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What are skills?

Skills are modular capabilities that extend what sideBar can do. Each skill gives sideBar access to a specific ability or external service: searching the web, transcribing audio, sending email, reading calendars, and more. sideBar selects and uses relevant skills automatically as you chat. You do not need to invoke them by name or switch modes.

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What is the difference between Required, Standard, and Store skills?

  • Required skills are always active and power core functionality like sideBar’s identity and feedback tools. They cannot be disabled.
  • Standard skills come pre-installed and enabled. They cover common capabilities and you can turn any of them off if you prefer.
  • Store skills are additional capabilities you choose to install from the Skills Store. Some are ready to use immediately; others require an API key from an external service.

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Do I need to do anything to use skills?

No, for Standard and Required skills. They work automatically. For Store skills you first install them from the Skills Store, and some require an API key from an external service before they will work. Once installed, sideBar uses them without any further input from you.

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How do I know when a skill is running?

When sideBar uses a skill during a conversation, a pill appears inline showing what it is doing. Once the skill completes, the pill updates to show whether it succeeded or hit an error. This happens in real time so you can follow along.

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Can I turn skills off?

Yes. Go to Settings → Skills to see all your installed skills with toggles. Disabling a skill keeps it installed but stops sideBar from using it. You can re-enable it at any time. Required skills cannot be disabled.

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Do Store skills cost money?

Store skills themselves are free to install. Some skills connect to external services (such as Gmail or Spotify) that may have their own subscription or API costs. Any such requirements are shown on the skill’s detail page before you install it.

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Some skills need API keys. Which ones, and where do I get them?

Store skills that connect to external services need an API key from that service. The skill’s detail page tells you exactly which key is needed and where to get it. Your key is encrypted before being stored and only the last four characters are shown as confirmation. The full key is never displayed again. Note that a small number of skills require an API key from a specific provider regardless of which AI provider you use for your main sideBar account. For example, audio and video transcription uses OpenAI Whisper and therefore needs an OpenAI API key even if your primary provider is Anthropic or Google. The skill’s detail page will make this clear.

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What happens if I uninstall a skill?

Uninstalling removes the skill and permanently deletes any credentials associated with it from your account. You can reinstall it later from the Skills Store, but you will need to provide your API key again.

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What does Beta mean on a skill?

Beta skills are early access. They work, but their behaviour or interface may change in a future update. Use them knowing that things might shift as they mature.

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How do I manage skills I have already installed?

Installed skills are managed from Settings → Skills, not from the Skills Store itself. From there you can enable or disable them, update their API key, or uninstall them.