skills

List, inspect, and install agent skills

SERVEROpenClaw SOURCEopenclaw

Medium RISK CLASS

Category Write

Parameters 00 required

Recommended Rate-limitedsee the rule below

Registry record Grade F, identity verified Pull the record →

This record as markdown: /tools/openclaw/skills.md

WHAT IT DOES

What skills does on OpenClaw

AI agents use skills to create or update resources in OpenClaw, usually the action step of a workflow, after the agent has gathered context. Every call changes real data in your OpenClaw environment.

RISK

Why skills is rated Medium

The tool supports listing and inspecting skills (Read operations) but also 'install agent skills', which modifies the agent's capabilities. Per the rules, the most severe applicable category wins, making this a Write operation. Severity is medium because installing skills could alter agent behavior significantly, but it appears reversible.

From the tool's definition 'install agent skills' implies creating or modifying agent configuration by adding new skills

Attacks that exploit this kind of access

RECOMMENDED RULE

The rule that runs skills safely

PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway: it sits between your AI agents and OpenClaw, and checks every tool call against a rule you set before the call runs. Nothing changes on the server itself. For skills, this is the rule to start with:

skills Rate-limited

skills stays usable, but capped: an agent stuck in a loop can't make hundreds of changes a minute. Everything else on the server is denied unless you say otherwise.

View as policy code

policy.json

{
  "version": "1",
  "default": "deny",
  "tools": {
    "skills": {
      "limits": [
        {
          "counter": "skills_rate",
          "window": "minute",
          "max": 30,
          "scope": "grant"
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}

LIMIT THIS TOOL → Instant setup, no code required.

The button opens the PolicyLayer dashboard: create your workspace, connect OpenClaw, apply this rule, and every skills call is checked against it from then on.

FAQ

Questions about skills

What does the skills tool do? +

List, inspect, and install agent skills. It is categorised as a Write tool in the OpenClaw MCP Server, which means it can create or modify data. Consider rate limits to prevent runaway writes.

How do I enforce a policy on skills? +

Register the OpenClaw MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for skills: allow, deny, rate-limit, or require approval. Point your MCP client at the PolicyLayer proxy URL and the rule is enforced on every call, before it reaches OpenClaw. Nothing to install.

What risk level is skills? +

skills is a Write tool with medium risk. Write tools should be rate-limited to prevent accidental bulk modifications.

Can I rate-limit skills? +

Yes. Add a rate_limit block to the skills rule in your PolicyLayer policy. For example, setting max: 10 and window: 60 limits the tool to 10 calls per minute. Rate limits are tracked per agent session and reset automatically.

How do I block skills completely? +

Set action: deny in the PolicyLayer policy for skills. The AI agent will receive a policy violation error and cannot call the tool. You can also include a reason field to explain why the tool is blocked.

What MCP server provides skills? +

skills is provided by the OpenClaw MCP server (openclaw). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.

KEEP EXPLORING

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This server

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The MCP Attack Database →

Guides

Govern customer-ops agents →Argument validation →Scoped token →