> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.orcbot.buzzchat.site/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Skills Overview > Complete overview of OrcBot's 40+ core skills organized by category # Skills Overview OrcBot provides 40+ production-ready skills that enable autonomous reasoning, multi-channel communication, web browsing, system command execution, and multi-agent orchestration. Skills are the core building blocks that power OrcBot's autonomous capabilities. ## Skill Architecture Every skill in OrcBot includes: * **Name**: Unique identifier used by the LLM to invoke the skill * **Description**: Natural language description that appears in the agent's context * **Handler**: JavaScript/TypeScript function that executes the skill's logic * **Metadata flags**: Control orchestration behavior (isDeep, isResearch, isSideEffect, etc.) ## Skill Categories ### 🌐 Web & Browser Skills **High-level navigation and research skills:** * `web_search` - Multi-provider search with API + browser fallback * `browser_navigate` - Navigate to URLs and extract semantic snapshots * `http_fetch` - Lightweight HTTP requests without launching a browser * `extract_article` - Clean article extraction via Readability * `download_file` - Download files with 50MB cap and timeout protection See [Web Search](/api/skills/web-search) for detailed documentation. **Low-level browser automation:** * `browser_examine_page` - Get semantic snapshot of current page * `browser_click` - Click elements by selector or reference * `browser_type` - Type into form fields * `browser_wait_for` - Wait for elements to appear * `browser_screenshot` - Capture screenshots * `browser_vision` - AI-powered visual analysis * `browser_solve_captcha` - Automatic CAPTCHA solving * `browser_run_js` - Execute custom JavaScript * `switch_browser_profile` - Manage persistent browser profiles * `switch_browser_engine` - Toggle between Puppeteer and Lightpanda See [Browser Tooling](/api/skills/browser) for detailed documentation. ### 📁 File System Skills * `read_file` - Read files with line range support (start\_line/end\_line) * `write_file` - Write or append to files with 10MB cap * `create_directory` - Create directories recursively * `list_directory` - List directory contents * `download_file` - Download from web to local storage See [File Operations](/api/skills/files) for detailed documentation. ### 🐚 Shell & Execution Skills * `run_command` - Execute shell commands (PowerShell on Windows) * `execute_typescript` - Compile and run TypeScript snippets * `execute_python_code` - Run Python in isolated virtual environment * `install_npm_dependency` - Install Node packages for custom skills * `install_python_package` - Install Python packages via pip * `get_system_info` - Get OS, platform, and shell info * `system_check` - Verify commands, libraries, and paths exist See [Shell Execution](/api/skills/shell) for detailed documentation. ### 🧠 Memory & Learning Skills * `recall_memory` - Semantic search across all memory types * `update_user_profile` - Persist user preferences and facts * `update_learning` - Research topics and save to LEARNING.md * `update_journal` - Write reflections to JOURNAL.md * `update_agent_identity` - Evolve agent personality * `update_world` - Maintain agentic society rules in WORLD.md * `deep_reason` - Intensive chain-of-thought analysis * `search_chat_history` - Search conversation history * `get_whatsapp_context` - Get contact profile + recent history **RAG Knowledge Store:** * `rag_ingest` - Ingest documents into vector knowledge base * `rag_ingest_file` - Ingest local files * `rag_ingest_url` - Download and ingest web content * `rag_search` - Semantic search across ingested knowledge * `rag_list` - List documents and collections * `rag_delete` - Delete documents or collections See [Memory & Learning](/api/skills/memory) for detailed documentation. ### 💬 Channel Messaging Skills **Core messaging:** * `send_telegram` - Send Telegram messages * `send_whatsapp` - Send WhatsApp messages * `send_discord` - Send Discord messages * `send_slack` - Send Slack messages * `send_email` - Send emails via SMTP * `send_gateway_chat` - Send to web gateway interface **Rich interactions:** * `send_file` - Send files (auto-detects channel) * `send_voice_note` - TTS + voice message delivery * `send_image` - Generate AI image and send in one step * `telegram_send_buttons` - Inline keyboard buttons * `telegram_send_poll` - Native polls * `telegram_edit_message` - Edit sent messages * `telegram_pin_message` - Pin important messages * `react` - React with emojis (auto-detects channel) **Email management:** * `search_emails` - Search inbox with filters * `fetch_email` - Get full email by UID * `index_emails_to_knowledge_base` - Ingest emails for semantic search * `generate_email_report` - Synthesize multi-email reports See [Channel Messaging](/api/skills/channels) for detailed documentation. ### ⏰ Scheduling Skills * `schedule_task` - One-time task scheduling (relative or cron) * `heartbeat_schedule` - Recurring autonomous tasks * Polling system - Event-driven condition monitoring See [Scheduling](/api/skills/scheduling) for detailed documentation. ### 🤖 Multi-Agent Orchestration * `spawn_agent` - Create sub-agents for parallel work * `create_peer_agent` - Create independent peer agents * `delegate_task` - Assign tasks to agents * `distribute_tasks` - Auto-assign pending tasks * `orchestrator_status` - Get orchestration summary * `complete_delegated_task` - Mark task completed * `send_agent_message` - Inter-agent messaging * `broadcast_to_agents` - Broadcast to all agents See [Orchestration](/api/skills/orchestration) for detailed documentation. ### 🖥️ Computer Use (Vision + System) * `computer_screenshot` - Capture browser or system screenshots * `computer_click` - Click by coordinates or vision-locate * `computer_type` - Type with optional vision-guided input location * `computer_key` - Press keys or key combos * `computer_mouse_move` - Move mouse cursor * `computer_drag` - Drag operations * `computer_scroll` - Scroll in browser or system * `computer_locate` - Vision-locate elements by description * `computer_describe` - AI vision description of screen regions ### ⚙️ Configuration & System Management * `manage_config` - Agent-driven configuration with policy-based security * `create_custom_skill` - Create executable TypeScript plugin skills * `self_repair_skill` - Diagnose and fix failing plugins * `tweak_skill` - Patch built-in or plugin skills * `manage_skills` - Append skill definitions to SKILLS.md **Self-tuning:** * `tune_browser_domain` - Adjust browser settings per domain * `mark_headful` - Mark domains requiring visible browser * `tune_workflow` - Adjust step limits and retry settings * `get_tuning_state` - View current tuning configuration * `reset_tuning` - Reset to defaults ## Skill Metadata Flags Skills use metadata to drive orchestration: Marks the skill as "substantive progress". Resets communication cooldown, allowing status updates after execution. Use for search, browser, and research operations. Grants higher repetition budget (up to 15 calls per action). Essential for browsing and multi-step research. Subjects the skill to deduplication and cross-channel permission checks. Used for messaging and file delivery to prevent spam. Requires explicit user permission in autonomy mode unless `sudoMode` is active. Used for destructive operations. Restricts execution to authorized admin users only. Used for system modification and privileged operations. Indicates the skill can safely run in parallel worker processes without state conflicts. ## Best Practices **Prefer high-level skills over low-level browser automation.** Always try `web_search` or `http_fetch` before resorting to full browser navigation. High-level skills are faster, more reliable, and consume fewer resources. **Respect side-effect deduplication.** Skills marked `isSideEffect` (like messaging) are deduplicated within the same action to prevent spam. If a skill call is blocked, the agent likely already sent that message. **Use `send_image` instead of `generate_image` + `send_file`.** Compound skills like `send_image` prevent duplicates and provide atomic operations. Only use `generate_image` if you need the file without sending it. ## Error Handling All skill handlers return string results or error messages. Common error patterns: * **Missing parameters**: `Error: Missing [parameter]. [helpful guidance]` * **Unauthorized operations**: `Error: Only admin users can [action]. [reason]` * **Channel not available**: `[Channel] not available. Configure [requirement] first.` * **File not found**: `Error: File not found: [path]. [suggestions]` The decision engine analyzes errors and automatically retries with corrected parameters or alternative strategies. ## Dynamic Plugin System In addition to core skills, OrcBot supports: * **Hot-loadable TypeScript/JavaScript plugins** from `~/.orcbot/plugins/` * **Agent Skills (SKILL.md)** following the [agentskills.io](https://agentskills.io/) specification * **Self-repair** - Broken plugins are automatically diagnosed and fixed * **Progressive disclosure** - Only activated skills load full instructions Plugins inherit the same metadata flags and orchestration behavior as core skills. ## Next Steps Multi-provider search with fallback Stealth browsing and automation Read, write, and manage files Execute system commands Semantic memory and learning Multi-channel messaging Task scheduling and automation Multi-agent coordination