How to Fix OpenClaw Skills Not Loading

# List skill directories:
ls -la ~/.openclaw/skills/

# Each skill should have:
# skill-name/
# ├── skill.md       (required: metadata + docs)
# ├── index.js       (required: entry point)
# ├── package.json   (optional: dependencies)
# └── README.md      (optional: extra docs)

# Check a specific skill:
tree ~/.openclaw/skills/my-skill
# If tree isn't installed:
find ~/.openclaw/skills/my-skill -type f

# Check for YAML syntax errors:
# Extract frontmatter (between --- markers)
awk '/^---$/,/^---$/{print}' ~/.openclaw/skills/my-skill/skill.md > /tmp/frontmatter.yml
yamllint /tmp/frontmatter.yml

# Common errors:
# - Missing closing ---
# - Incorrect indentation
# - Unquoted special characters
# - Duplicate keys

# Validate JSON blocks if present:
grep -A 100 "```json" ~/.openclaw/skills/my-skill/skill.md | grep -B 100 "```" | jq .

# Check required fields:
grep -E "^(name|version|description):" ~/.openclaw/skills/my-skill/skill.md

# Check ownership and permissions:
ls -la ~/.openclaw/skills/my-skill/

# OpenClaw process needs:
# - Read permission on skill.md, index.js
# - Execute permission on any shell scripts

# Fix permissions:
chmod 644 ~/.openclaw/skills/my-skill/skill.md
chmod 644 ~/.openclaw/skills/my-skill/index.js
chmod 755 ~/.openclaw/skills/my-skill/*.sh

# Fix ownership (replace with OpenClaw user):
sudo chown -R openclaw:openclaw ~/.openclaw/skills/

# Filter logs for skill-related messages:
grep -i "skill" ~/.openclaw/logs/openclaw.log | tail -50

# Look for:
# - "Failed to load skill: my-skill"
# - "Syntax error in skill.md"
# - "Missing dependency"
# - "Skill disabled: incompatible version"

# Enable verbose skill logging:
export OPENCLAW_SKILL_DEBUG=true
systemctl restart openclaw

# Watch logs in real-time:
tail -f ~/.openclaw/logs/openclaw.log | grep skill

# Create a test script:
cat > test-skill.js << 'EOF'
const fs = require('fs');
const path = require('path');

const skillPath = process.argv[2];
const skillMd = fs.readFileSync(
  path.join(skillPath, 'skill.md'), 
  'utf8'
);

console.log('Skill content:', skillMd);

try {
  const skill = require(path.join(skillPath, 'index.js'));
  console.log('Skill loaded:', skill);
} catch (err) {
  console.error('Failed to load:', err);
}
EOF

# Test the skill:
node test-skill.js ~/.openclaw/skills/my-skill

# For Node.js skills:
cd ~/.openclaw/skills/my-skill

# Remove old dependencies:
rm -rf node_modules package-lock.json

# Reinstall:
npm install
# Or if using specific registry:
npm install --registry=https://registry.npmjs.org/

# For Python skills:
cd ~/.openclaw/skills/my-skill

# Install requirements:
pip install -r requirements.txt
# Or in a virtual env:
python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate
pip install -r requirements.txt