OpenMAIC Built-In Skills: Complete Guide to Agent Runtimes and Pedagogical Workflows

OpenMAIC provides 25 built-in skills across four categories—core setup workflows, pedagogical agent runtimes, content creation DSLs, and SDK extensions—each encapsulated in a self-contained directory with a SKILL.md descriptor that defines the workflow's phases, configuration parameters, and execution logic.

OpenMAIC is an open-source AI framework for automated classroom generation and educational content creation. The built-in skills available in OpenMAIC serve as ready-made agent configurations that implement specific pedagogical methodologies, content pipelines, and secondary-development patterns. Each skill resides in its own directory under the skills/ or packages/ folders and includes a SKILL.md file encoding the standard operating procedure (SOP) for that workflow.

Core Skill: Project Setup and Extension

The openmaic skill in skills/openmaic/SKILL.md serves as the master workflow for initializing and extending the platform. This core skill guides users through three primary modes: Live-Demo for previewing capabilities without local installation, local setup for configuring a development environment, and SDK-based extension for secondary development (二次开发).

The skill handles repository cloning, AI provider key configuration, startup procedures, and initial classroom generation. When users invoke the core skill, the system reads skills/openmaic/SKILL.md to determine the sequence of configuration phases and validation checks required to bootstrap the OpenMAIC environment.

Agent-Runtime Skills: Pedagogical Styles

Agent-runtime skills implement specific teaching methodologies and classroom interaction patterns. These skills reside in skills/agent-runtime/ subdirectories and define how the AI agent interacts with learners, structures content delivery, and manages educational workflows.

Curriculum Design Frameworks

These skills implement established pedagogical frameworks for structured learning:

• understanding-by-design: Located at skills/agent-runtime/understanding-by-design/SKILL.md, this skill follows the UbD framework for backward-design curriculum planning.
• curriculum-planner: Found at skills/agent-runtime/curriculum-planner/SKILL.md, handling multi-module curriculum architecture.
• k12-core-literacy-planning: In skills/agent-runtime/k12-core-literacy-planning/SKILL.md, specializing in K-12 literacy curriculum development.

Teaching Style Replication

These skills clone or emulate specific instructional approaches:

• teacher-style-clone: Uses skills/agent-runtime/teacher-style-clone/SKILL.md to replicate a specific educator's teaching methodology.
• style-clone: A general-purpose variant at skills/agent-runtime/style-clone/SKILL.md for broader pedagogical pattern matching.
• lecture-style: Located in skills/agent-runtime/lecture-style/SKILL.md, generating traditional presentation-based content with slides and narration.
• workshop-style: Found at skills/agent-runtime/workshop-style/SKILL.md, facilitating hands-on, interactive workshop flows.
• vocational: In skills/agent-runtime/vocational/SKILL.md, optimized for vocational training and practical skill acquisition.

Learning Methodologies and Meta-Cognition

These skills support specific learning techniques and research activities:

• feynman-learning: Implements the Feynman technique for deep understanding via skills/agent-runtime/feynman-learning/SKILL.md.
• learning-to-learn: Located at skills/agent-runtime/learning-to-learn/SKILL.md, supporting meta-learning and study strategy development.
• deep-research: In skills/agent-runtime/deep-research/SKILL.md, driving extensive investigative sessions with structured inquiry phases.
• deep-interactive: Found at skills/agent-runtime/deep-interactive/SKILL.md, providing intensive one-on-one tutoring workflows.
• fact-check: Uses skills/agent-runtime/fact-check/SKILL.md to implement verification and source-validation workflows.
• build-personal-skill: Defined in skills/agent-runtime/build-personal-skill/SKILL.md, guiding users through creating customized skill sets and personal learning pathways.

Content Creation DSLs

Domain-specific language (DSL) skills provide structured authoring environments for educational content generation. These skills define formal grammars and workflows for producing specific media types and curriculum structures.

Stage and Slide Authoring

• stage-dsl: A domain-specific language for stage-based lesson design, defined in skills/agent-runtime/stage-dsl/SKILL.md.
• stage-design: Higher-level workflow management at skills/agent-runtime/stage-design/SKILL.md.
• slide-dsl: Formal language for slide deck authoring in skills/agent-runtime/slide-dsl/SKILL.md.
• slide-craft: Advanced pipeline at skills/agent-runtime/slide-craft/SKILL.md for complex presentation generation.
• pptx-import: Located in skills/agent-runtime/pptx-import/SKILL.md, enabling ingestion of existing PowerPoint files into the OpenMAIC workflow.
• page-clone: In skills/agent-runtime/page-clone/SKILL.md, cloning page-level content structures from existing materials.

Specialized Curriculum and Editing Models

• spiral-curriculum: Implements the spiral curriculum teaching model as specified in skills/agent-runtime/spiral-curriculum/SKILL.md.
• social-emotional-learning: SEL-focused agent located at skills/agent-runtime/social-emotional-learning/SKILL.md, targeting emotional intelligence and socio-emotional competencies.
• pro-editing: Professional editing assistance defined in skills/agent-runtime/pro-editing/SKILL.md, providing advanced content refinement and quality assurance phases.

SDK and Importer Extensions

Beyond runtime agent skills, OpenMAIC includes infrastructure extensions for platform development. The @openmaic/importer skill resides in packages/@openmaic/importer/SKILL.md and provides the import-serializer SDK. This skill defines workflows for secondary development, enabling developers to extend OpenMAIC's capabilities by creating custom importers and serializers that integrate with the core platform architecture.

Skill Structure and Invocation

Each built-in skill follows a consistent structural pattern. The SKILL.md file serves as the single source of truth for the skill's behavior, containing the purpose declaration, sequential usage phases, configuration schema, and reference documentation.

When the OpenMAIC system initializes, it indexes all */SKILL.md files within the skills/ and packages/ directories to build the available skill registry. The directory structure organizes these capabilities as follows:

OpenMAIC/
├── skills/
│   ├── openmaic/SKILL.md                 # Core setup and extension

│   └── agent-runtime/
│       ├── workshop-style/SKILL.md       # Pedagogical implementations

│       ├── slide-dsl/SKILL.md            # Content creation DSLs

│       └── ...
└── packages/
    └── @openmaic/
        └── importer/SKILL.md             # SDK extension interface

Users invoke specific skills by referencing the directory name, causing the system to load the corresponding SKILL.md descriptor and execute the encoded workflow phases.

Summary

OpenMAIC's built-in skills provide a comprehensive toolkit for AI-driven education:

• Core infrastructure: The openmaic skill in skills/openmaic/SKILL.md handles platform setup, configuration, and extension workflows.
• Pedagogical diversity: Fourteen agent-runtime skills covering curriculum design, style cloning, learning methodologies, and personal development.
• Content generation: Nine DSL skills for stage design, slide authoring, spiral curriculum implementation, and professional editing.
• SDK support: The @openmaic/importer skill enables custom development and serialization workflows.
• Self-contained architecture: Each skill includes its own SKILL.md descriptor, making the system modular and extensible without core code modification.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I access and activate a specific built-in skill in OpenMAIC?

To use a built-in skill, reference the skill directory name when configuring your agent runtime. The system automatically locates the corresponding SKILL.md file—such as skills/agent-runtime/workshop-style/SKILL.md for workshop workflows—and executes the phases defined within that descriptor. Each skill is self-contained, requiring only the configuration parameters specified in its documentation.

What distinguishes agent-runtime skills from content creation DSLs?

Agent-runtime skills—such as deep-research and feynman-learning—define how the AI interacts with learners and structures educational conversations. Content creation DSLs—including slide-dsl, stage-dsl, and spiral-curriculum—provide formal languages and pipelines for generating specific educational assets or structured curriculum formats. Runtime skills focus on pedagogy and interaction; DSLs focus on formal content specifications and media production.

Can developers modify existing skills or create custom variants?

Yes. Each skill's logic is fully exposed in its respective SKILL.md file. Developers can copy an existing skill directory—such as skills/agent-runtime/lecture-style/—modify the descriptor, and register it as a custom skill. The @openmaic/importer skill in packages/@openmaic/importer/SKILL.md additionally provides the SDK interface for building entirely new skill categories that integrate with the OpenMAIC runtime.

Where is the configuration documentation for the core setup workflow?

The core setup and extension workflow is documented in skills/openmaic/SKILL.md. This file contains the master standard operating procedure for Live-Demo initialization, local environment setup, provider key configuration, and SDK-based secondary development (二次开发) patterns.

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