> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.asktable.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Skills

> A skill is a reusable analysis method that, once attached to an agent, makes it analyze data by a defined approach. This page covers built-in skills, custom skills, and how a skill takes effect.

## What is a skill

A skill is a reusable analysis method. At its core it's a set of instructions for the agent — telling it how to analyze a certain kind of problem. Attach a skill to an [agent](/en/concepts/agent/overview), and the agent follows that method when it analyzes.

## Why you need skills

Given the same data, the analysis method determines how deep the conclusion goes. Skills capture an expert's approach — such as "how to flag an anomaly" or "how to attribute a change" — defined once and reused across agents, without re-explaining it in every conversation.

## Built-in skills

AskTable ships with 11 general-purpose analysis skills, ready to use. Their names appear in Chinese in the product:

| Skill                            | Description                                                                                   |
| -------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Anomaly detection** (异常检测)     | Automatically spot abnormal fluctuations and identify metric changes outside the normal range |
| **Trend forecasting** (预测趋势)     | Forecast future trends from historical data, with trend analysis and prediction intervals     |
| **Stress testing** (压力测试)        | Model hypothetical scenarios and assess how metrics hold up under extreme conditions          |
| **Drill-down** (下钻指标)            | Break a summary metric down layer by layer to locate the root cause                           |
| **Report composition** (编排报告)    | Automatically generate a structured data analysis report                                      |
| **Comparison analysis** (对比分析)   | Compare across objects and dimensions to surface differences and opportunities                |
| **Attribution analysis** (归因分析)  | Analyze the key drivers behind a metric change and quantify each factor's contribution        |
| **Metric interpretation** (指标解读) | Explain data in business language so conclusions are accurate and easy to understand          |
| **Data quality checks** (数据质量检测) | Proactively detect data quality issues to keep results trustworthy                            |
| **Business narrative** (业务语言生成)  | Turn analysis results into a vivid business narrative                                         |
| **Cycle analysis** (周期分析)        | Identify cyclical patterns in the data to support periodic-fluctuation analysis               |

## Custom skills

Besides the built-in skills, you can create your own. A skill has three parts:

* **Name** — the skill's name, e.g., "Store inspection checklist"
* **Description** — a one-line summary of what it does
* **Content** — the actual instructions (prompt) for the agent: the steps, definitions, and output format of the analysis

Built-in skills are read-only; custom skills can be edited or deleted anytime.

## How a skill takes effect

A skill isn't a program that runs on its own — it's **injected into the agent's system prompt**. When you talk to an agent that has skills attached, all of their content is handed to the agent as background instructions, and it picks the right method for the analysis. The better the skills fit the scenario, the more expert the answers.

## Frequently asked questions

**Q: Can an agent have multiple skills?**
A: Yes. Templates usually come with 3-6 skills, and you can add or remove them as needed.

**Q: Does a skill run queries by itself?**
A: No. A skill only provides guidance on method. The actual querying and charting is done by the agent's capabilities (SQL, Python, charts).

**Q: Can I edit a built-in skill?**
A: Built-in skills are read-only. To customize, create a new custom skill.