auto-invoke-router

What this skill does

Reads every installed skill's SKILL.md frontmatter (the description field) and any local AGENTS.md to produce a skill_routing config block. This config maps intent keywords and phrases to skill names, giving OpenClaw a structured reference for selecting the right skill based on conversation context.

The output is written into AGENTS.md as a ## Skill Routing section, or saved as a standalone router.yml. Native auto-invoke behaviour depends on your OpenClaw version — check your release notes or docs to confirm whether skill_routing in AGENTS.md is read automatically. In all versions, the config serves as a clear, human-readable routing reference that can be wired up manually or extended with custom rules.

When to use it

More than ~5 skills are installed and manual invocation is getting unwieldy
Users are triggering the wrong skill or missing relevant ones
Setting up a new OpenClaw instance and want smart defaults from the start
After installing a batch of skills and wanting to refresh the routing map
Whenever the available_skills block in context feels cluttered or mismatched

Usage

Step 1 — Locate installed skills

Derive the OpenClaw system skill directory from the binary location:

OPENCLAW_BIN=$(which openclaw 2>/dev/null || which claw 2>/dev/null)
OPENCLAW_SYSTEM_SKILLS=$(dirname "$OPENCLAW_BIN")/../lib/node_modules/openclaw/skills
find ~/.openclaw/skills "$OPENCLAW_SYSTEM_SKILLS" -name "SKILL.md" 2>/dev/null

If which openclaw returns nothing, also try common install locations:

find ~/.openclaw/skills \
  /opt/homebrew/lib/node_modules/openclaw/skills \
  /usr/local/lib/node_modules/openclaw/skills \
  -name "SKILL.md" 2>/dev/null

Collect the full list of SKILL.md paths. If clawhub list is available, also run:

clawhub list

to confirm installed skill names.

Step 2 — Extract descriptions

For each SKILL.md found, read the YAML frontmatter block (lines between the opening and closing ---). Extract:

name — the skill identifier
description — the full triggering description

Do not read the body of each SKILL.md; frontmatter only.

If a skill is missing a name or description field, skip it and note it in the final report as: skill-x: skipped — missing description. Do not fabricate a description.

Step 3 — Read AGENTS.md

Read AGENTS.md in the current workspace. Look for it at ./AGENTS.md relative to the workspace root, or at ~/.openclaw/workspace/AGENTS.md if no workspace context is set. Identify any existing ## Skill Routing section. If it exists, it will be fully replaced in Step 6.

Step 4 — Generate intent keywords

For each skill, derive 3–8 intent keywords or short phrases from the description. Rules:

Use lowercase
Prefer noun phrases and verb phrases that a user would naturally say (e.g. "search for skill", "install skill", "weather forecast", "github PR", "security audit")
Omit generic words: "use", "when", "skill", "tool", "this"
Include negatives if the description calls them out explicitly (e.g. "NOT for historical data")

After generating all triggers, check for conflicts: if the same keyword appears under two or more different skills, flag it in the report as ambiguous. Do not remove the keyword — leave it in both entries and let the user resolve it.

Step 5 — Produce the routing config

Output a YAML block in this format:

# auto-invoke-router — generated by auto-invoke-router skill
# Regenerate by invoking: auto-invoke-router
# WARNING: this section is fully regenerated on each run. Manual edits will be
# overwritten. To preserve custom triggers, add them above this block in AGENTS.md
# with a comment like: # custom-routing-preserve
skill_routing:
  version: "1.0"
  rules:
    - skill: clawhub
      triggers:
        - search clawhub
        - install skill
        - update skill
        - publish skill
        - clawhub list
    - skill: weather
      triggers:
        - weather
        - temperature
        - forecast
        - rain
    - skill: gh-issues
      triggers:
        - github issue
        - fix bug
        - open PR
        - pull request
        - review comments
    # ... one entry per installed skill
  fallback: null  # set to any installed skill name to invoke when no rule matches,
                  # or leave as null to take no default action

Use the actual installed skill names and generated triggers — the above is illustrative only.

Step 6 — Write output

Option A — Append to AGENTS.md (recommended):

Add a ## Skill Routing section at the end of AGENTS.md containing the full skill_routing: YAML block inside a fenced code block. If a ## Skill Routing section already exists, replace it in full — all triggers are regenerated from current descriptions. Any manual edits to the previous section will be lost; users should preserve custom triggers outside this block (see the warning comment in Step 5).

Option B — Standalone file:

Write the YAML block to router.yml in the workspace root. Inform the user to reference it in AGENTS.md if they want OpenClaw to pick it up automatically.

Step 7 — Report

After writing, output a short summary:

Router updated — N skills mapped, M skipped
Skills covered: skill-a, skill-b, skill-c, ...
Skipped (no description): skill-x, skill-y
Trigger conflicts (review manually): keyword-foo (skill-a, skill-b), keyword-bar (skill-c, skill-d)
Output: AGENTS.md § Skill Routing (or router.yml)
Note: verify your OpenClaw version supports native skill_routing before relying on auto-invoke.

Examples

Example 1: Fresh install with 6 skills

Input: 6 installed skills found via find. AGENTS.md has no routing section.

Output: ## Skill Routing appended to AGENTS.md with 6 rule entries, each containing 4–6 triggers derived from their descriptions. Summary reports "6 skills mapped, 0 skipped."

Example 2: Refresh after installing new skills

Input: AGENTS.md already has a ## Skill Routing section with 4 rules. 3 new skills were installed since last run.

Output: Existing section replaced in full with 7 rules — all triggers regenerated from current descriptions. Summary reports "7 skills mapped." Any manual trigger edits in the previous section are not preserved; the report reminds the user to re-apply them if needed.

Example 3: No AGENTS.md found

Input: Workspace has no AGENTS.md.

Output: router.yml written to workspace root. User informed to create AGENTS.md and include the routing block, or to re-run once AGENTS.md is present.

Example 4: Skills with missing descriptions

Input: 8 skills found; 2 have no description field in their frontmatter.

Output: 6 rules generated for the skills with descriptions. Report lists the 2 skipped skills by name. User can add descriptions to those skills' SKILL.md files and re-run.

Requirements

At least one skill installed with a valid description field (output is empty otherwise — report this clearly)
Read access to ~/.openclaw/skills/ and OpenClaw's system skill directories
Write access to AGENTS.md or workspace root for router.yml
bash tool available for the find and which commands in Step 1

No API keys or external accounts required. Runs entirely on local files.

Support

Issues or questions: https://clawhub.com/@ordo-tech/auto-invoke-router Publisher: @ordo-tech on ClawHub