Skills Catalog (Starter Kit)

This is the starter kit of skills that ships with CUST/OS — 44 skills covering 101 tools across map work, tactical picture, comms, routes, sensors, terrain, memory, and meta. It is not the authoritative feature list; it's a reference library operators can use as-is, tweak, or read as examples for their own skills.

The kit's source lives in the open-source github.com/nimbusxr/custos repo alongside the starter custos.yaml and the scratch tests. Once installed, skills live at /sdcard/atak/custos/skills/ on the device and hot-reload on save.

What's actually load-bearing

A small set of skills is genuinely part of the runtime's contract — if you remove them, core flows break:

Runtime-critical skill Why it matters
custos.skill_creator The in-chat skill authoring path (read_skill, write_skill_script, discover_api)
custos.agents The delegation tools (list_agents, delegate); the only way an LLM hands work to a specialist
custos.automation The write_automation and manage_automation tools that let the operator create automations from chat
custos.helpers Shared utility functions (bearing, MGRS, CoT event building) used by other skills
custos.memory Persistent cross-conversation facts
custos.rag Vector store for semantic retrieval

Everything else below is example content — demonstrations of what skills can do. Delete, replace, or rewrite them freely.

Impact levels

  • READ_ONLY -- query, no side effects, no approval needed
  • INFORMATIONAL -- logging or memory writes, no approval needed
  • PROCEDURAL -- single user-visible action, no approval needed by default
  • SIGNIFICANT -- approval gate fires before execution
  • STRATEGIC -- approval gate fires; coarse/high-impact actions (package distribution, comms broadcasts, beacon activation)
  • LETHAL -- approval gate fires; reserved for actions with irreversible kinetic consequences

Map Navigation and Visualization

custos.map_nav

Pan and zoom the map.

Tool Impact Description
focus_map READ_ONLY Pan to a location without changing zoom
zoom_map READ_ONLY Zoom to a scale level

custos.markers

Place, find, and delete map markers.

Tool Impact Description
place_marker PROCEDURAL Place a marker at the specified location
find_items READ_ONLY Search for map items by callsign
delete_markers SIGNIFICANT Delete markers by name or geographic bounds

custos.layers

Map layer visibility and imagery sources.

Tool Impact Description
list_layers READ_ONLY List all overlay layers with visibility status
toggle_layer PROCEDURAL Toggle a layer on or off

custos.drawing

Polygons, rectangles, circles, polylines.

Tool Impact Description
draw_polygon PROCEDURAL Draw a closed polygon from lat/lon points
draw_rectangle PROCEDURAL Draw a rectangle from center and dimensions
draw_circle PROCEDURAL Draw a circle at center with radius

custos.grg_builder

Gridded Reference Graphics overlays.

Tool Impact Description
build_grg PROCEDURAL Place a GRG grid on map
grg_bounds READ_ONLY Get geographic bounds of the current GRG

custos.spot_map

Spot reports with military categorization.

Tool Impact Description
create_spot_report PROCEDURAL Create a categorized spot report marker

Tactical Picture and Situational Awareness

custos.tactical_picture

Query the tactical picture.

Tool Impact Description
get_tactical_picture READ_ONLY Summary of nearby friendly/hostile/unknown units and POIs
get_self_position READ_ONLY Operator's current position from ATAK self-marker
find_nearby READ_ONLY Find items within a radius, sorted by distance with bearing
get_item_detail READ_ONLY Deep drill-down on a single item
measure_distance READ_ONLY Distance and bearing between two points or items
tactical_summary READ_ONLY Statistical counts by affiliation, dimension, team
find_by_type READ_ONLY Filter items by CoT type, affiliation, or dimension

custos.pattern_analysis

Movement pattern detection.

Tool Impact Description
analyze_movement READ_ONLY Analyze a contact's movement for patterns and anomalies

custos.threat_assessment

Route and position risk.

Tool Impact Description
assess_route_risk READ_ONLY Analyze route exposure to hostile positions
assess_position_risk READ_ONLY Evaluate position threat from hostiles and terrain

custos.tracks

Movement history.

Tool Impact Description
get_track_history READ_ONLY Breadcrumb track history for a contact

Communications and Contacts

custos.cot_comms

Send CoT events and chat messages.

Tool Impact Description
send_cot STRATEGIC Broadcast a CoT event to all connected TAK users
send_chat STRATEGIC Send a GeoChat message to a contact or all-chat
read_chat READ_ONLY Read recent GeoChat messages

custos.contacts

Team roster and presence.

Tool Impact Description
list_contacts READ_ONLY List all known TAK contacts with status
get_contact_detail READ_ONLY Detailed info on a contact

custos.comms_status

Network and TAK server health.

Tool Impact Description
get_network_status READ_ONLY TAK server connectivity, active streams, network health

Routes and Navigation Aids

custos.routes

Route planning.

Tool Impact Description
create_route PROCEDURAL Create a route with named waypoints
list_routes READ_ONLY List all route polylines on the map
get_elevation_profile READ_ONLY Sample elevation along a line

custos.dead_reckoning

Position prediction and ETA.

Tool Impact Description
predict_position READ_ONLY Estimate future position based on speed and heading
estimate_arrival READ_ONLY ETA to reach a target

custos.range_bearing

Range and bearing measurement.

Tool Impact Description
measure_rab READ_ONLY Measure range and bearing between two points
create_range_circle PROCEDURAL Create a visible range circle on map

custos.bullseye

Standard targeting reference protocol.

Tool Impact Description
create_bullseye PROCEDURAL Create a bullseye reference point
bearing_from_bullseye READ_ONLY Get range and bearing from bullseye to target

custos.bloodhound

Target tracking.

Tool Impact Description
track_target READ_ONLY Real-time tracking data with bearing, distance, speed, intercept

custos.resection

GPS-denied positioning.

Tool Impact Description
estimate_position READ_ONLY Estimate position by intersecting bearing lines

Casualty, Fires, and Emergency

custos.casualty

MEDEVAC, casualty cards, beacons.

Tool Impact Description
create_9line PROCEDURAL Generate a formatted 9-line MEDEVAC request
mark_hlz PROCEDURAL Mark a Helicopter Landing Zone with metadata
activate_beacon STRATEGIC Activate an emergency beacon alert

custos.fires

Call for fire, hostile tracking, danger close.

Tool Impact Description
hostile_list READ_ONLY List all hostile markers with distance and bearing from self
danger_close_check READ_ONLY Check for friendlies within danger close range

custos.illumination

Sun/moon position, illumination for NVG operations.

Tool Impact Description
get_illumination READ_ONLY Sun/moon position, rise/set times, illumination %, phase

custos.bpha

Battle Position Holding Area defensive graphics.

Tool Impact Description
create_bpha PROCEDURAL Create a BPHA grid rectangle with optional subdivision

Sensors and Detection

custos.detect_buildings

Vision-based building detection.

Tool Impact Description
detect_buildings PROCEDURAL Capture map imagery and run building detection

custos.sensor_fov

Sensor field-of-view cones.

Tool Impact Description
create_sensor_fov PROCEDURAL Place a sensor FOV cone on the map

custos.video

Video / ISR feeds.

Tool Impact Description
list_streams READ_ONLY List available video streams

Terrain and Coordinates

custos.terrain

Elevation, line of sight, viewshed.

Tool Impact Description
get_elevation READ_ONLY Terrain elevation at a point
line_of_sight READ_ONLY Check terrain LOS between two positions
elevation_profile READ_ONLY Sample elevation along a line with gain/loss stats

custos.coord_tools

Coordinate format conversion.

Tool Impact Description
convert_coords READ_ONLY Convert between DD, DMS, UTM, MGRS
get_declination READ_ONLY Magnetic declination at a location

custos.geocoding

Address to coordinates.

Tool Impact Description
geocode READ_ONLY Convert street address to coordinates

Geofencing

custos.geofence

Perimeter security and proximity alerts.

Tool Impact Description
create_geofence PROCEDURAL Create circular geofence with entry/exit alerts
list_geofences READ_ONLY List active geofences with status

Symbology and Vehicles

custos.mil_symbology

MIL-STD-2525 lookup and placement.

Tool Impact Description
decode_sidc READ_ONLY Decode a 15-character SIDC into human-readable fields
place_tactical_graphic PROCEDURAL Place a MIL-STD-2525 tactical marker

custos.vehicles

3D vehicle models.

Tool Impact Description
place_vehicle PROCEDURAL Place a vehicle marker with type and heading

Mission Planning and Data Exchange

custos.mission_brief

Auto-generate military reports.

Tool Impact Description
generate_sitrep READ_ONLY Generate situation report from tactical picture
generate_salute READ_ONLY Generate a SALUTE report for a contact

custos.mission_package

Mission package assembly and distribution.

Tool Impact Description
create_package PROCEDURAL Create mission package with map items
send_package STRATEGIC Send mission package to contacts or broadcast

custos.data_exchange

Import/export KML/GPX/GeoJSON.

Tool Impact Description
export_kml PROCEDURAL Export map items to KML file
import_file PROCEDURAL Import KML, GPX, or GeoJSON

custos.attachments

Files attached to map items.

Tool Impact Description
list_attachments READ_ONLY List files attached to a map item

custos.hashtags

Tag and search.

Tool Impact Description
tag_item PROCEDURAL Apply a hashtag to a map item
search_by_tag READ_ONLY Search for map items by hashtag

Memory and Knowledge

custos.memory

Persistent facts across conversations.

Tool Impact Description
remember INFORMATIONAL Save a fact to persistent memory
recall READ_ONLY Search persistent memory by keyword
forget INFORMATIONAL Remove a fact from memory

custos.rag

Vector store for semantic retrieval.

Tool Impact Description
rag_store PROCEDURAL Store text in vector store with ID
rag_retrieve READ_ONLY Retrieve entries by semantic similarity

Alerts and Notifications

custos.alerts

Notifications, tones, voice alerts.

Tool Impact Description
send_notification PROCEDURAL Send a visible notification with title and message
play_tone PROCEDURAL Play an alert tone (alarm, warning, confirmation, error)
speak_alert PROCEDURAL Speak a message via text-to-speech

Automation

custos.automation

Create and manage automations.

Tool Impact Description
write_automation SIGNIFICANT Create an automation. Trigger type (schedule / interval / event) is auto-detected from the trigger expression; body is deterministic Lua invoked via tools.call. For LLM reasoning, call delegate from inside the body.
manage_automation PROCEDURAL List, toggle, or delete automations

Authoring and Meta

custos.skill_creator

Author and debug skills at runtime.

Tool Impact Description
discover_api PROCEDURAL Introspect Java classes, list packages, discover intents, list plugins
find_skill READ_ONLY Find the closest matching skill using semantic search
read_skill PROCEDURAL Read a skill's SKILL.md metadata
read_skill_script PROCEDURAL Read the content of a Lua script file
write_skill SIGNIFICANT Create or update a skill's SKILL.md metadata file
write_skill_script SIGNIFICANT Write a Lua script with validation and hot-reload
create_skill SIGNIFICANT Create a new skill directory with SKILL.md

custos.agents

Delegate to specialist agents. Only available at the orchestrator level (hidden from sub-agents).

Tool Impact Description
list_agents READ_ONLY List configured specialist agents and their roles
delegate PROCEDURAL Hand off a task to a named specialist agent

custos.helpers

Shared utility functions for bearing, color, CoT, and coordinate operations.

Tool Impact Description
calc_bearing READ_ONLY Bearing between two points
compass_dir READ_ONLY Degrees to compass direction
format_mgrs READ_ONLY Lat/lon to MGRS
format_dms READ_ONLY Lat/lon to DMS
parse_color READ_ONLY Hex color to ARGB int
parse_cot_type READ_ONLY CoT type string parser
build_cot_event READ_ONLY Build a CoT event object
dispatch_cot_event STRATEGIC Send CoT to ATAK pipeline
resolve_item READ_ONLY Find map item by UID/callsign

Summary

Metric Value
Shipped skills 44
Shipped tools 101
Runtime-critical skills 6 (skill_creator, agents, automation, helpers, memory, rag)

See also