> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.tessl.io/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.tessl.io/creating-skills-and-plugins/overview.md).

# Overview

{% hint style="info" %}
**Takeaway** A skill teaches an agent how to do something. A plugin is how you package one or more skills, together with rules, commands, MCP servers, and hooks, so you can version and share them. Start with a skill; reach for a plugin when you need to bundle more than one thing.
{% endhint %}

A skill is a folder with a `SKILL.md` that teaches an agent how to do something. A plugin is the package that holds it: a `.tessl-plugin/plugin.json` manifest plus its content. Every skill you create with `tessl skill new` is already a minimal plugin, so "skill" and "single-skill plugin" are the same thing. You only think about plugins explicitly when you bundle more: several skills, a rule, a command, an MCP server, or a hook.

Whatever you create, you create it once. Tessl makes it work across every agent it supports, Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, and more, adapting it to each agent's own format on install. You never write a per-agent version.

The examples in this section use `engteam` as the workspace name. It is a stand-in: run `tessl workspace list` to see the workspaces you belong to, and use one of those in its place.

This section covers creating that context and getting it ready to share: writing a skill, bundling a plugin, adding an MCP server, testing locally, and publishing. It does not cover improving a skill's quality once written (see [Improving your skills](/improving-your-skills/overview-improving-skills-and-plugins.md)), enforcing a standard in CI (see [Codifying and enforcing your skill standards](/codifying-and-enforcing-your-skill-standards/overview.md)), or rolling context out across many repositories (see [Distribute](/distribute/distributing-via-registry.md)).

{% hint style="info" %}
All of this is also available through your agent. Install Tessl's plugin creator and it will do the steps below for you, from understanding the problem to building the plugin: `tessl install tessl/plugin-creator`
{% endhint %}

## In this section

|                                                                                      |                                                                              |
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| [Create a skill](/creating-skills-and-plugins/create-a-skill.md)                     | Write a `SKILL.md`, scaffold it, and validate it. The common starting point. |
| [Create a plugin](/creating-skills-and-plugins/create-a-plugin.md)                   | Bundle several skills, rules, and commands into one versioned package.       |
| [Add an MCP server](/creating-skills-and-plugins/add-an-mcp-server.md)               | Give a plugin live tools or data, not just instructions.                     |
| [Develop and test locally](/creating-skills-and-plugins/develop-and-test-locally.md) | Install a plugin from your filesystem and iterate before you publish.        |
| [Publish and update](/creating-skills-and-plugins/publish-and-update.md)             | Publish to the registry, control visibility, and ship new versions.          |

## Next

* [Create a skill](/creating-skills-and-plugins/create-a-skill.md) - the fastest way to package a single capability.
* [Create a plugin](/creating-skills-and-plugins/create-a-plugin.md) - when one skill is not enough.


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