> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.devic.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Skills from GitHub

> Keep a skill in a repository and let Devic read it live, so the agent runs the version that is on the branch.

A skill that describes how to work on a codebase belongs *with* that codebase. Instead of copying it into Devic and watching the two drift apart, connect a folder skill to a folder in a GitHub repository: the repository stays the source of truth, and Devic reads from it.

<Note>
  This applies to **folder skills** only. The connected folder must contain a `SKILL.md` at its root — that file is what makes it a skill.
</Note>

***

## Connecting one

<Steps>
  <Step title="Connect your GitHub account">
    Once per user, from the account settings. Devic uses *your* token, which is also why you can connect a public repository that belongs to somebody else.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Pick the folder">
    Create a skill and choose **from GitHub**. You browse the repository's tree rather than typing a path; folders holding a `SKILL.md` are marked and selectable, so the selection is valid by construction. A repository can hold many skills — one folder each — which is how public skill collections are laid out.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Choose the branch">
    The skill follows a branch. Change it later from the skill's card and the content follows.
  </Step>
</Steps>

The skill then behaves like any other: it appears in the catalogue, it is attached to agents and assistants the same way, and it is injected into the prompt the same way.

<img src="https://mintcdn.com/devic/TaMbtKJRXl9eU5LD/images/knowledge/skill-github.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=TaMbtKJRXl9eU5LD&q=85&s=d06751a08020c102267848c6f07d00ad" alt="A skill connected to GitHub" width="352" height="151" data-path="images/knowledge/skill-github.png" />

***

## What "live" means

Nothing is copied into Devic. When the agent loads the skill, Devic fetches the files from the repository and serves them, **cached for five minutes**.

| Consequence                   | Detail                                                                                                                                         |
| ----------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **The branch is the version** | Merge to the branch and the next run picks it up, within the cache window. No re-import, no sync button.                                       |
| **Read-only in Devic**        | The viewer shows the files — markdown rendered, code in an editor with highlighting — but editing happens in the repository, where it belongs. |
| **Text files only**           | Markdown, code, config and other text (up to 256 KB each) are readable. Binaries are not fetched.                                              |

The agent walks the folder exactly as it walks any other skill: it reads `SKILL.md` first, then opens whatever that file points at. `grep_knowledge` works too, though on a connected skill it falls back to a lexical search over the repository files rather than a semantic one, since these files have no embeddings in Devic.

***

## Bringing it in

Two operations sit on the skill's card, under **Advanced options**:

| Action              | What it does                                                                                                                                                                                             |
| ------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Import to Devic** | Copies the current state of the folder into editable Devic documents **and disconnects the link**. From that point it is an ordinary skill: versioned, editable, and no longer following the repository. |
| **Disconnect**      | Breaks the link without importing anything, leaving an empty skill behind.                                                                                                                               |

<Warning>
  Import is a fork, not a sync. Once imported, changes on the branch stop reaching Devic and edits in Devic never reach the repository. Import when you want to take a public skill and adapt it; stay connected when the repository is the version that must run.
</Warning>

***

## Related

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Skills" icon="bolt" href="/devic/knowledge/skills">
    What a skill is, and how it reaches the model.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Organising knowledge" icon="folder-tree" href="/devic/knowledge/organising">
    Folders, hierarchy and the document graph.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>
