Skills are modular capabilities that Asta can use. You can toggle them on/off in Settings, and some require dependencies or API keys.
Managing Skills Settings UI
Open Asta
Go to Settings → Skills
Toggle skills on/off with the switch next to each skill
Skills with missing dependencies show an action hint (e.g. “Install & enable exec”)
Skill Status Each skill shows:
Name and description Enabled (toggle on/off)Available (whether dependencies are met)Action hint (what’s needed to make it available)
Built-in Skills Files Description: Local file access and summariesRequirements:
Configured allowed paths in ASTA_ALLOWED_PATHS or workspace
How to enable: # In backend/.env ASTA_ALLOWED_PATHS = /Users/you/Documents,/Users/you/notes
Google Drive Description: Drive files and summariesStatus: OAuth not wired yet (stub only)Learning (RAG) Description: Learned knowledge and documentsRequirements: How to enable:
Install Ollama: ollama.com
Start Ollama: ollama serve
Pull a model: ollama pull llama3.3
Time Description: Current time (12h AM/PM). Uses location for timezone.Requirements: None (always available)Weather Description: Current weather and forecastRequirements: Location set in workspace/USER.mdGoogle Search Description: Search the web for current informationRequirements: None (always available)Lyrics Description: Find song lyricsRequirements: None (free, no API key needed)Spotify Description: Search songs and control playbackRequirements:
Spotify Client ID and Secret (see API Keys )
How to enable:
Create Spotify app at developer.spotify.com/dashboard
Add credentials in Settings → Spotify
For playback: click Connect Account
Reminders Description: Wake me up or remind me at a timeRequirements:
Location set in workspace/USER.md for timezone
(Optional) Pingram for voice calls
Audio Notes Description: Upload audio; Asta transcribes and formats as meeting notesRequirements: None (runs locally, no API key)Silly GIF Description: Occasionally replies with a relevant GIFRequirements: How to enable:
Get API key at developers.giphy.com
Add in Settings → API Keys
Self Awareness Description: Answer questions about Asta from real docsRequirements: None (always available)Server Status Description: Monitor CPU, RAM, Disk, UptimeRequirements: None (always available)CLI-based Skills These skills use command-line tools and require both the binary installed and exec access enabled.
Google Workspace Description: Read Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Contacts via gog CLIRequirements:
gog CLI installedBinary in exec allowlist
Authenticated Google account
How to enable: # Install gog brew install gogcli # Authenticate gog auth add [email protected] --services gmail,calendar,drive,contacts # Enable in Asta # In backend/.env ASTA_EXEC_ALLOWED_BINS = gog ASTA_EXEC_SECURITY = allowlist
GitHub Description: Manage repos, issues, PRs, CI runs via gh CLIRequirements:
gh CLI installedBinary in exec allowlist
Authenticated GitHub account
How to enable: # Install gh brew install gh # Authenticate gh auth login # Enable in Asta # In backend/.env ASTA_EXEC_ALLOWED_BINS = gh ASTA_EXEC_SECURITY = allowlist
Vercel Description: Check deployments and projects via vercel CLIRequirements:
vercel CLI installedBinary in exec allowlist
Authenticated Vercel account
How to enable: # Install vercel npm i -g vercel # Authenticate vercel login # Enable in Asta # In backend/.env ASTA_EXEC_ALLOWED_BINS = vercel ASTA_EXEC_SECURITY = allowlist
Workspace Skills Custom skills in workspace/skills/ are automatically detected. Each skill is a folder with a SKILL.md file.
See Workspace Configuration for how to create your own.
Exec Security Skills that run external binaries require exec permissions:
Allowlist Mode (Recommended)
Deny Mode
Full Mode (Dangerous)
# In backend/.env ASTA_EXEC_SECURITY = allowlist ASTA_EXEC_ALLOWED_BINS = memo,things,gog,gh,vercel
Skills with required_bins automatically add their binaries to the allowlist when enabled in the UI. Manual configuration is only needed if you want to pre-configure before enabling.
Skill Dependencies The backend checks skill availability at runtime:
Files : checks ASTA_ALLOWED_PATHS or workspace pathRAG : checks Ollama reachable at OLLAMA_BASE_URLSpotify : checks Client ID and Secret in database or envSilly GIF : checks Giphy API keyCLI skills : checks binary in $PATH and exec allowlist
You can view all skill statuses in Settings → Skills.
Testing Skills After enabling a skill:
Ask Asta a question that would use the skill
Check the response for tool usage (if ASTA_SHOW_TOOL_TRACE=true)
View Settings → Status to see if the skill is marked available
Implementation Reference Skill configuration and availability logic is in:
backend/app/routers/settings.py (lines 73-92: skill definitions)backend/app/routers/settings.py (lines 899-1014: _get_all_skill_defs and availability checks)