What are agent skills?

Learn about agent skills and how they complement the MCP server.

Agent skills are packaged knowledge files that teach AI coding assistants how to work with Exasol. Each skill contains Exasol-specific patterns, syntax rules, and best practices in a format that your AI assistant can read and apply while you code.

When you install agent skills, your AI assistant gains an understanding of Exasol that goes beyond its general training data. Instead of guessing at Exasol-specific SQL syntax or UDF conventions, the assistant can follow proven patterns and warn you about common pitfalls.

How skills work

Each skill is a SKILL.md file with YAML frontmatter and markdown content. The frontmatter declares the skill's name, description, and capabilities. The markdown body contains the actual knowledge: syntax rules, code patterns, decision trees, and worked examples.

Skills can also include a references/ folder with deeper material. The SKILL.md file acts as a decision layer that points the assistant to the right reference when it needs more detail. This keeps the primary file concise (under 500 lines) while still providing thorough coverage.

exasol-sql/
  SKILL.md            # Main knowledge file (syntax, rules, patterns)
  references/
    window-functions.md
    reserved-keywords.md

Supported AI assistants

Agent skills currently support two AI coding assistants:

  • Claude Code (includes a /exasol slash command)
  • OpenAI Codex

You install skills once and they are available to whichever supported assistant you use.

Available skills

Exasol publishes three agent skills:

Skill What it teaches
exasol-database Work with Exasol databases: queries, data loading, SQL quirks
exasol-udfs Build UDFs in Python, Java, Lua, or R, and package them into SLCs
exasol-bucketfs Manage files in BucketFS

How skills complement the MCP server

Skills and the MCP Server solve different problems.

  • Skills provide knowledge: they teach your AI assistant how to write correct Exasol SQL, build UDFs, and follow Exasol-specific patterns.

  • The MCP server provides access: it gives your AI assistant a live connection to your Exasol database so it can browse schemas, read metadata, and run queries.

You can use either one independently, but they work best together. When your AI assistant has both skills and MCP server access, it can write Exasol-optimized code and validate it against your actual database in the same workflow.

Install agent skills

Install all Exasol agent skills with the command-line installer:

Copy 
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/exasol-labs/exasol-agent-skills/main/install.sh | sh

For information about platform-specific details, see Install and use skills.

Next steps