skills

Create, list, lookup, update, and download skills

The vlmrun skills command manages skills on the VLM Run platform.

Upload

Zip and upload a local skill folder, then create the skill. The directory must contain a SKILL.md file — name and description are parsed from its YAML frontmatter automatically.

# Upload a skill folder
vlmrun skills upload ./my-skill

# Override name/description from frontmatter
vlmrun skills upload ./my-skill --name "invoice-extraction" --description "Extract invoice data"

Argument/Option	Description
DIRECTORY	Path to the skill folder (must contain SKILL.md)
--name, -n	Skill name (overrides frontmatter)
--description, -d	Skill description (overrides frontmatter)

Archives are stored under ~/.vlmrun/skill_archives/.

Inline Skills via CLI

The vlmrun chat command uses inline skills by default when you pass a --skill directory. The CLI bundles the skill directory into a zip and sends it inline — no server upload required:

# Use an inline skill (default behavior)
vlmrun chat "Extract data from this invoice" -i invoice.pdf --skill ./my-skill/

# To persist a skill on the server for reuse, upload it separately
vlmrun skills upload ./my-skill/

Inline skills via the CLI are ideal for local development and testing. For production use, upload the skill with vlmrun skills upload and reference it by name.

Create

Create a skill from a prompt or pre-uploaded file:

# From a text prompt
vlmrun skills create --prompt "Extract invoice_id, date, and total_amount from invoices."

# From a prompt file
vlmrun skills create --prompt-file instructions.txt

# With a JSON schema
vlmrun skills create --prompt "Extract invoice data" --schema schema.json

# From a pre-uploaded file ID
vlmrun skills create --file-id <file-id> --name "invoice-extraction"

Option	Short	Description
--prompt	-p	Text prompt to auto-generate the skill
--prompt-file	-f	Read prompt from a file
--schema		Path to a JSON schema file
--file-id		Pre-uploaded skill zip file ID
--name	-n	Skill name (required for --file-id)
--description	-d	Skill description
--json	-j	Output raw JSON

List

# List skills (latest 25)
vlmrun skills list

# Show only latest version per name
vlmrun skills list --grouped

# Custom sort and limit
vlmrun skills list --limit 50 --order-by name --asc

# Output raw JSON
vlmrun skills list --json

Option	Short	Description
--limit	-n	Max items to return (default: 25)
--offset		Items to skip (default: 0)
--order-by		Sort field: created_at, updated_at, or name (default: created_at)
--desc / --asc		Sort direction (default: --desc)
--grouped	-g	Show only latest version per skill name
--json	-j	Output raw JSON

Get

# Get by name (latest version)
vlmrun skills get invoice-extraction

# Get a specific version
vlmrun skills get invoice-extraction --version 20260219-abc123

# Get by ID
vlmrun skills get <skill-id>

# Output raw JSON
vlmrun skills get invoice-extraction --json

Argument/Option	Short	Description
NAME_OR_ID		Skill name or UUID (required)
--version	-V	Pin a specific version
--json	-j	Output raw JSON

Download

Download a skill zip and extract it locally:

# Download to default location (~/.vlmrun/skills/)
vlmrun skills download invoice-extraction

# Download a specific version
vlmrun skills download invoice-extraction --version 20260219-abc123

# Download to a custom directory
vlmrun skills download invoice-extraction --output ./skills/

Argument/Option	Short	Description
NAME_OR_ID		Skill name or UUID (required)
--version	-V	Pin a specific version
--output	-o	Extract directory (default: ~/.vlmrun/skills)