***

id: e9515925-0a61-40d3-9054-ab850d665a55
title: Adding Skills
sidebar-title: Adding Skills
slug: /python/guides/adding-skills
max-toc-depth: 3
----------------

## Adding Skills

Add skills to your agents with `add_skill()`. Pass configuration parameters to customize behavior.

### Basic Usage

Add a skill with no configuration:

```python
from signalwire_agents import AgentBase


class MyAgent(AgentBase):
    def __init__(self):
        super().__init__(name="my-agent")
        self.add_language("English", "en-US", "rime.spore")

        # Add skill with default settings
        self.add_skill("datetime")
```

### With Configuration

Pass parameters as a dictionary:

```python
from signalwire_agents import AgentBase


class MyAgent(AgentBase):
    def __init__(self):
        super().__init__(name="my-agent")
        self.add_language("English", "en-US", "rime.spore")

        # Add skill with configuration
        self.add_skill("web_search", {
            "api_key": "YOUR_API_KEY",
            "search_engine_id": "YOUR_ENGINE_ID",
            "num_results": 5
        })
```

### Method Chaining

`add_skill()` returns `self` for chaining:

```python
from signalwire_agents import AgentBase


class MyAgent(AgentBase):
    def __init__(self):
        super().__init__(name="my-agent")
        self.add_language("English", "en-US", "rime.spore")

        # Chain multiple skills
        (self
            .add_skill("datetime")
            .add_skill("math")
            .add_skill("joke"))
```

### Multiple Skills

Add as many skills as needed:

```python
from signalwire_agents import AgentBase


class AssistantAgent(AgentBase):
    def __init__(self):
        super().__init__(name="assistant")
        self.add_language("English", "en-US", "rime.spore")

        # Add multiple capabilities
        self.add_skill("datetime")
        self.add_skill("math")
        self.add_skill("wikipedia_search")

        self.prompt_add_section(
            "Role",
            "You are a helpful assistant."
        )

        self.prompt_add_section(
            "Capabilities",
            body="You can help with:",
            bullets=[
                "Date and time information",
                "Math calculations",
                "Wikipedia lookups"
            ]
        )
```

### Checking Loaded Skills

```python
## Check if skill is loaded
if agent.has_skill("datetime"):
    print("Datetime skill is active")

## List all loaded skills
skills = agent.list_skills()
print(f"Loaded skills: {skills}")
```

### Removing Skills

```python
## Remove a skill
agent.remove_skill("datetime")
```

### Multi-Instance Skills

Some skills support multiple instances:

```python
from signalwire_agents import AgentBase


class MultiSearchAgent(AgentBase):
    def __init__(self):
        super().__init__(name="multi-search")
        self.add_language("English", "en-US", "rime.spore")

        # First search instance for news
        self.add_skill("web_search", {
            "tool_name": "search_news",
            "api_key": "YOUR_API_KEY",
            "search_engine_id": "NEWS_ENGINE_ID"
        })

        # Second search instance for documentation
        self.add_skill("web_search", {
            "tool_name": "search_docs",
            "api_key": "YOUR_API_KEY",
            "search_engine_id": "DOCS_ENGINE_ID"
        })

        self.prompt_add_section(
            "Role",
            "You can search news and documentation separately."
        )
```

### SWAIG Fields

Add extra SWAIG metadata to skill functions:

```python
self.add_skill("datetime", {
    "swaig_fields": {
        "fillers": {
            "en-US": ["Let me check the time..."]
        }
    }
})
```

### Error Handling

Skills may fail to load:

```python
try:
    agent.add_skill("web_search", {
        "api_key": "invalid"
    })
except ValueError as e:
    print(f"Skill failed to load: {e}")
```

Common errors:

| Error                 | Cause                         | Solution            |
| --------------------- | ----------------------------- | ------------------- |
| Skill not found       | Invalid skill name            | Check spelling      |
| Missing parameters    | Required config not provided  | Add required params |
| Package not installed | Missing Python dependency     | Install with pip    |
| Env var missing       | Required environment variable | Set the variable    |

### Skills with Environment Variables

Some skills read from environment variables:

```python
import os

## Set API key via environment
os.environ["GOOGLE_SEARCH_API_KEY"] = "your-key"

## Skill can read from env
self.add_skill("web_search", {
    "api_key": os.environ["GOOGLE_SEARCH_API_KEY"],
    "search_engine_id": "your-engine-id"
})
```

### Complete Example

```python
#!/usr/bin/env python3
## full_featured_agent.py - Agent with multiple configured skills
from signalwire_agents import AgentBase


class FullFeaturedAgent(AgentBase):
    def __init__(self):
        super().__init__(name="full-featured")
        self.add_language("English", "en-US", "rime.spore")

        # Simple skills (no config needed)
        self.add_skill("datetime")
        self.add_skill("math")

        self.prompt_add_section(
            "Role",
            "You are a versatile assistant named Alex."
        )

        self.prompt_add_section(
            "Capabilities",
            body="You can help with:",
            bullets=[
                "Current date and time",
                "Math calculations"
            ]
        )


if __name__ == "__main__":
    agent = FullFeaturedAgent()
    agent.run()
```

<Note>
  Skills like `web_search` and `joke` require additional configuration or API keys. See the [Built-in Skills](/docs/agents-sdk/python/guides/builtin-skills) section for details on each skill's requirements.
</Note>

### Best Practices

**DO:**

* Add skills in **init** before prompt configuration
* Use environment variables for API keys
* Check skill availability with has\_skill() if conditional
* Update prompts to mention skill capabilities

**DON'T:**

* Hardcode API keys in source code
* Add duplicate skills (unless multi-instance)
* Assume skills are available without checking
* Forget to handle skill loading errors