Skills
Installable know-how. A skill teaches your local model how to produce something well — a presentation, a spreadsheet, a map, a branded report — and loads only when the task calls for it.
auto_awesome What are skills?
A skill is a packaged recipe: a set of step-by-step instructions (and optionally a template or helper file) that shows the model how to do one kind of task really well. Think of it as installing an expert habit rather than hoping the model figures it out each time.
Skills are different from the other two building blocks:
bolt How they work
Skills use progressive disclosure so they never clutter the model's context. Only a one-line description of each skill sits in the prompt. When your request matches, the model loads the full recipe on demand — then follows it.
The recipe runs inside LexiChat's offline Python sandbox — so a skill can build real files (PowerPoint, Excel), draw charts and maps, and render inline pages, all on your machine with nothing leaving it.
play_circle Using skills
You don't invoke skills manually — just ask naturally ("build a dashboard for this data", "write a branded report", "turn these notes into minutes") and the model picks the right one. To control which skills a profile offers:
- 1 Open Admin → Skills. You'll see the catalogue of available skills.
- 2 Set a profile active (Profiles → Set Active), then tick the skills it should offer — keep each profile focused on what it actually does.
- 3 Ask away. The model loads a skill only when your request matches one.
widgets Built-in skills
LexiChat ships with 17 skills, ready on every install:
- presentation — an editable PowerPoint deck, plus an inline styled preview
- branded-deck — a PowerPoint from your uploaded template, so it's on-brand
- spreadsheet-model — a multi-sheet Excel workbook with live formulas
- branded-report — a polished house-style report (HTML / PDF / Word)
- invoice-quote — a professional invoice or quote from line items
- fillable-pdf — a print-ready document you can save as PDF
- dashboard — an interactive HTML dashboard with KPI cards and charts
- geospatial-map — plot points, boundaries or a choropleth map
- data-cleaning — tidy a messy CSV/Excel (types, dates, duplicates) and save it
- chart-styling — consistent, good-looking matplotlib charts
- literature-review — a structured synthesis of the literature, with citations
- citation-format — references in APA / Harvard / MLA / Vancouver / Chicago
- plain-english — rewrite dense text to an accessible reading age
- meeting-notes — turn a transcript into decisions and action items
- email-draft — a well-structured email in a chosen tone
- local-area-brief — a sourced UK neighbourhood report from a postcode
- api-explainer — a usage cheat-sheet from an OpenAPI spec
Every built-in doubles as a reference template — open Admin → Skills → View to read its recipe, or Duplicate it to base your own on.
chat Prompts that trigger skills
You never name a skill — just ask naturally and the model loads the right one. A few examples:
In the chat you'll see a use_skill(…) chip when a skill loads — so you always know one kicked in.
edit_document Create your own
A skill is just a folder with a SKILL.md file: a short front-matter header (used to find it) followed by the instructions in plain Markdown. No code to compile.
# ~/.local/share/lexichat/skills/gantt-chart/SKILL.md
---
name: gantt-chart
description: Build a Gantt chart from a task list with start/end dates. Use for project timelines.
requires: [run_python] # omit for instructions-only skills
---
# Building a Gantt chart
Use matplotlib in run_python. Plot one horizontal bar per task from its start to end
date, newest at the bottom, label each bar, add a "today" line, and save the figure.
Keep colours consistent and the title a one-line summary of the project.
use_skill("…").run_python). Omit for writing-only skills.Tips for a good skill body:
- check Be concrete — give the exact steps and a short code example the model can adapt.
- check State design rules (layout, colours, what "good" looks like) so output isn't plain.
- check Save any file to
/work/out/— LexiChat writes it back to your folder. - check Length is free — the body only loads when used, so it never bloats your chats.
SKILL.md folder into ~/.local/share/lexichat/skills/ and restart.)attach_file Resource files (templates & helpers)
A skill can ship files — a PowerPoint template, a logo, a helper module. Add them in the skill's View panel (+ Add file); when the skill runs they're staged into /work/skills/ where its code can read them.
.pptx template. Then ask for a presentation — it builds on your template's fonts, colours and layouts automatically. No editing required.