# Research skills

Use repeatable procedures for literature, analysis, writing, figures, review, and submission.

A skill gives the assistant a procedure to follow. Use one when a job needs more than a fresh prompt: a literature sweep with a source record, an evidence audit, or a response letter that follows every reviewer point.

![Settings → AI Assistant → Skills. Add a folder or create a skill at the top; each skill has global and project switches.](https://cdn.oleafly.com/images/screenshots/desktop/docs/settings-skills-dark-window-v2.png#view=519,89,883,902)

## Run a skill

Type `/` in the built-in assistant composer and choose a skill. Add the task after its name:

```text
/oleafly-literature-sweep Find papers on uncertainty calibration for small datasets. Save a source table with DOIs and a short note on each paper's evidence.
```

You can also ask naturally. The assistant can load relevant enabled skills as it works. Slash invocation supplies the selected skill directly for that message. CLI agents use their own skill mechanisms or the research tools available to them.

## Choose the procedure

| Your next step | Skill |
| --- | --- |
| Plan work across several stages | `oleafly-research-loop` |
| Find and annotate sources | `oleafly-literature-sweep` |
| Start a manuscript | `oleafly-manuscript-scaffold` |
| Draft related work | `oleafly-related-work` |
| Analyze project data | `oleafly-data-analysis` |
| Prepare or repair a figure | `oleafly-figure-prep` |
| Check claims against references | `oleafly-verify-claims` |
| Review a manuscript | `oleafly-review-manuscript` |
| Prepare a submission | `oleafly-pre-submission` |
| Respond to reviewers | `oleafly-response-letter` |
| Make slides or a poster | `oleafly-slides-and-posters` |
| Repair a LaTeX build | `oleafly-latex-build` |

The bundled pack also covers study design, statistical analysis, scientific writing, citation management, and other research methods. Open **Settings → AI Assistant → Skills** to browse by phase.

## Add your own

Use **Create skill** to write a name, description, and instructions. **Add folder** imports a skill directory containing a `SKILL.md` file. The format follows the [Agent Skills standard](https://agentskills.io/), with optional scripts, references, and assets beside the instructions.

The **Domain shelf** offers additional skills you can install when you need them.

## Turn a conversation into a skill

After a useful chat, choose **Record a skill**. Oleafly drafts a procedure from the conversation and completed steps. Review the instructions, remove paper-specific details, and enable it for future work.

For example, keep your lab's figure conventions or a checklist for preparing a methods section. Put the repeatable method in the skill and pass each paper's data in the prompt.

## Review the evidence

Skills organize the work; the selected model still performs it. Keep source identifiers, analysis scripts, and reviewer-point mappings in the saved outputs so you can check the result.