Documentation

Default Skills

CopyCopy's default skills are the built-in actions shown in the floating panel. They are intentionally small, focused, and local-first: deterministic tools handle exact transforms, while the local Gemma model handles language tasks.

How a skill appears

Copied content
  ↓
Top-level kind      URL · files · image · text · rich text
  ↓
Detected entities   json · base64 · html · codeSnippet · logOutput · sql · emailDraft · …
  ↓
Source context      browser · email · chat · notes · IDE · terminal · other
  ↓
Skill filters       content-types + entity-types + source-contexts
  ↓
Ranking             source boost + entity boost + length boost + usage history
  ↓
Floating panel      best next actions first

Two things are important:

Filters decide eligibility. A skill with entity-types: json only appears when JSON is detected.
Boosts decide order. A browser-specific boost can move Smart Markdown above generic text actions.

Content types

content-types are broad clipboard buckets. They answer: "what kind of thing was copied?"

Content type	What it means	Example skills
`url`	A copied `http` or `https` URL	Open URL, Read Article
`files`	One or more file URLs from Finder	Open File, Reveal in Finder
`image`	Clipboard image data	Custom image skills
`text`	Plain or rich text content	Most text, AI, and local transform skills

URL      → Open URL · Read Article · Decode URL
Files    → Open File · Reveal in Finder
Text     → Clean Text · Format JSON · Summarize · Explain Code · …
Image    → custom image actions

Entity types

entity-types are narrower signals inside text. They answer: "what does this text look like?"

Entity	Typical input	Best default actions
`json`	`{ "ok": true }`	Format JSON
`base64`	`TW9kZWwgbG9hZGVk...`	Decode Base64
`urlEncoded`	`local%20llm%20clipboard`	Decode URL
`html`	`<article><h1>…`	Smart Markdown
`markdown`	`# Title — - Item`	Summarize, Action Items
`codeSnippet`	Functions, classes, imports	Explain Code
`shellCommand`	`swift build`, `curl ...`	Explain Error, Explain Code
`logOutput`	Stack traces, terminal errors	Explain Error, Strip ANSI
`sql`	`SELECT ... FROM ...`	Explain Code
`foreignLanguage`	Non-English text	Translate
`emailDraft`	Email-like draft text	Rewrite Email
`filePath`	`/Users/marc/file.txt`	Reveal Path, Open in Terminal

Detection is local and deterministic first. If the local model is already loaded, CopyCopy may add semantic labels like emailDraft, shellCommand, logOutput, or sql for plain text.

Source contexts

source-contexts and source-boosts use the app where you copied from. They answer: "where did this come from?"

Source	Typical apps	Strong default actions
`browser`	Safari, Chrome, Arc	Read Article, Smart Markdown, Format JSON
`email`	Mail, Outlook	Rewrite Email, Fix Grammar, Action Items
`chat`	Slack, Messages, Discord	Draft Reply, Action Items, Summarize
`notes`	Notes, Obsidian, Notion	Fix Grammar, Action Items, Smart Markdown
`ide`	Xcode, VS Code, JetBrains	Explain Code, Format JSON
`terminal`	Terminal, iTerm, Warp	Explain Error, Strip ANSI, Decode Base64
`other`	Anything else	Generic local/text actions

How source boosts work

Each skill can add a source-boosts map. Higher numbers move the skill up for that source app.

yaml

source-boosts:
  terminal: 150

A terminal error copied from Terminal gets roughly this kind of ordering:

Explain Error       +150 source · +40 entity · history → top
Strip ANSI          +120 source · +40 entity           → high
Explain Code         +70 source · +40 entity           → useful fallback
Clean Text           no entity boost                   → generic fallback
Translate            no matching entity                → hidden or low

A chat copied from Slack gets a different order:

Draft Reply         +150 source · length boost          → top for short chat
Action Items        +110 source · length boost          → top for longer chat/notes
Summarize           +110 source · length boost          → strong for long chat
Clean Text           +45 source                         → generic fallback

Default skill matrix

Skill	Kind	Main filters	Strongest sources	Execution
`Open URL`	URL utility	`content-types: url`	chat, email, notes, other	Local tool
`Read Article`	URL/article	`content-types: url`	browser	Network fetch + extraction
`Clean Text`	Text cleanup	`content-types: text`	browser, email, chat, notes	Local tool
`Smart Markdown`	HTML/article cleanup	`content-types: text`, `entity-types: html, markdown`	browser, notes	HTML converter + local model
`Format JSON`	Structured data	`entity-types: json`	browser, IDE, terminal	Local tool
`Decode Base64`	Encoding	`entity-types: base64`	terminal, browser, IDE	Local tool
`Decode URL`	URL escaping	`content-types: text, url`	browser, terminal, IDE	Local tool
`Strip ANSI`	Terminal cleanup	`entity-types: logOutput, shellCommand`, `source-contexts: terminal`	terminal	Local tool
`Fix Grammar`	Writing	`content-types: text`	email, notes	Local model
`Summarize`	Summary	`content-types: text`, `minimum-chars: 200`	chat, email, notes, browser	Local model
`Translate`	Translation	`entity-types: foreignLanguage`	browser, chat, email, notes	Local model
`Draft Reply`	Chat reply	`source-contexts: chat`	chat	Local model
`Rewrite Email`	Email polish	`entity-types: emailDraft`	email	Local model
`Action Items`	Extraction	`minimum-chars: 100`	chat, email, notes	Local model
`Explain Error`	Terminal help	`entity-types: logOutput, shellCommand`, `source-contexts: terminal`	terminal	Local model
`Explain Code`	Developer help	`entity-types: codeSnippet, shellCommand, sql`	IDE, terminal	Local model
`Open File`	File utility	`content-types: files`	any	Local tool
`Reveal in Finder`	File utility	`content-types: files`	any	Local tool
`Reveal Path`	Path utility	`entity-types: filePath`	any	Local tool
`Open in Terminal`	Path utility	`entity-types: filePath`	any	Local tool

Reading a skill definition

A default skill is just a SKILL.md file with frontmatter and a body.

SKILL.md

---
name: Explain Error
description: Explain terminal error
icon: exclamationmark.triangle
content-types: text
entity-types: logOutput, shellCommand
source-contexts: terminal
text-source: clipboardLLM
temperature: 0
source-boosts:
  terminal: 150
---

Explain the terminal error.
Rules:
- Identify the likely cause first
- Give the smallest practical fix next
- Use 2-4 concise bullets

What each part does:

content-types      broad clipboard kind required to show the skill
entity-types       specific detected labels required to show the skill
source-contexts    app category required to show the skill
source-boosts      ranking boost when copied from that source
text-source        how input is prepared before calling the local model
temperature        creativity; 0 is deterministic, higher is more varied
body               tool call or local-model system prompt

Pipeline follow-ups

After an action runs, CopyCopy builds a new context from the result and suggests follow-ups.

HTML article
  → Smart Markdown
  → result is Markdown
  → follow-ups: Summarize · Action Items · Clean Text

CopyCopy avoids repeating redundant actions, logs the action chain, and uses memory/history to improve future follow-up ordering.

Tips for custom skills

Start with a narrow filter. Prefer entity-types and source-contexts over showing a skill for all text.
Use local tools for exact transforms: JSON, Base64, URL decoding, ANSI stripping, paths.
Use local model prompts for language tasks: summarize, rewrite, translate, explain.
Keep prompts short and rule-based.
Set temperature: 0 for extraction, classification, explanations, and format-sensitive output.
Add source-boosts only where the action is genuinely more useful.