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Heroes of Might and Magic 3Skills
Skills in ChatGPT are reusable, shareable workflows (instructions, examples, files and code) that ChatGPT uses automatically when they help. They became generally available on Jul 9, 2026; you make one under Plugins > Skills > Create, with chat or with the editor.
A skill is a reusable, shareable workflow that ChatGPT applies when it helps, and you make one by opening Plugins in the sidebar, choosing the Skills tab, then Create > Create with chat (Skills in ChatGPT). A skill can hold instructions, examples, supporting files and code, so a task such as "write the weekly update in our format" comes out the same way every time. Skills became generally available on Jul 9, 2026, the day the Plugin Directory arrived, and a plugin can carry skills, apps or both.
Quick facts
| Generally available | Jul 9, 2026 |
| Where | Plugins > Skills tab in the Plugin Directory (OpenAI) |
| Create | Create with chat, Create with editor (chatgpt.com/skills/editor), or Upload from your computer |
| Plans, per the Skills article | Eligible Business, Enterprise, Healthcare and Edu users (OpenAI), as of Nov 6, 2026 |
| Plans, per the pricing page | "Skills" listed on all plans (chatgpt.com/pricing), as of Nov 6, 2026 |
| Also in | Codex, where skills may be managed separately |
What is a skill in ChatGPT?
OpenAI describes skills as reusable workflows that help ChatGPT do specific tasks more consistently. Where custom instructions shape every chat, a skill is narrow: it carries the steps, the examples and any template or script for one job, and ChatGPT reaches for one or more installed skills when a request matches (Skills in ChatGPT). OpenAI's plugins article gives the example of a weekly-update format, a skill that needs no connection to any outside service (Plugins in ChatGPT).
Skills differ from the other ways of telling ChatGPT what you want:
| Feature | Scope | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Custom instructions | Every chat | Who you are, general tone |
| Project instructions | One project | Background for a long piece of work |
| Skill | Any chat where the task comes up | A repeatable procedure with files or code |
| Plugin | Any chat | Skills plus connections to apps |
Sources: Skills in ChatGPT, Projects in ChatGPT, ChatGPT Custom Instructions, OpenAI Help Center, read Nov 6, 2026.
How to make a ChatGPT skill
Eligible accounts include a skill-creator skill by default, which ChatGPT uses when you ask it to create, change or troubleshoot a skill (Skills in ChatGPT).
With chat:
- Select Plugins in the sidebar and open the Skills tab.
- Select Create > Create with chat (or simply ask ChatGPT in any chat to make a skill).
- Answer its follow-up questions about the task, inputs and output.
- Install the skill when ChatGPT prompts you.
With the editor: select Skills > Create > Create with editor, or open chatgpt.com/skills/editor, and write the instructions and add files yourself.
By upload: select Skills > Create > Upload from your computer. ChatGPT scans uploaded skills first; most are ready right after the scan, some are marked Needs Review, and risky ones are marked Blocked and cannot be used. OpenAI says the scan does not replace your own review of a skill from outside your organization.
A skill can also travel inside a plugin: chat with @plugin-creator and ask it to "Add a skill that uses the attached template" (Plugins in ChatGPT).
How to use a skill
Once installed, a skill needs no command: ChatGPT uses it automatically when it is relevant (Skills in ChatGPT). The Skills tab lists Installed, Created by me, Shared with me and Shared by your workspace. To pick a plugin that carries a skill, @ mention it or choose it from + (Plugins in ChatGPT). The Skills article describes no separate slash or @ command for skills alone.
Sharing skills
Open Plugins > Skills, choose ••• on a skill, then Share. You can share with people or groups, copy a link, keep it to yourself or named people, or publish it to the workspace library. People install a shared skill from Shared with me or Shared by your workspace via ••• > Install (Skills in ChatGPT).
Which ChatGPT plans have skills?
OpenAI's own pages disagree as of Nov 6, 2026. The Skills help article says skills are available to eligible Business, Enterprise, Healthcare and Edu users, and the plugins article says "Personal Skills" are generally available to those same plans (Skills in ChatGPT, Plugins in ChatGPT). The comparison table on the pricing page lists Skills for every plan, Free through Pro (chatgpt.com/pricing), and lists creating plugins (which can hold skills) on Go, Plus and Pro. On a personal plan, the dependable route is a plugin made with Plugin Creator; check the Skills tab on your own account to see whether standalone skills are open to you.
Admin controls
In Enterprise and Edu, admins decide under Permissions & roles whether members can enable skills, upload them, share them, publish them to the workspace and install them for others. An admin Skills page lists every workspace skill with its owner, access, users and invocations over 30 days, and deleting a skill there removes it for everyone. By default, data shared with a skill is not used to improve models on ChatGPT business plans (Skills in ChatGPT).
Skills in Codex and the API
Skills started on the developer side. Codex added agent skills (folders with a SKILL.md file, following the agentskills.io standard) on Dec 19, 2025, and deprecated custom prompts in favor of skills on Jan 22, 2026. The API added Skills with the Hosted Shell tool on Feb 10, 2026. OpenAI's ChatGPT article says skills used in Codex may be governed separately from workspace skills in ChatGPT (Skills in ChatGPT). See Codex and AGENTS.md.
Frequently asked questions
What are skills in ChatGPT? Reusable, shareable workflows (instructions, examples, files and code) that ChatGPT uses automatically when a request matches. They became generally available on Jul 9, 2026.
How do I make a ChatGPT skill? Open Plugins in the sidebar, choose the Skills tab, then Create > Create with chat, answer ChatGPT's questions and install the skill. You can also use the editor or upload a skill.
Are ChatGPT skills free? OpenAI's pages disagree as of Nov 6, 2026: the pricing page lists Skills on all plans, while the Skills help article names Business, Enterprise, Healthcare and Edu.
How is a skill different from custom instructions? Custom instructions apply to every ChatGPT chat; a skill applies only when its task comes up and can carry files and code.
Can I share a ChatGPT skill? Yes. In Plugins > Skills, choose ••• > Share to share it with people, a link or your workspace library.
Sources
- Skills in ChatGPT, OpenAI Help Center, read Nov 6, 2026
- Plugins in ChatGPT, OpenAI Help Center, read Nov 6, 2026
- ChatGPT release notes, OpenAI Help Center, read Nov 6, 2026
- ChatGPT Custom Instructions, OpenAI Help Center, read Nov 6, 2026
- Projects in ChatGPT, OpenAI Help Center, read Nov 6, 2026
- ChatGPT pricing, OpenAI, read Nov 6, 2026
- Codex changelog, OpenAI, read Nov 6, 2026
- API changelog, OpenAI, read Nov 6, 2026
- Plugins & Skills, OpenAI, Aug 28, 2026 (video)
- Plugins in ChatGPT, OpenAI, Jul 21, 2026 (video)
Moments
Plugins & Skills
OpenAI
Plugins in ChatGPT
OpenAI
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Related
- Account SecuritySecure a ChatGPT account in Settings > Security: turn on multi-factor authentication or passkeys, review active sessions and security history, and for the strongest protection enroll in Advanced Account Security, which requires passkeys or security keys plus recovery keys.
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- Chat History and SearchChatGPT keeps every saved chat in the sidebar until you delete it; Search (Ctrl+K or Cmd+K on the web) finds chats, projects, images and documents, archived chats stay searchable, and deleted chats are erased within 30 days.
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ChatGPT Browser ExtensionThe ChatGPT browser extension for Chrome, Edge, Brave, Opera and Vivaldi lets the ChatGPT desktop app read and act in your own browser, mention open tabs in a chat, and, in every browser but Opera, open a side chat next to a page; it needs the desktop app and replaced the retired Atlas browser.
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- ChatGPT in Other AppsChatGPT also answers outside its own app: on WhatsApp and by phone at 1-800-CHATGPT (+1-800-242-8478), on Kakao in South Korea and Viber, in Apple CarPlay, Slack, Apple Messages on the Mac and the Office add-ins.
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See also
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CodexCodex is OpenAI's coding agent: it reads a codebase, edits files, runs commands and tests, reviews pull requests and works in the cloud. As of Nov 6, 2026 it lives inside the ChatGPT desktop app, in the Codex CLI, in IDE extensions, in Codex Cloud and on mobile, and every ChatGPT plan includes some of it, Free and Go too.
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Custom Instructions and PersonalityCustom instructions tell ChatGPT about you and how to answer, up to 1,500 characters on Free and Go and 5,000 on paid plans since Jul 15, 2026. Personality presets such as Friendly, Efficient and Candid set ChatGPT's tone; both live in Settings > Personalization.
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ProjectsProjects in ChatGPT keep related chats, files and instructions together in one folder-like workspace. Every plan, including Free, can create unlimited projects; files per project range from 5 on Free to 40 on Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu.
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AGENTS.mdAGENTS.md is a plain Markdown file of instructions for AI coding agents, a "README for agents", that Codex reads before doing any work. Codex loads a global ~/.codex/AGENTS.md and then every AGENTS.md from the repository root down to the working folder, closest last, up to 32 KiB; /init writes a first one. The open format is now stewarded by the Agentic AI Foundation.