Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
The Data Science Lab is a live weekly call. Register at pos.it/dslab! Discord invites go out each week on lives calls. We'd love to have you!
The Lab is an open, messy space for learning and asking questions. Think of it like pair coding with a friend or two. Learn something new, and share what you know to help others grow.
On this call, Libby Heeren is joined by Garrick Aden-Buie, who walks through what AI agent skills are, how they work, and how to create your own.
Garrick explains agent skills by starting with the basics: how we interact with large language models, what system prompts are, and how skills dynamically load instructions when needed. He demonstrates several practical skills, including skills for Shiny development with bslib and a skill that automates pull request creation workflows. Then, live during the session, Garrick creates a new skill from scratch that generates alt text for data visualizations using best practices from accessibility experts.
Hosting crew from Posit: Libby Heeren, Isabella Velasquez
Garrick Aden-Buie's GitHub: github.com/gadenbuie
Garrick Aden-Buie's Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/garrickadenbuie.com
Garrick Aden-Buie's LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/garrick-aden-buie
Resources mentioned in the video and chat:
🔗 Agent Skills website: agentskills.io
🔗 Agent Skills directory: https://skills.sh/
🔗 Elmer R package for interacting with LLM APIs: ellmer.tidyverse.org
🔗 Caveman skill: github.com/JuliusBrussee/caveman
🔗 Posit-dev skills repository: github.com/posit-dev/skills
🔗 Garrick's ds-lab-agent-skills demo repository: github.com/gadenbuie/ds-lab-agent-skills
🔗 btw R package for connecting R and LLMs: posit-dev.github.io/btw
🔗 Christopher Kenny's Awesome R Skills repo: github.com/christopherkenny/awesome-rstats-skills
🔗 Cat Hicks' learning opportunities skills: github.com/DrCatHicks/learning-opportunities
🔗 Amy Cesal's article on writing alt text for data visualizations: medium.com/nightingale/writing-alt-text-for-data-visualization-2a218ef43f81
🔗 bslib R package for modern Shiny UI: rstudio.github.io/bslib
► Subscribe to Our Channel Here: bit.ly/2TzgcOu
Follow Us Here:
Website: posit.co
Hangout: https://pos.it/dsh
The Lab: https://pos.it/dslab
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/posit-software
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/posit.co
Thanks for hanging out with us! 💛
00:00 Introduction
01:43 "Are skills solely for Claude code or are they applicable in all contexts?"
04:16 Demoing the elmer R package for interacting with large language models
05:13 "What are agent skills?"
06:59 "How do I how do I make a skill?"
07:49 Demoing how to use a system prompt
10:55 Demoing the caveman skill markdown file
14:28 "If I have access to Positron Assistant using GitHub Copilot, does that mean that I can use Elmer without an API key?"
15:46 "Can the instructions be more than just strings? Are there other types of sources like JSON or CSV that can be used to learn other skills?"
18:57 "What are the examples in which you use skills?"
19:37 Demoing the posit skills repository
20:22 Demoing the Shiny BSLib skill
25:19 "Is there anything like that with agents skills so that we can look up the top trending or used skills so that we know what's already out there?"
25:34 "Wondering what you use to keep up with the latest."
25:41 Demoing the skills.sh website to find skills
28:00 "Should we really trust these random skills?"
28:22 "What tool do you use to downloadmanage or sync skills from various sources?"
28:44 Demoing how to install skills using npx
30:36 Demoing how to install skills using the BTW R package
31:53 "Is a boundaries section standard for the skills .md file? And what practical implications does that have?"
32:55 "Are skills almost a way to give agents info about topics in a lesser version of using RAG?"
34:57 Demoing the PR create workflow skill
37:38 Demoing building a skill from scratch
41:12 Demoing using slash commands to invoke skills in Claude Code
45:00 "How do LLMs deal with conflicts between skills?"
46:02 "Are you stuck using all skills for each session? Or can you subset which skills you're using for that session?"
47:00 "Is the default to download them on a per project level?"
47:24 "What is the difference between local and global skills folders? Could you demonstrate that for us really quickly?"
49:58 Demoing the Planetator tool for reviewing files and giving inline feedback
53:28 "Is installing skills from the claude code plug-in marketplace the same thing with installing with npx?"
54:44 "What distinguishes the .claud folder from a .agents folder?"
55:21 "Is it the community practice to let an LLM write the skill with resources fed as opposed to writing it by hand?"
The Data Science Lab is a live weekly call. Register at pos.it/dslab! Discord invites go out each week on lives calls. We'd love to have you!
The Lab is an open, messy space for learning and asking questions. Think of it like pair coding with a friend or two. Learn something new, and share what you know to help others grow.
On this call, Libby Heeren is joined by Garrick Aden-Buie, who walks through what AI agent skills are, how they work, and how to create your own.
Garrick explains agent skills by starting with the basics: how we interact with large language models, what system prompts are, and how skills dynamically load instructions when needed. He demonstrates several practical skills, including skills for Shiny development with bslib and a skill that automates pull request creation workflows. Then, live during the session, Garrick creates a new skill from scratch that generates alt text for data visualizations using best practices from accessibility experts.
Hosting crew from Posit: Libby Heeren, Isabella Velasquez
Garrick Aden-Buie's GitHub: github.com/gadenbuie
Garrick Aden-Buie's Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/garrickadenbuie.com
Garrick Aden-Buie's LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/garrick-aden-buie
Resources mentioned in the video and chat:
🔗 Agent Skills website: agentskills.io
🔗 Agent Skills directory: https://skills.sh/
🔗 Elmer R package for interacting with LLM APIs: ellmer.tidyverse.org
🔗 Caveman skill: github.com/JuliusBrussee/caveman
🔗 Posit-dev skills repository: github.com/posit-dev/skills
🔗 Garrick's ds-lab-agent-skills demo repository: github.com/gadenbuie/ds-lab-agent-skills
🔗 btw R package for connecting R and LLMs: posit-dev.github.io/btw
🔗 Christopher Kenny's Awesome R Skills repo: github.com/christopherkenny/awesome-rstats-skills
🔗 Cat Hicks' learning opportunities skills: github.com/DrCatHicks/learning-opportunities
🔗 Amy Cesal's article on writing alt text for data visualizations: medium.com/nightingale/writing-alt-text-for-data-visualization-2a218ef43f81
🔗 bslib R package for modern Shiny UI: rstudio.github.io/bslib
► Subscribe to Our Channel Here: bit.ly/2TzgcOu
Follow Us Here:
Website: posit.co
Hangout: https://pos.it/dsh
The Lab: https://pos.it/dslab
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/posit-software
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/posit.co
Thanks for hanging out with us! 💛
00:00 Introduction
01:43 "Are skills solely for Claude code or are they applicable in all contexts?"
04:16 Demoing the elmer R package for interacting with large language models
05:13 "What are agent skills?"
06:59 "How do I how do I make a skill?"
07:49 Demoing how to use a system prompt
10:55 Demoing the caveman skill markdown file
14:28 "If I have access to Positron Assistant using GitHub Copilot, does that mean that I can use Elmer without an API key?"
15:46 "Can the instructions be more than just strings? Are there other types of sources like JSON or CSV that can be used to learn other skills?"
18:57 "What are the examples in which you use skills?"
19:37 Demoing the posit skills repository
20:22 Demoing the Shiny BSLib skill
25:19 "Is there anything like that with agents skills so that we can look up the top trending or used skills so that we know what's already out there?"
25:34 "Wondering what you use to keep up with the latest."
25:41 Demoing the skills.sh website to find skills
28:00 "Should we really trust these random skills?"
28:22 "What tool do you use to downloadmanage or sync skills from various sources?"
28:44 Demoing how to install skills using npx
30:36 Demoing how to install skills using the BTW R package
31:53 "Is a boundaries section standard for the skills .md file? And what practical implications does that have?"
32:55 "Are skills almost a way to give agents info about topics in a lesser version of using RAG?"
34:57 Demoing the PR create workflow skill
37:38 Demoing building a skill from scratch
41:12 Demoing using slash commands to invoke skills in Claude Code
45:00 "How do LLMs deal with conflicts between skills?"
46:02 "Are you stuck using all skills for each session? Or can you subset which skills you're using for that session?"
47:00 "Is the default to download them on a per project level?"
47:24 "What is the difference between local and global skills folders? Could you demonstrate that for us really quickly?"
49:58 Demoing the Planetator tool for reviewing files and giving inline feedback
53:28 "Is installing skills from the claude code plug-in marketplace the same thing with installing with npx?"
54:44 "What distinguishes the .claud folder from a .agents folder?"
55:21 "Is it the community practice to let an LLM write the skill with resources fed as opposed to writing it by hand?"
