Skills, Rules, and Context

Mogplex splits shared agent building blocks into three different libraries on purpose:

• skills
• rules
• context

They are related, but they are not interchangeable.

Skills

Skills are reusable capability packages.

Use them when an agent should know how to do a class of work, such as:

• following a specialist workflow
• using a reusable investigation pattern
• applying a repeatable framework-specific playbook
• importing an external skill from a registry

In the current product, the Skills surface has three acquisition paths:

• local skills you create and edit directly
• skills.sh registry browsing and install
• Vercel docs import, which can turn a Vercel document into a local skill

Local skills are typed as:

• runbook
• tool
• prompt
• workflow

That makes the Skills area both a library editor and a discovery surface.

Rules

Rules are shared instruction blocks and policy constraints.

Use them when an agent should consistently respect how it is allowed to operate, such as:

• coding standards
• repo guardrails
• deployment restrictions
• review style
• behavioral policy

The current Rules surface is a small global file manager. You can create, edit, and delete shared rule files, then reuse them across many agents instead of copying the same policy into every system prompt.

Context

Context is reusable reference material and memory.

Use it when an agent needs background knowledge repeatedly, such as:

• architecture notes
• domain terminology
• system boundaries
• durable preferences
• timeline events worth remembering

The current Context surface is memory-oriented, not just a static text list. It supports four lanes:

• Session for the current working set
• Semantic for durable truths and preferences
• Episodic for timeline events and milestones
• Procedural for reusable workflows and runbooks

You can add entries, search them, delete them, and run Compact or Checkpoint actions. Context can also be scoped to the current repo or workspace session when that information is available.

How to split responsibility

Use this decision rule:

• if it teaches a repeatable workflow or specialty: skill
• if it constrains behavior or policy: rule
• if it explains the system or preserves useful memory: context

When those are separated cleanly, agent prompts stay smaller, more reusable, and easier to maintain.

Why this matters in practice

Without this split, teams tend to create one giant agent prompt that mixes:

• capabilities
• policies
• architecture notes
• temporary instructions
• memory that should have been stored elsewhere

That works briefly and then becomes difficult to reason about or update.

Mogplex works better when the roster entry stays readable and these supporting libraries hold the reusable detail.

A good composition pattern

For a strong reusable agent:

1. define the core identity in the roster
2. attach shared rules for non-negotiable behavior
3. add skills for specialist workflows
4. use context for background knowledge or memory the task actually needs

That gives you a stable reusable agent without turning every task into prompt surgery.