Create & manage skills

Skills become more useful when a whole team shares them. Notion gives your team one shared skills library that every agent can use.

• Works for the whole team. Anyone can write a skill in the Notion editor, with no Markdown required. Teammates can leave comments and suggested edits, and a skill can link to any page in your workspace.

• Works with every agent. Connect an agent to Notion once and it loads your skills live. You can also sync skills to GitHub or download them to local agents.

• Built-in controls. Skills are pages, so page permissions and version history apply. Admins can install skills for everyone in the workspace, and analytics show how often each skill is used.

Skills are one of a few ways to work with AI in Notion. Here is how each one compares:

Use a skill when your task is:

• Repeatable: You or your team does this often.

• Contextual: It should run on a specific selection or page right now.

• Consistent: You want the same structure or quality every time.

A good rule of thumb is that if you’d copy and paste the same prompt twice, it's a good candidate for a skill.

• Executive-ready rewrites (tone, length, format).

• Turning meeting notes into action items or a recap email.

• Converting drafts into a specific template (FAQ, PRD summary, spec skeleton).

• Standardizing formatting across documents (bullets, headings, style).

1. Go to Library in your sidebar and open the Skills tab.

2. Select New skill.

3. Notion creates a new private skill page and opens it. Write your instructions, then add a Description that says what the skill does and when to use it.

Your Library can have several tabs, so the Skills tab may not be the first one you see. You can also get there from Notion Agent chat by typing / to see your skills. Then, select See all skills in Library.

Every skill page has a Description field and a Files field. Use Files for supporting material like examples, templates, or scripts.

From any page, select ••• at the top, select Use with AI, then select Use as AI skill.

You can also ask Notion Agent to mark a page as a skill for you.

Skill pages show skill controls at the top, like the Enabled switch and Run, so you can tell them apart from regular pages.

If you already have skills saved as SKILL.md files, you can bring them into Notion:

• Upload a skill: In Library → Skills, select More ways to add a skill → Upload skill. You can upload a .md or .zip file.

• Ask your agent: When you connect an agent, it offers to upload the skills it finds on your computer to Notion. You can also ask it to upload a skill folder later.

• Turn a database of how-tos into skills: Learn how to turn an existing database into a skills database →

Turning on a skill makes it available to you in Notion Agent and in your connected agents. Turning it off removes it from both.

1. Go to Library → Skills.

2. Turn on the switch in the Enable for me column next to the skill.

To keep a skill in Notion Agent but out of your connected agents, open the skill's settings menu (the sliders icon next to the skill or at the top of the skill page). Under Other agents, hover over Use in connected agents and choose Disabled.

Your choices are personal. They don't change what other members see.

You can run skills automatically or from the editor by highlighting text, hovering over a block, or typing / next to content.

In chat with Notion Agent, type / to see a menu of all the skills you've added, or type / followed by the skill's name to run one directly.

Notion Agent can use your skills without you calling them by name. Describe what you need, and if a skill is a good fit, Notion Agent can use it automatically. Here's how it works:

• Automatic use is on by default, so Notion Agent can start using a skill as soon as it's ready.

  • If you want a skill to only run when you ask for it, open the skill's settings menu. Under Notion Agent, set Use automatically to Disabled.

• A skill needs a description to run automatically. Add one in the Description field at the top of the skill page, or in the Description property if the skill is in a skills database.

• Notion Agent reads the description to decide whether the skill is a good match, so keep it clear and specific.

Select a body of text, then choose a skill from the text selection menu.

Only skills set to show in a page appear in these menus. To change this, open the skill's settings menu in the Skills tab of your Library and select Show skill. Your custom skills appear first, followed by the built-in defaults: Improve Writing, Proofread, Explain, and Reformat.

In the slash menu:

• Type /skill next to content to browse your available skills. The slash menu only shows skills when there's content on the line, because a skill needs something to run on.

• In chat with Notion Agent, you can also type / followed by the skill's name to go straight to a specific skill. This shortcut doesn't work on a page unless there's content next to it.

In the block menu:

• Select the ⁚⁚ icon that appears when you hover over a block to open the block menu.

• Select Skills.

• Choose a skill to run it on that block.

Skills are available on text, headings (H1, H2, H3), quote, callout, bulleted list, numbered list, to-do, toggle, image, and synced blocks. Skills won't appear on empty blocks or block types not in this list. If you apply a skill to a block that has content nested inside it, the skill includes that nested content too.

Notion can suggest skills on your AI meeting notes, so you can act on a meeting in one click.

1. Open a meeting note that's being transcribed, or one with a finished summary.

2. You'll see suggested skills on the note. You can also open your Notion Agent from the face icon in the bottom corner of the note to see them.

3. Select a suggested skill to run it, like recapping decisions during the meeting or creating follow-up tasks after it ends. You can also create a new skill from here.

You'll see different suggestions during the meeting than after it ends. To choose which skills appear on meeting notes, go to Library → Skills, open the skill's settings menu, select Show skill, and turn on During meetings, After meetings, or both. Each list holds up to 12 skills.

Learn more about AI Meeting Notes →

There are three ways to use your Notion skills outside Notion. Each one keeps Notion as the place where skills are written and maintained.

Agents connected to Notion over MCP can load your skills from Notion at the start of each session and pick the right one for the task. When you edit a skill in Notion, every connected agent gets the update. You need a working Notion MCP connection first.

1. Open Library → Skills.

2. Select Set up in the banner that says Use your skills with connected agents?

3. Select Copy to copy the setup prompt.

4. Paste the prompt into a new chat with your agent, then follow its lead. It adds a line to its instructions so it loads your skills every session, and offers to upload any skills you already have on your computer.

Set up each agent app separately. If you use Claude and Cursor, run the setup prompt in each one.

GitHub sync copies your Notion skills to a GitHub repository every hour. Your admin can then add that repository as a plugin marketplace in Claude or ChatGPTcodex, so skills show up for everyone in those apps. Get started with the open-source Notion skills GitHub sync project.

Send a copy of a skill to a local agent like Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Gemini, or Grok Build. This works in the Notion desktop app, if your workspace allows local skill downloads.

1. Open the skill page in the Notion desktop app.

2. Open the skill's settings menu (the sliders icon) at the top of the page.

3. Under Other agents, select Download for local agents, then choose where to send the skill.

Notion saves the skill as a SKILL.md file and asks before installing any attached files. When the skill changes in Notion, the downloaded copy is marked as out of date so you know to download it again.

Developers can also list, download, and upload skills with the Agent Skills API. See the developer docs →

A skills database gives your team one place to create and manage skills together. Every page you create in it becomes a skill automatically, and each skill gets a description property. Notion Agent reads that description to decide when to use the skill on its own.

A skills database works like any other Notion database, with a couple of properties already set up for you:

• Description says what the skill does and when to use it. Notion Agent reads it to decide when the skill fits.

• Files holds supporting material, like examples, reference docs, images, data files, or scripts.

You can add any other properties your team cares about, like Owner to show who keeps a skill current, or Status to show which skills are ready to use.

Start with one shared skills database

One database works well when the same group uses the skills and the same people keep them up to date, because everyone knows where to look first. Add another team database, or a private one, when a group needs different access, different owners, or a place to work on a skill before sharing it.

Database vs Library

The Skills Library is not a database. It’s a view that rolls up all the skills you have access to across all databases in your workspace.

• Create a new page, select Database, then choose Skills (or Database - Inline → Skills).

• Or select + next to a teamspace name and choose the same option.

Creating it in a teamspace means your team can reach it right away, so you don't have to move it or change access later.

1. Open the database.

2. In the view toolbar, open settings (slider icon).

3. In the settings panel, select More settings → Turn into.

4. Select Turn into Skills database.

5. You'll see a setup dialog. Choose which existing properties to map to Description, Files, and Tags, or keep the defaults to create new ones. To also turn on the existing pages as skills for yourself right away, check the Enable skills for me box (it shows the number of pages).

From then on, every page created in the database becomes a skill. This works best when the pages in the database already explain how a task should be done, like a set of playbooks or how-tos.

If you already have a page that explains how to do a repeatable task, move it into a skills database. The page becomes a skill and picks up the skill properties, including Description.

1. Open the page and select •••, then select Move to.

2. Choose your skills database.

3. Add a clear Description so Notion Agent knows when to use it.

Edit a skill

You can edit a skill from the text selection menu or the block menu.

To edit a skill's content from the text selection menu, hover over its name and select the pencil icon. You can also open a skill's page from your Library or its skills database to edit it.

Manage skills from your Library

1. Go to Library in your sidebar, and open the Skills tab.

2. From there, you can view your existing skills, add new skills, and open any skill page to edit it.

3. To choose where a skill appears, open its settings menu and select Show skill. Choose In a page for the text editor, slash menu, and block menu, In chat for Notion Agent chat, and During meetings or After meetings for meeting notes.

Manage skills from your text editor

Highlight any text, then select Manage Skills next to your skills in the menu.

• The Library's Discover tab shows skill pages that others have shared with you, so you can browse what your team has built.

• Found one you want? Turn on the switch in the Enable for me column to add it to your own skills.

Because skills are pages, sharing works the same way it does for any other page in Notion.

• If you share a skill with someone, they can run that skill once they have access to the skill page.

• If they can edit the skill page, their edits will change the skill.

• View skills you've created, skills shared with you, and skills in your workspace by going to Library in your sidebar and opening the Skills tab.

• Shared skill pages behave like regular pages, so they also show up under Shared in your Library.

• Share one skill page when only some people need that one workflow. Share the whole skills database when your team should get every skill in it.

• Anyone with edit access can change a shared skill for everyone who uses it, so pick editors with that in mind. Page history shows what changed if you need to go back.

• Connected agents only see the skills you can access in Notion.

Having access and turning a skill on are two different things. Access decides who can open or edit a skill. Turning it on decides whether it shows up in your own skills menu. Skills shared with you appear in the Discover tab of your Library, where you can turn them on in the Enable for me column.

Skill analytics show how often a skill runs, in Notion and in other agents.

• In your Library: The Uses column in Library → Skills shows how many times people in your workspace used each skill over the last 28 days, including uses in connected agents over MCP.

• For one skill: Open the skill's settings menu and select View analytics to see how its usage has changed over time.

New uses can take a few hours to show up.

Workspace owners can choose skills to install for everyone, so the whole team starts with the same set. Go to Settings → Notion AI → General and find Default workspace skills in the Skills section.

1. Choose who the skills are for: everyone in the workspace, or a specific group.

2. Select Add skill and pick the skills to install.

3. For each skill, choose where it shows up, like in chat or in a page.

Default skills are installed for members automatically, including in their connected agents. Members can still turn off a default skill for themselves.

The Skills section also has settings to turn off skills for the whole workspace, to turn off skills in connected agents, and to turn off local skill downloads.

There are a few ways to remove a skill, depending on what you want:

• Delete the skill completely: A skill is a page, so you can move it to trash like any other page. This works for skill pages inside a skills database too. Keep in mind that deleting the page removes the skill for everyone who uses it.

• Remove a skill you added: If you added a skill from the Discover tab and don't want it anymore, turn off the switch in the Enable for me column in the

  Skills tab of your Library. This removes the skill for you in Notion Agent and your connected agents. It stays available for everyone else.

• Turn a skill page back into a regular page: Select ••• at the top of the page, select Use with AI, then uncheck Use as AI skill. You can also select Unset page as skill in the skill's settings menu. The page and its content stay right where they are. It stops being a skill.

• Use your Notion Agent to help brainstorm or write skills.

• Start with a common workflow you do weekly, like rewriting, recapping, summarizing, or formatting.

• Write your skill like a strong prompt, including the goal, inputs, constraints, and desired output format.

• Make output requirements explicit, like "return 5 bullets" or "include risks and next steps."

• Keep the skill page short and link to longer references when needed.

• Iterate over time by updating the skill page as you learn what works best.

• Give each skill a clear description of what it does and when to use it. Notion Agent and your connected agents use the description to pick the right skill on their own.

• If your team also works in local agents, keep the skill page in Notion up to date and download it again after you make changes.

• Give each shared skill an owner, so one person keeps it current as your team's process changes.

Agents read the name and description of every skill you've turned on before they choose one. These limits keep that list focused, so agents pick the right skill quickly:

If a connected agent is missing some of your skills, turn off the ones you don't need in connected agents.