Skip to content

Day 5 Build: Give It Skills

This is the user-facing guide for Day 5. Today you do the skill flow in stages. First you inspect a public skill. Then you install it. Then you create one small skill of your own.

The operational steps are split between this file and a few small instruction files. This file is for you. The instruction files are for your Claw.

What You Need Before Starting

  • Day 1 complete: OpenClaw installed and secured
  • Day 2 complete: identity files created and loading correctly
  • Day 3 complete: Telegram connected and working
  • Day 4 complete: a proactive workflow already exists
  • Access to your Claw through the web chat
  • Telegram on your phone

How To Run Day 5

Work through the files in this order:

  1. inspect document-summary in chat
  2. claw-instructions-install-document-summary.md
  3. claw-instructions-create-quick-note-skill.md
  4. claw-instructions-finalize-skills.md

This order gives you the full picture: how to inspect a public skill, how to install one safely, and how to teach your Claw one behavior of your own.

Step 1: Inspect a ClawHub Skill

Copy and paste the following message into the web chat:

Inspect document-summary from ClawHub, explain in plain English what it does, what kinds of requests should trigger it, whether it needs any credentials or extra binaries, and anything that looks risky or out of scope. Do not install anything yet.

Today's ClawHub skill example is document-summary. It is a good Day 5 starting point because it adds a reusable workflow without asking you to set up another account, secret, or API key first.

Step 2: Install document-summary

After you are happy with the inspection, copy and paste this into the web chat:

Read https://raw.githubusercontent.com/aishwaryanr/awesome-generative-ai-guide/main/free_courses/openclaw_mastery_for_everyone/days/day-05-give-it-skills/claw-instructions-install-document-summary.md and follow every step. Install document-summary into this workspace, tell me how to trigger it, and stop when you're done.

claw-instructions-install-document-summary.md tells the Claw to:

  • install document-summary into this workspace after confirmation
  • verify where it landed and whether it is ready
  • tell you the exact request patterns to use from Telegram or web chat
  • tell you to type /new in OpenClaw before trying to use the new skill

This is the first half of Day 5. You borrow one good workflow instead of rebuilding it from scratch.

If you want a visual check, open Skills in OpenClaw. Installed workspace skills show up there once they have been added:

Installed skills in OpenClaw

After this step, type /new in OpenClaw to start a fresh session before you continue.

Step 3: Create quick-note

After document-summary is installed, copy and paste this into the web chat:

Read https://raw.githubusercontent.com/aishwaryanr/awesome-generative-ai-guide/main/free_courses/openclaw_mastery_for_everyone/days/day-05-give-it-skills/claw-instructions-create-quick-note-skill.md and follow every step. Create quick-note in this workspace, tell me how to trigger it, and stop when you're done.

claw-instructions-create-quick-note-skill.md tells the Claw to create one small custom skill that:

  • triggers on note:
  • classifies the note before saving it
  • stores a clean timestamped entry in memory/YYYY-MM-DD.md
  • adds an open-loop item when the note implies future action
  • replies with a short confirmation

This is the second half of Day 5. You teach your Claw one behavior that is specific to how you work.

After this step, type /new in OpenClaw to start a fresh session before you continue.

[!WARNING] Do an additional check on the OpenClaw Web interface, go to Agents --> Skills and make sure that the skills are enabled.

Are skills enabled?

Step 4: Finalize and Verify

After quick-note is created, copy and paste this into the web chat:

Read https://raw.githubusercontent.com/aishwaryanr/awesome-generative-ai-guide/main/free_courses/openclaw_mastery_for_everyone/days/day-05-give-it-skills/claw-instructions-finalize-skills.md and follow every step. Verify both skills, tell me the exact test message for each one, and report PASS or FAIL.

That instruction file tells it to:

  • confirm both skills are present
  • remind you that Day 5 skills are used from a fresh session after /new
  • give you the exact message to test each skill
  • report PASS or FAIL for the Day 5 setup

At that point, your Claw has one reusable workflow from the community and one you created together.

Validate It

Ask your Claw in the web chat:

Tell me the two skills we set up today, where each one lives, the exact message I should send to test each one, and whether I need a fresh session before they are active.

The answer should clearly name document-summary, quick-note, their locations, the trigger phrases, and remind you to use /new before testing newly added skills.

Quick Win

From Telegram, send one real note: message that implies future action. Then paste a link or a short block of text and ask for a summary. This is the Day 5 shift: your Claw now carries one reusable workflow from the community and one you taught it yourself, and your custom skill is doing more than dumping raw text into a file.

What Should Be True After Day 5

  • [ ] document-summary was inspected before install
  • [ ] document-summary was installed for this workspace
  • [ ] quick-note exists as a custom workspace skill with its own SKILL.md
  • [ ] quick-note can classify notes and track open loops when needed
  • [ ] You know the exact trigger or request to use for both skills
  • [ ] You started a fresh OpenClaw session with /new before testing the new skills
  • [ ] Both skills are scoped to this agent unless you chose otherwise

Troubleshooting

The Claw starts doing everything in one shot Tell it to stop and stay inside the current Day 5 step. The point is to inspect, install, create, and verify in sequence.

The inspection feels vague Ask it to explain document-summary in plain English: what it does, what should trigger it, and what it depends on.

The custom skill description feels fuzzy Ask the Claw to rewrite it around the exact note: trigger you plan to send from Telegram.

The skill does not seem available yet Type /new in OpenClaw to start a fresh session, then test again.

← Day 5 Learn | Day 6: Tame Your Inbox →