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# SkillBase

> Abstract base class for creating reusable, pluggable agent skills.

[agentbase]: /docs/server-sdks/reference/python/agents/agent-base

[skills]: /docs/server-sdks/reference/python/agents/skills

[cleanup]: /docs/server-sdks/reference/python/agents/skill-base/cleanup

[definetool]: /docs/server-sdks/reference/python/agents/skill-base/define-tool

[getglobaldata]: /docs/server-sdks/reference/python/agents/skill-base/get-global-data

[gethints]: /docs/server-sdks/reference/python/agents/skill-base/get-hints

[getinstancekey]: /docs/server-sdks/reference/python/agents/skill-base/get-instance-key

[getparameterschema]: /docs/server-sdks/reference/python/agents/skill-base/get-parameter-schema

[getpromptsections]: /docs/server-sdks/reference/python/agents/skill-base/get-prompt-sections

[registertools]: /docs/server-sdks/reference/python/agents/skill-base/register-tools

[setup]: /docs/server-sdks/reference/python/agents/skill-base/setup

[skill-data]: /docs/server-sdks/reference/python/agents/skill-base/skill-data

[validate]: /docs/server-sdks/reference/python/agents/skill-base/validate

SkillBase is the abstract base class for all agent skills. Skills are modular,
reusable capabilities -- such as weather lookup, web search, or calendar access --
that can be added to any [`AgentBase`][agentbase]
agent with a single call to `agent.add_skill()`.

Extend SkillBase to create custom skills. The SDK discovers skills automatically
from the `signalwire/skills/` directory and validates dependencies on load.

> **Info**
>
> For the catalog of built-in skills and their configuration parameters, see
> the [Skills][skills] page.

## **Class Attributes**

Define these on your subclass to configure the skill:

**`SKILL_NAME`** `str` — required

Unique identifier for the skill (e.g., `"weather"`, `"web_search"`). Used as
the key when calling `agent.add_skill()`.

---

**`SKILL_DESCRIPTION`** `str` — required

Human-readable description of the skill.

---

**`SKILL_VERSION`** `str` — default: 1.0.0

Semantic version string.

---

**`REQUIRED_PACKAGES`** `list[str]` — default: \[]

Python packages the skill needs. Checked on setup with `validate_packages()`.

---

**`REQUIRED_ENV_VARS`** `list[str]` — default: \[]

Environment variables the skill needs. Checked on setup with `validate_env_vars()`.

---

**`SUPPORTS_MULTIPLE_INSTANCES`** `bool` — default: false

When `True`, the same skill can be added to an agent multiple times with
different configurations (distinguished by a `tool_name` parameter).

---

## **Instance Properties**

**`agent`** `AgentBase`

Reference to the parent agent.

---

**`params`** `dict[str, Any]`

Configuration parameters (with `swaig_fields` removed).

---

**`logger`** `Logger`

Skill-specific logger namespaced as `signalwire.skills.<SKILL_NAME>`.

---

**`swaig_fields`** `dict[str, Any]`

SWAIG metadata extracted from params, automatically merged into tool
definitions when using `define_tool()`.

---

## **Methods**

#### [cleanup](/docs/server-sdks/reference/python/agents/skill-base/cleanup)

Release resources when the skill is removed or the agent shuts down.

#### [define\_tool](/docs/server-sdks/reference/python/agents/skill-base/define-tool)

Register a tool with automatic swaig\_fields merging.

#### [get\_global\_data](/docs/server-sdks/reference/python/agents/skill-base/get-global-data)

Return data to merge into the agent's global\_data dictionary.

#### [get\_hints](/docs/server-sdks/reference/python/agents/skill-base/get-hints)

Return speech recognition hints for this skill.

#### [get\_instance\_key](/docs/server-sdks/reference/python/agents/skill-base/get-instance-key)

Get the unique key used to track this skill instance.

#### [get\_parameter\_schema](/docs/server-sdks/reference/python/agents/skill-base/get-parameter-schema)

Return metadata about all parameters the skill accepts.

#### [get\_prompt\_sections](/docs/server-sdks/reference/python/agents/skill-base/get-prompt-sections)

Return POM prompt sections for the agent.

#### [register\_tools](/docs/server-sdks/reference/python/agents/skill-base/register-tools)

Register SWAIG tools with the parent agent.

#### [setup](/docs/server-sdks/reference/python/agents/skill-base/setup)

Initialize the skill and validate dependencies.

#### [get\_skill\_data](/docs/server-sdks/reference/python/agents/skill-base/get-skill-data)

Read this skill instance's namespaced state.

#### [update\_skill\_data](/docs/server-sdks/reference/python/agents/skill-base/update-skill-data)

Write this skill instance's namespaced state into a FunctionResult.

#### [validate\_env\_vars](/docs/server-sdks/reference/python/agents/skill-base/validate-env-vars)

Check whether all required environment variables are set.

#### [validate\_packages](/docs/server-sdks/reference/python/agents/skill-base/validate-packages)

Check whether all required packages can be imported.

## **Examples**

### Custom skill

```python
import os
from signalwire.core.skill_base import SkillBase
from signalwire import FunctionResult

class WeatherSkill(SkillBase):
    SKILL_NAME = "weather"
    SKILL_DESCRIPTION = "Provides weather information"
    SKILL_VERSION = "1.0.0"
    REQUIRED_PACKAGES = ["requests"]
    REQUIRED_ENV_VARS = ["WEATHER_API_KEY"]

    def setup(self) -> bool:
        if not self.validate_packages():
            return False
        if not self.validate_env_vars():
            return False
        self.api_key = os.getenv("WEATHER_API_KEY")
        return True

    def register_tools(self):
        self.define_tool(
            name="get_weather",
            description="Get current weather for a location",
            handler=self._get_weather,
            parameters={
                "type": "object",
                "properties": {
                    "location": {
                        "type": "string",
                        "description": "City name or zip code"
                    }
                },
                "required": ["location"]
            }
        )

    def _get_weather(self, args, raw_data):
        import requests
        location = args.get("location")
        resp = requests.get(
            f"https://api.weather.com/v1/current?q={location}&key={self.api_key}"
        )
        data = resp.json()
        return FunctionResult(
            f"Weather in {location}: {data['condition']}, {data['temp']}F"
        )

    def get_hints(self):
        return ["weather", "temperature", "forecast"]

    def _get_prompt_sections(self):
        return [{
            "title": "Weather Information",
            "body": "You can check weather for any location."
        }]

    @classmethod
    def get_parameter_schema(cls):
        schema = super().get_parameter_schema()
        schema.update({
            "units": {
                "type": "string",
                "description": "Temperature units",
                "default": "fahrenheit",
                "enum": ["fahrenheit", "celsius"]
            }
        })
        return schema
```

### Using a skill

```python
from signalwire import AgentBase

agent = AgentBase(name="weather-agent")
agent.set_prompt_text("You are a helpful assistant.")
agent.add_skill("weather")

# Or with custom configuration
agent.add_skill("weather", {"units": "celsius"})

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

> Abstract base class for creating reusable, pluggable agent skills.

## Docs

- [cleanup](https://signalwire.com/docs/server-sdks/reference/python/agents/skill-base/cleanup.md): Release resources when the skill is removed or the agent shuts down.
- [define_tool](https://signalwire.com/docs/server-sdks/reference/python/agents/skill-base/define-tool.md): Register a tool with automatic swaig_fields merging.
- [get_global_data](https://signalwire.com/docs/server-sdks/reference/python/agents/skill-base/get-global-data.md): Return data to merge into the agent's global_data dictionary.
- [get_hints](https://signalwire.com/docs/server-sdks/reference/python/agents/skill-base/get-hints.md): Return speech recognition hints for this skill.
- [get_instance_key](https://signalwire.com/docs/server-sdks/reference/python/agents/skill-base/get-instance-key.md): Get the unique key used to track this skill instance.
- [get_parameter_schema](https://signalwire.com/docs/server-sdks/reference/python/agents/skill-base/get-parameter-schema.md): Return metadata about all parameters the skill accepts.
- [get_prompt_sections](https://signalwire.com/docs/server-sdks/reference/python/agents/skill-base/get-prompt-sections.md): Return POM prompt sections for the agent.
- [get_skill_data](https://signalwire.com/docs/server-sdks/reference/python/agents/skill-base/get-skill-data.md): Read this skill instance's namespaced state from raw_data.
- [register_tools](https://signalwire.com/docs/server-sdks/reference/python/agents/skill-base/register-tools.md): Register SWAIG tools with the parent agent.
- [setup](https://signalwire.com/docs/server-sdks/reference/python/agents/skill-base/setup.md): Initialize the skill and validate dependencies.
- [update_skill_data](https://signalwire.com/docs/server-sdks/reference/python/agents/skill-base/update-skill-data.md): Write this skill instance's namespaced state into a FunctionResult.
- [validate_env_vars](https://signalwire.com/docs/server-sdks/reference/python/agents/skill-base/validate-env-vars.md): Check whether all required environment variables are set.
- [validate_packages](https://signalwire.com/docs/server-sdks/reference/python/agents/skill-base/validate-packages.md): Check whether all required packages can be imported.