Agent Instructions come in two types: skills and rules. They live in the same panel and follow a similar format, but they work in different ways.

Once you know which type you need, you can decide how to create it based on what already exists on your site and how much help you want drafting it.

Rules

A rule is meant to apply across different kinds of work on your site. When the agent reads your instructions, it should follow that rule whether it's building a page, updating content, or reviewing the site.

Rules work best for standards you want to keep consistent across your site:

• Brand voice and tone requirements
• Class naming conventions
• Accessibility standards
• SEO and AEO defaults
• Required disclaimers or legal language

Rules can still include conditions and exceptions. An accessibility rule, for example, might give different guidance for meaningful versus descriptive image alt text. It's still a rule because the agent should refer to it across different kinds of work.

Skills

A skill becomes relevant when the agent is doing the kind of work it describes.

A design system skill might come into play when the agent is building a section on your site. A product writing skill might apply when it is creating that type of content for you.

Skills work best for guidance tied to a task or workflow:

• Design system guidance when choosing components and variables
• CMS structure guidance when creating or updating collection items
• Build patterns for creating specific pages or sections
• Writing guidance for creating specific content types
• Audit or review steps when checking existing site content

Skills can do more than list steps. A skill might help the agent identify the task, choose the right workflow, and use the guidance or resources that task requires.

Using both together

You can use skills and rules to support the same workflow without having them do the same job.

For example, a landing page skill might tell the agent which components, variants, and variables to use. At the same time, your rules can still guide class naming, accessibility, and brand voice.

The topic alone does not decide the type. You might use a brand voice rule for everything the agent writes, while a product page skill explains the structure and requirements for one specific content type.

References

Agent Instructions can include inline references that connect an instruction to a real resource on your Webflow site, such as a component, variable, style, page, or CMS collection.

Instead of describing a component and hoping the agent finds the right one, you can point directly to it. That gives the agent clearer context about what you mean.

References can also make instructions easier to maintain because the agent can use the connected resource instead of relying only on a written name or description.

Ways to create instructions

Once you know what kind of instruction you need, you have a few ways to get to a first draft. The best starting point depends on what already exists on your site and what you want to capture.

Generate from your site

If your site already has clear patterns, Webflow can use them to generate skills as a starting point for you.

You can generate several types of skills, such as Brand Guidelines, Design System, Asset Guidelines, and CMS Guidelines. You can even scope your CMS guidelines to one or more of your existing Collections.

Choose what you need, then Webflow scans your site and creates drafts based on what it finds.

Write your own or start from a template

If you already know what the agent should follow, you can create an instruction from scratch and write it directly in the editor. This works well for specific team standards or workflows that may not be obvious from the site itself.

You can also start from a built-in template where one is available. For rules, Webflow includes templates for common standards such as SEO, naming, and accessibility. Use the template as a starting point, then add details that match how your site and team work.

Create with the AI Assistant

You can also describe the guidance you want and ask the Webflow AI Assistant to help draft a skill or rule.

Unlike autogenerating skills, which starts by scanning your site for one of the supported categories, creating with the AI Assistant starts with your prompt. It can be useful when you know what you want to capture but want help turning it into a first draft.

Use an MCP-connected agent

An MCP-connected agent, such as Claude, can also inspect your site and help you draft instructions.

This can be helpful if you're pulling from resources outside your site or creating an instruction that doesn't fit one of the generated categories.

Try something like:

Look at my site's components, design tokens, and class naming patterns, then review the attached company brand guidelines. Based on both, draft a design system skill that explains what to reuse and how, so future builds stay on brand.

Whichever approach you use, review the result before you rely on it. Make sure the instructions match how your site and team actually work, and fill in anything the tool couldn't know on its own.

Ready to continue?

Click Complete & continue to see how skills and rules are created and managed in Webflow.