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Skills let you save instructions that you use often. You can then add a skill to a message instead of entering the same instructions again. A selected skill is attached to the message that you send. It is not a permanent setting for the conversation. Select the skill again in a later message when you need to make sure that the instructions apply. Skills can be private or shared with people and groups. Admins and HR Admins can also share skills with all managers or the full company. Windmill provides Global skills for common tasks such as writing review feedback, preparing for 1:1s, and summarizing team updates.

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Using a skill in the Windmill Dashboard

You can find and select skills from the Dashboard chat input:
  • Select the slash button to see up to five suggested skills.
  • Type / and part of a skill name to search the quick-access menu.
  • Select Browse skills to open the full skill picker.
When you select a skill, a reference chip appears in the chat input. Send your message to give Windy the saved instructions. You can add multiple skills to one message.

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Browsing skills

The Browse Skills dialog shows the skills that you can use. This list includes your skills, skills that people shared with you, skills with company access, and Global skills. Search by name, or filter the list by All, Shared with me, or Created by me. Select Manage Skills to open the Skills settings page.

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Creating a skill

You can create a skill in Settings > Skills. You can also ask Windy to create a skill for you.
1

Go to Settings > Skills

Open Settings > Skills in the Windmill Dashboard.
2

Select Create Skill

Select Create Skill to open a blank skill page.
3

Add the skill details

Add a clear name. In the skill instructions, tell Windy what to do and how to format the result.For example: Organize each project update under Progress, Risks, Decisions, and Next steps. Keep the update under 200 words.
4

Select Publish

Publish the skill when it is ready. The new skill is private until you share it.
You can ask Windy to turn a rough idea into clear skill instructions before you create the skill.

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Sharing a skill

A new skill is private. Open the skill and select Share to give other people access. You can share a skill with:
  • Individuals - specific people at your company
  • Groups - employee groups such as Engineering or People Ops
  • My team - your direct and indirect reports, if you manage people
Only the skill owner can add, change, or remove My team access. Other people with edit access cannot change this setting. For each person, group, or team, select an access level:
  • Can view - the recipient can use and duplicate the skill
  • Can edit - the recipient has write access to the skill. They can edit or delete it and share it with individuals or groups
Select Save to apply the changes. If a person gets access through more than one source, the highest access level applies.
Group and team access is dynamic. A person gets access automatically when they join a shared group or start reporting to the skill owner.

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Sharing with managers or the company

Admins and HR Admins can configure General access if they have edit access to the skill. General access has two audiences:
  • Managers - all managers at your company
  • Company - all members at your company
Each audience can have Can view or Can edit access. Can edit gives write access to every person in that audience. A person who cannot configure General access can see the current setting, but cannot change it.

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Using and managing skills with Windy

You can ask Windy to find, create, update, share, delete, or restore a skill. This option is available in Dashboard chat and Slack. Slack does not have the Dashboard skill picker or skill reference chips. In Slack, tell Windy which skill you want to use.
“Use the Project update skill to summarize this work.”

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Duplicating a skill

If a skill is close to what you need, you can make your own copy. Open the skill, open its actions menu, and select Duplicate. The copy is private to you and fully editable. The original skill does not change. You can duplicate any skill that you can view, including Global skills.

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Managing your skills in Settings

In Settings > Skills, you can:
  • Edit, share, rename, or delete a skill if you have Can edit access
  • Duplicate any skill that you can view
  • Search for a skill by name
  • Filter by Created by, Your access, or General access
The Your access filter includes Can view and Can edit. The General access filter includes Company, Managers, and Global.

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Deleting and restoring skills

Deleting a skill archives it and removes it from the gallery and chat picker. Open the skill, select Delete skill from its actions menu, and confirm the deletion. After the deletion, select Undo in the notification to restore the skill immediately. You can also ask Windy to restore an archived skill. Settings > Skills does not have a restore control. The skill name stays visible in past messages. Windy cannot load the archived instructions from those messages unless you restore the skill.

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FAQs

Only you can see a new skill. Use Share to give access to individuals, groups, your team, managers, or the company. The available options depend on your role and your access to the skill.
An Admin or HR Admin who has edit access to the skill can set General access > Company. They can give the company Can view or Can edit access.
The highest access level applies. If any access source gives you Can edit, you can edit the skill.
Yes. You can ask Windy to update a skill in Dashboard chat or Slack. To edit the fields directly, open Settings > Skills.
The skill stays available to the people who have access. A person with Can edit access can continue to update it.
Yes. Select Undo in the deletion notification, or ask Windy to restore the skill. You cannot restore it from Settings > Skills.
Yes. You can add multiple skills to one message.