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

# Publishing, sharing & lifecycle

> Publish a skill so agents can use it, set who can see it, and manage its lifecycle through archive and delete.

A skill only becomes usable by your [Agents](/agents/overview) once you **Publish** it. This page covers publishing, controlling visibility and sharing, moving skills between folders, importing and exporting, and safely archiving or deleting a skill.

## Publish a skill

Publishing turns a **Draft** into a usable skill. On skill tiles and badges the published state is shown as **Agent ready**; the editor and the Status filter call the same state **Published**.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the skill">
    Open the skill from the **Workspace** tab of [Skills](/skills/overview), or open the [skill editor](/skills/create-edit) you are working in.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Resolve any package errors">
    Publishing is blocked until package validation passes. A skill also can't be saved without a **Name** and a **Folder**, so set those in the **Settings** panel first.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Click Publish">
    Use **Publish** in the editor header. The status moves to **Published** and the tile shows **Agent ready**.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Note>
  Only **Published** skills can be used by agents. A skill left in **Draft** is editable and shareable, but agents won't load it until you publish.
</Note>

After publishing, agents can attach the skill from their setup — see [Giving agents tools, skills & connections](/agents/tools-skills-connections).

## Set visibility and share

Every workspace skill has a **Visibility** that decides who can see it, plus optional per-person and per-team sharing. Open **Share** from a skill's detail header.

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Workspace">
    Visible to your whole workspace. This is the **Company** default — anyone in the workspace can find and use the skill.
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Private">
    Visible only to you, plus the specific people or teams you add in the Share dialog.
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

In the **Share** dialog you can add individual members or teams and grant each one a role:

| Role       | What they can do                                    |
| ---------- | --------------------------------------------------- |
| **Viewer** | Open and use the skill; cannot change it.           |
| **Editor** | Open, use, and edit the skill's files and settings. |

Click **Save** to apply sharing.

<Info>
  Sharing requires share permission on the skill. A skill's **Folder** (Company, Personal, or a specific Team) also scopes who it belongs to — use **Move** to relocate a skill to a different folder or team.
</Info>

## Duplicate a view-only skill

If you have only view access — or the skill is **Built-in** or **Archived** — editing and publishing are disabled. To make changes, create an editable copy first.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the skill">
    Open any view-only or read-only skill.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Duplicate">
    Choose **Duplicate** from the header. Erstan creates an editable **Draft** copy in your library (a toast confirms **Draft copy created**).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Edit and publish">
    Edit the copy in the [skill editor](/skills/create-edit), then **Publish** when it's ready.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Tip>
  This is also how you adapt a [Built-in skill](/skills/built-in): duplicate it into your workspace, change the instructions, and publish your own version.
</Tip>

## Import and export

Skills are portable as `.zip` packages, which makes it easy to move a skill between workspaces or share it outside Erstan.

* **Export** — From a skill's header, choose **Export** to download the skill as a `.zip` package (its `SKILL.md`, supporting files, and any actions).
* **Import** — Use **Import** on the [Skills](/skills/overview) page to bring a `.zip` package into your workspace as a new skill.

To distribute a skill more broadly to other Erstan customers, publish it through the Marketplace instead — see [Publishing with Erstan Builders](/marketplace/builders).

## Archive or delete

When a skill is no longer needed, **Archive** it (active skills) or **Delete** it (already-archived skills). Before either runs, Erstan performs a **lifecycle impact check**.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the skill or select rows">
    Open the skill, or multi-select rows in the list to use the bulk action bar (it shows **N selected** with **Archive (N)** and **Delete archived (N)**).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Choose Archive or Delete">
    **Archive** an active skill, or **Delete** a skill that is already archived.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Review the impact check">
    Erstan shows where the skill is used across **Agents**, chat threads, and channel bindings. You can **clean up draft usage** here before continuing.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Confirm">
    Confirm **Archive** or **Delete**.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Warning>
  Archiving a skill makes it read-only — you can inspect it, but editing and publishing are disabled. Agents that still reference an archived or deleted skill will no longer load it, which can change their behavior. Review the impact check and clean up draft usage first.
</Warning>

<Note>
  Only the skill **owner** or a workspace **admin** can archive or delete a skill. In a bulk selection, items you don't have permission to change are called out and skipped.
</Note>

## Who can do what

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Members">
    Create, edit, publish, and share skills they own or have **Editor** access to. They can duplicate any skill they can view.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Owners and admins">
    Everything members can do, plus archive or delete any skill, and manage [Built-in skills](/skills/built-in) (prioritize, disable, or replace).
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Next steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Creating and editing skills" icon="pencil" href="/skills/create-edit">
    Author a skill by hand or with Skill Chat in the package editor.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Skills overview" icon="book-open" href="/skills/overview">
    How skills work and how agents use published ones.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Built-in skills" icon="package" href="/skills/built-in">
    Review, prioritize, disable, or replace the skills Erstan ships.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Publishing with Erstan Builders" icon="store" href="/marketplace/builders">
    Share your work as a clonable Marketplace listing.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>