Use skills in the AI assistant

What a skill is

A skill is a saved set of instructions that the assistant follows when you call it by its slash command. Pactto includes three built-in skills, and you can write your own.

• /doc creates a Pactto Doc on the canvas, for example a meeting summary or a brief.
• /image creates a new image. When you start from an image on the canvas, the original stays untouched.
• /moodboard creates moodboard images from your direction and the references you select.

When the assistant panel is empty, it shows up to three built-in skills as buttons, such as Create a doc, Create an image, and Create a moodboard. Clicking one adds the skill to the text box; nothing runs until you send.

Run a skill

1. Select any items on the canvas you want the skill to use.
2. In the assistant, type / at the start of the text box, or click Skills next to +. A list of skills opens. Typing after the / filters the list.
3. Pick a skill with a click, or with the arrow keys and Enter or Tab. The skill appears as a tag at the top of the text box.
4. Add a direction if you like, for example "keep it warm, film grain". The text box shows Add direction (optional), or Add direction when the skill needs one.
5. Press Enter to send.

While the skill runs, the panel shows each step. When it finishes, a result line takes you to what it made on the canvas. Image skills first show the generation card so you can check the cost and click Confirm (see Use the AI assistant in a room).

To remove the skill before sending, click the × on its tag, or press Backspace in the empty text box. You do not always need the /: when a plain request matches a skill, the assistant can pick that skill by itself, and the reply shows its name.

Everything a skill adds to the canvas is one undo step: Cmd+Z (Mac) or Ctrl+Z (Windows) removes the whole result.

Create your own skill

1. Type / or click Skills, then click New skill (or click Manage skills and then +).
2. An Untitled skill opens with its name selected. Type a name.
3. Set the Slash command (filled in from the name until you change it) and add a description if you want.
4. Under Creates, choose what the skill makes: Answer, Document, Image, or Sticky notes.
5. Choose Who can use it:
   • Only me: only you can see and run it, in every room.
   • Room: everyone in this room can run it. Needs Can edit access.
6. Write the Instructions in Markdown. To start from a file, click Import .md. The file must be Markdown (.md) and under 50 KB; its text fills the form, and nothing is saved until you click Save.
7. Click Save.

The slash command must be unique among the skills you can see; otherwise the field shows /name is already used by and the other skill's name. A yellow dot on a skill in the list means it has unsaved changes. Cancel undoes them, and switching skills or closing the dialog asks Save changes to (the skill name) first, with Cancel and Save.

Manage skills

Click Manage skills at the bottom of the skills list. The dialog lists the built-in skills under Pactto and your own skills, plus the room's skills, under Yours. Use Search to filter by name, slash command, or description.

Click a skill to read its instructions; click the text (or Edit) to change it. Hover over a skill and click ••• for more options:

• Rename and Edit.
• Turn off or Turn on (Turn off for me for a room skill you cannot edit). A skill that is off stays in the list but leaves the / menu.
• Duplicate creates an editable copy.
• Reset to default (on a built-in skill you changed) goes back to the original.
• Delete (your own skills) asks for confirmation first. Deleting a Room skill removes it for everyone in the room.

Editing a built-in skill saves a personal copy. Other people keep the original.

Who can do what

• Skills that only answer in the chat run for anyone who can use the assistant.
• Skills that add to the canvas (Document, Image, Sticky notes, moodboard) need Can edit access. Without it they do not appear in the / list.
• A Room skill can be edited, turned off for everyone, or deleted by its creator and by people with Can edit access.

If something goes wrong

• Select references first next to the skill tag: the skill needs selected items. Select them on the canvas and send again; your text is kept.
• Add a direction for this skill.: type what you want before sending.
• This skill is no longer available.: it was turned off or deleted.
• No matching skills: nothing matches what you typed after /.
• A run that fails shows FAILED with Try again. If only placing the result on the canvas failed, Try placing again adds the saved result without running the skill again.