Capabilities/Context
Skills
A MAIA skill takes a method you have worked out and returns a run you can repeat. It records the criteria, the steps, and the output format, and it runs in any county.
What it answers#
You worked out a filter that finds the right sites. A skill saves it, so the next run starts from your method and not from a blank box.
A skill is not tied to a place. The method you wrote for one county runs in the next.
Scopes#
| Scope | Who sees it | Who can change it |
|---|---|---|
| Personal | Who sees itYou | Who can change itYou |
| Workspace | Who sees itEveryone in the workspace | Who can change itEditors and admins |
| System | Who sees itEveryone | Who can change itNo one. These are MAIA's ready-made skills |
A ready-made skill is read-only. To change one, customize a copy. MAIA then proposes your copy to you instead of the original, and the original stays in the list for everyone else.
Types#
| Type | What it does |
|---|---|
| Workflow | What it doesRuns end to end, starting from an empty project |
| Enrichment | What it doesAdds a value worked out from the columns a row already has |
| Agent column | What it doesBuilds one column that sub-agents research |
Over MCP the type is the kind parameter of save_skill. A workflow can appear in the starter gallery on the new-project screen.
Three ways to start one#
| Way | How |
|---|---|
| You pick it | HowType / in the chat and choose a skill |
| MAIA proposes it | HowMAIA offers a matching skill on a card. It runs only when you choose Run |
| Over MCP | HowPass skill to create_project or send_message, or use the run_skill prompt |
What a run looks like#
A skill with several phases runs as a plan. MAIA shows the phases as a checklist and marks each one pending, in progress, completed, or skipped. A plan holds up to 50 phases.
What a skill contains#
Every skill has a name, a description, and a body. Over MCP the body is the instructions parameter.
| Part | What it is for | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Name | What it is forThe words you would say to run it | Limit120 characters |
| Description | What it is forWhat the skill does and when to use it. A vague description means MAIA never proposes the skill | Limit400 characters |
| Body | What it is forThe instructions for the run | Limit32,000 characters |
The body has a recommended layout in four parts. It is guidance, and a skill that does not fit it is still valid.
| Section | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| What it finds | What goes in itOne or two sentences of intent |
| Criteria and thresholds | What goes in itEvery number you might change later, named |
| Steps | What goes in itThe order of work |
| Output format | What goes in itThe columns you want, with one example |
How MAIA reads a skill#
MAIA does not read every skill on every turn. It sees one line per skill: the name and the description. When a run calls for a skill, MAIA loads the full instructions.
Two things follow from that.
- The description does the routing. It is all MAIA sees before it loads the skill. Say what the skill does and when to use it.
- Loading is not running. MAIA can read a skill to answer a question about it without starting a run.
Save, change, or share a skill#
MAIA can write a skill for you from the work in a conversation. It never saves one silently.
- Ask for it in the chat, in your own words.
You ask
Save this as a workspace skill called Industrial infill filter.
- Read the card MAIA shows. Check that the skill names no county, city, or project, and that its description says when to use it.
- Choose Approve. Saving, updating, and deleting a skill each need your approval on a card.
To change a skill later, ask MAIA in the chat or edit it under your account, on the Knowledge & skills tab. That is also where you move a personal skill to the workspace.
Three things to know before you save:
- Saving with an existing name replaces your skill of that name.
- A workspace skill is visible to everyone in the workspace. Save to yourself first if the method is still changing.
- MAIA saves, changes, or deletes one skill per message. To do two, ask twice.
Limits#
- No hard-coded places. A skill must not name a county, a city, or a project. It reads the place from the project it runs in.
- It must survive missing data. Records vary by county. Write the skill to check which columns a county has before it filters on one.
- Workspace skills need the editor role. A viewer cannot change them.
- Over MCP,
save_skillwrites your personal skills only. Workspace skills are edited in the web app. The connector is turned on per workspace.