> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.narrative.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Skills

> Pre-built skills that automate common Narrative workflows on top of the MCP server

Narrative publishes **Skills** — pre-built workflows that orchestrate the [Data Collaboration MCP Server](/concepts/mcp/overview) to accomplish specific tasks. Where the MCP server exposes raw tools (search datasets, validate NQL, describe attributes), a skill packages those tools into an opinionated procedure for a higher-level goal, like "draft and run an NQL query" or "generate a Rosetta Stone mapping for this dataset."

A skill is harness-agnostic — it's a portable instruction file, not logic tied to a particular AI assistant. You browse and install skills from the [Skills catalog](https://app.narrative.io/marketplace/skills) in the Narrative marketplace. Narrative publishes them in two forms from the public [`narrative-io/narrative-skills-marketplace`](https://github.com/narrative-io/narrative-skills-marketplace) repository: as a [`skills` CLI](https://agentskills.io) marketplace that installs into any spec-compliant agent (`npx skills add narrative-io/narrative-skills-marketplace`), and as [Claude Code plugins](https://docs.claude.com/en/docs/claude-code/plugins) you install with `/plugin`.

## How skills relate to the MCP server

Skills are clients of the MCP server, not a replacement for it:

* **The MCP server** exposes platform operations as discoverable tools (`narrative_datasets_search`, `narrative_nql_validate`, `narrative_attributes_describe`, …). Any MCP-compatible client can call them.
* **A skill** is a markdown instruction file (`SKILL.md`) that tells an AI assistant how to combine those tools — in what order, with what guardrails, and when to ask for approval — to complete a specific task.

This means skills inherit MCP authentication, scoping, and audit trails. When a skill calls a tool, it runs as the authenticated user against the active company, just like any other MCP call.

## Plugins and runtimes

Each skill belongs to a **plugin** — a versioned bundle published to the Claude Code marketplace. Narrative ships three plugins today:

| Plugin               | Skills                                                                                                                                      | Focus                                                                  |
| -------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `narrative-common`   | Find Attribute, Write NQL, Design Analysis, Create Workflow, Generate Rosetta Stone Mappings, Apply Rosetta Stone Mappings, Profile Dataset | General-purpose authoring, querying, profiling, and Rosetta Stone work |
| `narrative-identity` | Generate Identity Graph, Triage Pre-Graph Data, Generate Match Report                                                                       | Identity resolution, graph building, and partner overlap               |
| `narrative-audience` | Create Lookalike Audience                                                                                                                   | Audience expansion and look-alike modeling                             |

Skills also declare a **runtime** that describes how they work:

* **Prompt only** — the skill is pure instruction. The assistant follows the procedure using MCP tools and never writes or submits code on your behalf.
* **Prompt + code** — the skill produces or submits artifacts (NQL queries, workflow YAML, mapping definitions) in addition to following the procedure. These skills are always approval-gated.

## The catalog

Available skills include:

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Find Attribute" icon="magnifying-glass">
    Resolve a fuzzy description or schema shape to the canonical Rosetta Stone attribute ID.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Write NQL" icon="code">
    Draft, validate, and optionally run an NQL query against a Narrative dataset.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Design Analysis" icon="compass-drafting">
    Scope a fuzzy analytical question into a structured brief of query specifications.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Create Workflow" icon="diagram-project">
    Author and submit a Narrative workflow from a natural-language intent.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Generate Rosetta Stone Mappings" icon="wand-magic-sparkles">
    Generate, evaluate, and improve Rosetta Stone attribute mappings for a dataset.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Apply Rosetta Stone Mappings" icon="check-double">
    Apply generated mappings to a dataset via a one-shot, approval-gated workflow.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Generate Identity Graph" icon="share-nodes">
    Compose and submit an identity-graph workflow that unions edge sources and labels components.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Triage Pre-Graph Data" icon="shield-halved">
    Audit a dataset or access rule for bad edges before an identity-graph build.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Profile Dataset" icon="chart-column">
    Produce a coverage and quality profile of a dataset or access rule: fill rate, cardinality, ranges, and quality flags.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Generate Match Report" icon="arrows-left-right">
    Compare an owned dataset to a partner's marketplace data: overlap, match counts, and enrichment coverage.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Create Lookalike Audience" icon="users-viewfinder">
    Score a candidate population against a seed and materialize the closest matches as a new audience.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

The Skills catalog page lists every published skill with its plugin, runtime, example prompts, accepted arguments, dependencies, and install commands for both the `skills` CLI and Claude Code.

## Arguments

Most skills expose a slash-command form with explicit arguments. The skill's detail page shows an **Arguments** table listing each flag, whether it's required, its default, and what it does. For example, `/write-nql` accepts `--dataset`, `--run`, `--limit`, and a free-text tail, so you can scope a single invocation:

```text theme={null}
/write-nql --dataset 123 --run --limit 50 distinct users in the last 30 days
```

When invoked without arguments, a skill walks you through its flow interactively.

## Dependencies

Skills can depend on other skills. For example, **Generate Identity Graph** delegates attribute lookup to **Find Attribute** rather than reimplementing it. When you install a plugin, every skill in that plugin becomes available — so dependencies within the same plugin are automatically satisfied. Cross-plugin dependencies are called out on the skill's detail page.

## Approval gating

Skills with the `prompt+code` runtime never modify your Narrative account without explicit approval. They draft the artifact (an NQL query, a workflow specification, a mapping), explain what it does, and wait for you to say "go" before calling a tool that submits work. This matters most for skills that generate workflows or write mappings, where the cost of an unintended run is highest.

## Next steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Install a skill" icon="download" href="/guides/mcp/installing-skills">
    Add the Narrative marketplace with the `skills` CLI or as a Claude Code plugin.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Connect Claude Code to the MCP server" icon="plug" href="/guides/mcp/connecting-an-ai-assistant">
    Skills require an authenticated MCP connection. Start here if you haven't connected yet.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Browse the Skills catalog" icon="grid" href="https://app.narrative.io/marketplace/skills">
    See every published skill with example prompts and install commands.
  </Card>

  <Card title="MCP server tool reference" icon="book" href="/reference/integrations/mcp-server">
    The underlying tools that skills orchestrate.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>