# Agent skills

Source: https://www.fortrabbit.com/features/agent-skills
Created: 2026-08-23
Reviewed: 2026-08-23

> The agent runs the procedure. Reading the documentation is not the same as performing the operation correctly. The skills carry the workflows — connecting a project, deploying, syncing files, moving a database, running a remote command — so a coding agent executes them instead of reconstructing them from prose.


**The agent runs the procedure.** Reading the documentation is not the same as performing the operation correctly. The skills carry the workflows — connecting a project, deploying, syncing files, moving a database, running a remote command — so a coding agent executes them instead of reconstructing them from prose.

## Operations by name

`/fortrabbit deploy` deploys. `db down` pulls the database. `ssh` runs artisan, craft console or Composer on the environment. A procedure looked up once a month becomes one command.

## With or without a connection

The skills work over SSH and rsync on their own. Adding the [MCP server](/features/mcp-server) lets the agent list apps, open environments and read deployment logs without a shell. The two work together.

They are open source, so what an agent is being told to do can be read before it does it.

:BlockLink{title="Agent skills on GitHub" path="https://github.com/fortrabbit/agent-skills" property="none"}

Install, per-agent setup and the full command list:

:BlockLink{title="Agent skills documentation" path="/platform/automation/agent-skills" property="docs"}

## FAQ

### Which agents do they work with?

**Claude Code and Codex** — Both are supported directly, and GitHub Copilot has basic support. Installing is one command, globally or per project, and uninstalling lists what it will delete before removing anything.

### Is an MCP connection required?

**No** — The skills work over SSH and rsync on their own. Adding the [MCP server](/features/mcp-server) lets the agent list apps, create environments and read deployment logs without a shell — the two halves compose rather than compete.

### What do they actually do?

**The everyday operations** — Detect the project and connect it, deploy, sync files up or down, move a database in either direction, move CMS content, and run a remote command over SSH — artisan, craft console, Composer.

### What do they need locally?

**ssh and rsync** — Both have to be available. On Windows, rsync and the install script need WSL; SSH itself works natively on Windows 10 and later.

---

- [MCP server](/features/mcp-server)
- [Agentic engineering](/workflows/agentic-engineering)
- [Agent skills docs](/platform/automation/agent-skills)
- [Source code](https://github.com/fortrabbit/agent-skills)