trigger` | string | Slash command (e.g. `/my-screener`). Must be unique per user. | | `description` | string | One-line description. | | `prompt` | string | The instructions the agent runs. | | `category` | string | `custom` (default), `trading`, `research`, `monitoring`. | | `tags` | string\[] | Discovery tags. | | `toolsUsed` | string\[] | SimpleFunctions tools this skill calls (informational). | | `estimatedTime` | string \| null | E.g. "1-2 minutes". | | `auto` | string \| null | Auto-trigger condition (e.g. `before_trade`). | | `isPublic` | boolean | Default `false`. | | `publicSlug` | string \| null | Set when published. 3–60 chars, lowercase, numbers, hyphens. | | `publishedAt` | timestamp \| null | Time of first publish. | | `forkedFromId` | uuid \| null | Parent skill if this row is a fork. | | `forkCount` | number | Times this skill has been forked (only meaningful when public). | | `runCount` | number | Times this skill has been retrieved via `run_skill`. | | `version` | string | User-managed semver. Defaults to `1.0.0`. | | `createdAt`, `updatedAt` | timestamp | Server-set. | ## Authentication Every endpoint below except `GET /api/public/skills*` and `GET /api/skills` requires `Authorization: Bearer sf_live_xxx`. Mutating endpoints additionally enforce ownership: only the row's `userId` can update, delete, fork (their own), or publish it. ## CRUD endpoints ### Create a skill ```http theme={null} POST /api/skill ``` ```bash theme={null} curl -X POST "https://simplefunctions.dev/api/skill" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer $SF_API_KEY" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{ "name": "Fed cut adversarial check", "trigger": "/fed-precheck", "description": "Argues against any FOMC-rate-cut market before recommending entry.", "prompt": "You are about to recommend a trade on a Fed-rate-cut market...", "category": "trading", "tags": ["fed", "rates", "precheck"], "toolsUsed": ["inspect_ticker", "what_if", "get_context"], "estimatedTime": "1-2 minutes" }' ``` Required body fields: `name`, `trigger`, `description`, `prompt`. Returns `201` with the new row. | Status | Body | Cause | | ------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------ | | `400` | `{ error: "name, trigger, description, and prompt are required" }` | Missing required field. | | `401` | `{ error: "unauthorized" }` | Bearer key missing or invalid. | | `500` | `{ error: "Internal server error" }` | DB write failed. | ### List your skills ```http theme={null} GET /api/skill ``` Returns built-in skills + the caller's custom skills: ```json theme={null} { "skills": [ { "name": "precheck", "trigger": "/precheck", "isBuiltIn": true, "...": "..." }, { "id": "sk_...", "name": "Fed cut adversarial check", "isBuiltIn": false, "...": "..." } ], "count": 20 } ``` ### Get one skill ```http theme={null} GET /api/skill/{id} ``` Returns the full skill row. `404` if not found or not owned by the caller. ### Update a skill ```http theme={null} PUT /api/skill/{id} ``` Partial update. Send only the fields you want to change. Mutable fields: `name`, `trigger`, `description`, `prompt`, `category`, `tags`, `toolsUsed`, `estimatedTime`, `auto`, `version`. ```bash theme={null} curl -X PUT "https://simplefunctions.dev/api/skill/$SKILL_ID" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer $SF_API_KEY" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{ "version": "1.1.0", "description": "Updated copy" }' ``` `404` when the row doesn't exist or isn't owned by the caller. Server stamps `updatedAt`. ### Delete a skill ```http theme={null} DELETE /api/skill/{id} ``` Returns `{ deleted: true, id }`. Hard delete. `404` if not found. ## Fork a public skill ```http theme={null} POST /api/skill/{id}/fork ``` Forks a public skill into the caller's collection. The fork copies `name` (with " (fork)" suffix), `trigger`, `description`, `prompt`, `category`, `tags`, `toolsUsed`, `estimatedTime`, and sets `forkedFromId` to the original. `forkCount` on the original is atomically incremented. ```bash theme={null} curl -X POST "https://simplefunctions.dev/api/skill/$ORIGINAL_ID/fork" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer $SF_API_KEY" ``` Returns `201` with the new row. `404` if the source skill isn't public or doesn't exist. ## Publish / unpublish ```http theme={null} POST /api/skill/{id}/publish # publish DELETE /api/skill/{id}/publish # unpublish ``` Publishing flips `isPublic = true` and pins a public slug: ```bash theme={null} curl -X POST "https://simplefunctions.dev/api/skill/$SKILL_ID/publish" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer $SF_API_KEY" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{ "slug": "my-fed-precheck" }' ``` Slug rules: `^[a-z0-9-]{3,60}$`. Unique across all published skills. | Status | Body | Cause | | ------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------- | | `400` | `{ error: "slug is required" }` | Body missing `slug`. | | `400` | `{ error: "Slug: 3-60 chars, lowercase, numbers, hyphens only" }` | Slug regex failed. | | `404` | `{ error: "Skill not found" }` | Not owned by caller. | | `409` | `{ error: "Slug already taken" }` | Another skill owns the slug. | Successful publish returns `{ published: true, slug, skill }`. The skill is then live at `simplefunctions.dev/skills/{slug}` and discoverable via `GET /api/public/skills`. Unpublish flips `isPublic = false` and returns `{ unpublished: true }`. The slug is **kept** so future publishes can reuse it. ## Public catalog ```http theme={null} GET /api/public/skills?category=&q=&sort= GET /api/public/skill/{slug} ``` `/api/public/skills` returns up to 100 published skills, optionally filtered: | Query | Type | Purpose | | ---------- | ------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `category` | string | Filter by category. | | `q` | string | Substring match on `name` and `description`. | | `sort` | `popular` \| `new` | `popular` ranks by `forkCount + runCount`; `new` (default) ranks by `createdAt`. | `/api/public/skill/{slug}` returns the full row including `prompt` text. Both endpoints are no-auth, `Cache-Control: public, s-maxage=300`. ## Discovering skills from MCP These tools are also available over MCP — see [MCP tools reference](/reference/mcp-tools): * `create_skill`, `list_skills`, `run_skill`, `publish_skill`, `fork_skill` — authenticated. * `browse_public_skills` — public. `run_skill` returns the skill's `prompt` and metadata; **execution happens in the calling agent** (Claude Code, Cursor, `sf agent`, etc.) — the SimpleFunctions server does not run the prompt itself. ## See also `create_skill`, `fork_skill`, `publish_skill`, full schemas. How skills compose with the SimpleFunctions agent loop. Built-in skills are bundled here; `sf agent` recognizes their slash commands. Live catalog on the website.