Iris

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Agent Skills ​

Iris supports Agent Skills - a portable format for extending AI agents with specialized knowledge and workflows.

Quick Start ​

Install a skill using the CLI:

bash
npx skills add https://github.com/vercel-labs/skills --skill find-skills

Skills install to .agents/skills/ and Iris picks them up automatically.

Browse available skills at skills.sh.

How It Works ​

  1. Iris sees available skill names and descriptions in its system prompt
  2. When a task matches a skill's domain, Iris calls activate_skill to load full instructions
  3. Skills can include references that Iris reads on-demand via shell

NOTE

Basic skill activation works without shell access. However, if a skill includes reference files, Iris needs shell commands enabled to read them.

Pinning Skills to Threads ​

By default, Iris activates skills on-demand — loading them when a task matches a skill's domain. Pinned skills take this further by injecting a skill's full content into the system prompt for every message in a thread.

This is useful when you want a skill's knowledge always active in a specific context. For example, pin a "Laravel development" skill to a thread where you're working through a project, so Iris always has those patterns available without needing to activate the skill each time.

How to Pin Skills ​

  1. Open the thread you want to configure
  2. Click the gear icon in the chat header to open thread settings
  3. Toggle the switch next to any skill to pin or unpin it
  4. Click Save

Pinned skills take effect on your next message — Iris loads their full content into the system prompt automatically.

Context Consumption ​

Pinned skills consume context window space on every message, since their full content is included in the system prompt. The thread settings modal shows a context consumption notice so you can see how much space your pinned skills use.

TIP

Pin only the skills you actively need for a thread. You can always unpin them later, and Iris can still activate unpinned skills on-demand when relevant.

Missing Skills ​

If a pinned skill has been removed from disk (deleted or renamed), the thread settings modal shows a warning next to it. You can unpin the missing skill to clean up the configuration. Missing skills are silently skipped during prompt building — they won't cause errors.

Per-Thread Configuration ​

Pinned skills are configured per thread. Different threads can have different pinned skills, letting you tailor Iris's expertise to each conversation context. Skill settings are stored in the thread's settings column.

Configuration ​

Skills are enabled by default:

bash
# .env
IRIS_SKILLS_ENABLED=true
IRIS_SKILLS_DIR=/path/to/project/.agents/skills

Disabling Skills ​

bash
# .env
IRIS_SKILLS_ENABLED=false

Or disable just the activation tool:

php
// config/iris-custom.php
return [
    'disabled_tools' => [
        App\Tools\Skill\ActivateSkillTool::class,
    ],
];

Resources ​

Copyright © 2026-present TJ Miller