Skills in ChatGPT
How to import and use a skill in ChatGPT — the good news is the format is native. And since July 2026, Codex lives in here too.
The short version
Unlike the closed verticals (Harvey, Legora, Lexroom), ChatGPT natively supports the open Agent Skills format — the same SKILL.md file as Claude and Codex. A skill from Skillagram imports as-is, with no rewriting: it's the best compatibility and reuse you'll find today among the general-purpose tools.
The core of a skill stays agent-neutral: a YAML header with name and description (the two required fields — the description states exactly when the skill should and should not trigger), plus the instructions and any supporting resources. The one OpenAI-specific bit of polish (icons, colors, a default prompt) lives in a separate, optional agents/openai.yaml file, so the SKILL.md itself stays portable.
The app's three modes (since July 2026)
On July 9, 2026, OpenAI unified the desktop app: the standalone Codex app was folded into the new ChatGPT app for macOS and Windows. Codex was not discontinued — it became a mode inside ChatGPT, alongside Chat and Work. (The old app is being renamed "ChatGPT Classic.")
| Mode | What it is | When a lawyer uses it |
|---|---|---|
| Chat | The ChatGPT conversation you know: questions, writing, everyday assistance | Day-to-day work. Here a skill fires on its own when the task matches, or you call it explicitly by name |
| Work | Longer agentic workflows across files, apps, docs, sheets, slides, Sites, and scheduled tasks (powered by GPT-5.6), handing you back a finished deliverable | Preparing a substantial draft or orchestrating a multi-step process on a matter, delegating the heavy lifting |
| Codex | Technical work across repositories, diffs, pull requests, terminals, and code changes — surfacing the technical detail Work abstracts away | Only for the technical tier (legal engineers, innovation teams). If you don't work from a terminal, it's not your mode |
All three modes are available on every plan, including Free. Existing Codex-app users just update and find their projects and workflows intact; they can keep Codex as the default view or switch to the other modes.
What ChatGPT calls a "skill"
Exactly what you'd expect: a folder anchored by a SKILL.md (the header with name and description plus the step-by-step instructions), with optional subfolders for scripts, references, and supporting material. It's the same object you use elsewhere.
Two triggering modes, complementary:
- Automatic — the model recognizes the task and loads the skill on its own (it uses progressive disclosure: at first it reads only the name + description, within a budget of roughly 8,000 characters).
- Explicit — you call it by name, so you're sure it gets used in that reply.
Importing and using a Skillagram skill
- Download the skill's folder from Skillagram (the
SKILL.mdand any resources). - Import it: the Plugins item (sidebar) opens two tabs — Plugins (connect ChatGPT to your tools: Drive, GitHub…) and Skills (the
SKILL.mdfiles, the subject of this guide). Add the skill from the Skills tab with + — you can create it (including via ChatGPT Work) or, where available, upload aSKILL.md. - Use it: let it fire on its own when the task matches, or call it explicitly to force its use.
- For a single matter, open a Project, load the skill and the documents, and work in there: the context stays isolated.
- For a recurring workflow (e.g. NDA review to the firm's standards), wrap the skill in a Custom GPT so anyone on the team runs it the same way.
Worth knowing: personal skills do not sync automatically across desktop, web, and mobile — they must be installed on each device.
Sharing a skill within your firm
Sharing happens at the workspace level, under admin control: those with permission can create, upload, share, and install skills according to assigned roles (RBAC). In Enterprise and Edu workspaces, skills are off by default and an admin enables them at will; OpenAI has announced it plans to turn them on by default from July 23, 2026 for Enterprise workspaces that haven't opted out (to verify).
Which plans
The Skills feature is available on ChatGPT Plus too (verified on a real Plus account: the Skills tab is there, with a + to add them) — as well as the workspace plans (Business, Enterprise, Edu), where admins govern who can create, share, and install skills. You don't need a business plan. On basic accounts availability may vary with the rollout: if you don't see the Skills tab, it's almost always a matter of plan or settings, not a mistake on your end.
Where the Skills tab isn't there yet, you can approximate the flow with Projects (on every plan: paste the instructions and work there) or a Custom GPT (paid plan, for a recurring workflow).
The caveat that always holds
A skill makes ChatGPT consistent, not correct. It will faithfully apply even a flawed method, with the same reliability it applies a good one. Every output must be reviewed by a lawyer before it reaches a client or a courtroom — and, if the skill was written for another jurisdiction, its sources and legal citations must be adapted to Italian law before you rely on it.
Product features change quickly. If ChatGPT's interface has moved since this was written, check OpenAI's official documentation (and, for the Claude side, Anthropic's) or your workspace admin for the current steps.