The AI agent formerly known as Coolbot has a new name, Maltbot, and it’s taking the community by storm. The hype is real, and the ecosystem is evolving at a breakneck pace, with the hub and documentation updating constantly.
This article delves into the most noteworthy skills available for Maltbot. Some of these are proven tools for productivity, while others are simply fascinating concepts worth exploring.
A Critical Note on Security
Before installing any skill, it is crucial to exercise caution. These skills are uploaded by individuals, and security is your responsibility. Always inspect the associated files, such as the markdown (.md) files and any accompanying Python or bash scripts. Look for anything suspicious—code that sends your data to unknown servers, asks for unnecessary personal information, or performs actions you don’t understand. Vigilance is key to using this powerful tool safely.
It’s also important to understand what a “skill” does. If you use a tool like Trello or Notion, downloading the corresponding skill won’t be the only way Maltbot can access it. The agent can already interact with many web-based tools through its browser capabilities. A skill simply enhances this interaction, enabling Maltbot to work more efficiently and intelligently with the specific platform.
Top Maltbot Skills to Explore
Here is a curated list of skills that stand out for their utility, innovation, or sheer potential.
1. Self-Improving Agent
While Maltbot already has a degree of self-improvement by default, adding learnings to its memory folder, this skill adds a more structured layer. It creates dedicated lists for errors, learnings, and feature requests, providing a robust framework for the agent to learn from its own operations and become more effective over time. Installation is simple: just ask Maltbot to download the “self-improving” skill, providing the URL if necessary.
2. Eleven Labs Integration
This skill opens up fascinating possibilities for voice-based automation. Imagine a scenario where Maltbot fails to send a critical email or message. With this skill, it could potentially make a phone call on your behalf to deliver the message, make a reservation, or contact a business. The skill teaches the agent how to use the Eleven Labs CLI, so you will need to have that installed and configured on your system.
3. Stock and Financial Market Analysis
For those interested in finance, there are skills that connect Maltbot to market data. One skill appears to use the LF Financial Analysis integration, which would require an account with that service. Another seems more focused on cryptocurrency analysis. As with any third-party skill, especially in finance, be sure to vet the two Python scripts included to ensure all operations are secure and transparent.
4. Clawbot Documentation Expert
While Maltbot can already read its own documentation, this skill provides a more robust and structured way for it to troubleshoot issues. It equips the agent with specific thought processes to diagnose problems, such as “Why isn’t something working?” or “How do I configure X?” This allows it to more effectively understand and resolve operational challenges. However, it contains several bash scripts, so a thorough review of the files is highly recommended before installation.
5. n8n Workflow
For users of the workflow automation tool n8n, this skill is a game-changer. While Maltbot’s built-in cron jobs can replace some n8n use cases, the ability to trigger or even create n8n automations with natural language is incredibly powerful. For example, you could have a workflow that creates LinkedIn posts whenever a new podcast episode is published. Using a browser automation tool, you could ask Maltbot to build that workflow directly in your n8n web portal. This particular skill may require a local instance of n8n, as it appears to reference a workflow.json file.
6. Model Usage Tracker
As you start using different local and remote AI models, keeping track of usage becomes important. This skill provides a simple way to monitor your activity. You can pass it a provider name, and it will return the usage statistics for that model. While you could create a custom skill to parse the --usage flag from most CLIs, this pre-built tool makes the process effortless.
7. Home Assistant
This skill is a dream for home automation enthusiasts. It allows you to control your entire smart home using natural language. By integrating with a local Home Assistant instance, you can manage lighting, climate, security, and more, all through conversational commands with Maltbot.
8. WhatsApp CLI
Imagine being able to send a WhatsApp message without ever touching your phone. This skill allows you to do just that. You can state a message in natural language, and Maltbot will formulate and send it. Ideally, the skill includes a confirmation step, where the agent repeats the message back to you for approval before sending.
9. Bird (Twitter Integration)
A straightforward but useful skill for interacting with Twitter. Use it to search for tweets, check timelines, and stay updated on the platform directly through the agent.
10. OpenAI Whisper
For offline audio transcription, the Whisper skill is invaluable. It utilizes the command-line version of OpenAI’s Whisper, which runs entirely on your local machine. You’ll need to install it first, typically via pip:
pip install -U openai-whisper
Once installed, this skill is perfect for transcribing audio files without relying on a cloud service, ensuring privacy and offline availability.
11. YouTube Summarizer
This is an incredibly useful tool for content creators and researchers. It can transcribe and summarize YouTube content, which is perfect for generating descriptions, headlines, and hashtags. This can replace complex n8n or Zapier workflows, bringing the entire process onto your local machine.
12. Exa Search
Exa is a search engine built specifically for developers, tailored for finding technical documentation, coding examples, and software updates. It’s like Google, but for nerds. To use this skill, you’ll need an Exa API key. It’s a highly recommended tool for anyone doing development work with Maltbot, and it can also be configured as a custom integration.
13. TMDB Movie Database
For a bit of fun, this skill connects to The Movie Database (a popular IMDb alternative). You could create a recurring task, such as “Every evening at 7 PM, suggest a new film to watch and tell me about its cast and crew.”
14. Google Analytics (GA4) Analysis
This skill could be amazing for getting daily updates on your website’s performance. Ask Maltbot for a summary of traffic, user engagement, and other key metrics from your Google Analytics 4 property.
15. Vercel Deployment
Deploying web projects becomes as simple as giving a command in plain English. This skill almost certainly uses the Vercel CLI under the hood, but it abstracts away the commands. Instead of remembering specific flags and syntax, you can simply say, “Deploy this project to Vercel.”
This natural language approach to terminal commands is also a core feature of AI-powered terminals like Warp. In such an environment, you can switch from writing standard terminal commands to issuing instructions to an AI agent. For example, to manage a server, you could write:
“Inspect the server at 192.168.1.101 and clean up any unused Docker containers.”
The agent would then translate that into the necessary shell commands and execute them for you.
16. Perplexity Search
Perplexity is a powerful conversational search tool. By default, Maltbot may use Brave Search. However, if you have a Perplexity API key (available with their paid plan), you can instruct Maltbot to use Perplexity as its primary search tool for more nuanced and accurate results.
17. GNO (Local Document Search)
This skill is an intriguing tool for advanced local file search. It allows you to index a directory of documents, notes, or knowledge bases and search them using a “BM25 vector hybrid” method. It promises to deliver AI-powered answers complete with citations from your local files. If you need to search through a large personal or project-based collection of documents, GNO is definitely worth investigating.