## What is OpenAI Skills Catalog? **OpenAI Skills** is the official Skills Catalog for Codex, implementing the **Agent Skills open standard** — a framework for packaging reusable capabilities that AI agents can discover and execute. The core principle is simple: write a skill once, use it everywhere. Skills are self-contained packages containing instructions, scripts, and resources that enable agents to perform specific tasks in a consistent, repeatable manner. ## Skill Tier System The catalog is organized into three tiers designed for different deployment scenarios: | Tier | Folder | Behavior | |------|--------|----------| | System | `.system` | Auto-installs with each new Codex version | | Curated | `.curated` | Community-vetted, installable by name | | Experimental | `.experimental` | Optional bleeding-edge capabilities | ## Installation and Usage Installing a curated skill is as simple as invoking the skill-installer tool within Codex by name — no manual configuration, no dependency management, no restarts required for curated skills. The multi-language codebase (Python 77%, JavaScript 15%, Shell 3%) supports a wide variety of skill types, from data processing to code review to deployment automation. ## Why Agent Skills Matter in 2026 As Codex becomes a standard tool in developer workflows, the Skills Catalog enables a composable, modular approach to AI-powered development. Instead of each team reinventing common capabilities, skills can be shared across organizations — similar to how npm packages work for JavaScript. With 17.4k stars since launching in November 2025, the Skills Catalog has quickly become a central hub for the Codex developer ecosystem.