Moves the skill from .agents/skills/lancedb to
plugins/lancedb/skills/lancedb, as recommended by codex and claude.
Install path now is:
### Codex/ChatGPT app
Codex: Plugins -> "Create" arrow -> Add plugin marketplace
search for lancedb plugin and install
### Codex CLI
```
codex plugin marketplace add lancedb/lancedb
codex plugin install lancedb@lancedb # name@marketplace
```
### Claude app
Settings -> Plugins -> Add -> Add marketplace
search for lancedb plugin and install
### Claude CLI
```
claude plugin marketplace add lancedb/lancedb
claude plugin install lancedb@lancedb
```
Here's how it looks on ChatGPT/Codex app:
(the main icon has light and dark modes; the smaller one on the skill
doesn't so I made it gray 🤷 )
<img width="764" height="560" alt="Screenshot 2026-07-16 at 2 49 24 PM"
src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/b82cda16-3392-4740-ac47-b2f187cb2655"
/>
## What the new agent skill covers
We want to help users _easily_ write LanceDB pipelines to bring their
data in from other places, no matter whether they use LanceDB OSS or
Enterprise.
The `lancedb` set of skills contains guidance for agents on the
following:
- Distinguishes local and remote table capabilities.
- Promotes bounded reads using `select()` and `limit()`.
- Prevents accidental full-table materialization.
- Documents correct Python sync/async scan APIs.
- Recommends validated Python schemas and batched ingestion.
- Provides indexing, query-tuning, diagnostics, and maintenance
guidance.
- Documents the Enterprise table-name cache issue: avoid immediately
reusing a dropped or overwritten table name; write to a fresh name and
rename after propagation.
- Adds Python and TypeScript API, pattern, and performance references.
- Adds a heuristic scanner for potentially unsafe Python and TypeScript
materialization patterns.
This change only adds agent documentation and tooling: no LanceDB
runtime code, Rust code, SDK APIs, dependencies, or CI configuration are
modified.
## Context
The LanceDB agent skill was accidentally pushed directly to `main` in
`8ea78e3fbcb26718112ab4ddec55a91804b869d3`, bypassing the normal review
workflow. That commit was reverted on `main` by `c12a6dce` so the
protected branch is back to its prior content.
Agents seemed to have trouble finding the right calls to work with
branches (create, list, delete) and passing the right params to get it
to work. We probably don't need a big skill to get it on the right track
but a little nudge seems helpful. Doing a couple simple tasks, it saved
about half the time and tokens, so feels worthwhile. Created with the
Claude skills creator, hence the "skill.md in a bare folder"
organization - happy to move it if that's not the standard anymore.
```
Benchmark results (3 evals, with-skill vs baseline):
┌────────────────┬────────────┬────────────────────┐
│ Metric │ With skill │ Without skill │
├────────────────┼────────────┼────────────────────┤
│ Pass rate │ 3/3 (100%) │ 3/3 (100%) │
├────────────────┼────────────┼────────────────────┤
│ Avg time │ 51s │ 142s (2.8× slower) │
├────────────────┼────────────┼────────────────────┤
│ Avg tokens │ 19,305 │ 36,513 (47% more) │
├────────────────┼────────────┼────────────────────┤
│ Avg tool calls │ 5.7 │ 26 (4.5× more) │
└────────────────┴────────────┴────────────────────┘
```
Two skills to help people connect and manage their column metadata using
a server that implements the [REST
API](https://lance.org/format/catalog/rest/)
lancedb-column-metadata was built using the [Claude skill
creator](https://claude.com/plugins/skill-creator); without the skill it
was usually calling at least one method that didn't exist and usually
not setting "replace": "false". So, while the base case is already
pretty good, adding this skill improves things somewhat.
lancedb-connect should help with most agentic workflows, because
"finding all the things you need to connect to your server" can be the
hardest part.
Moves the Lance dependency bump process into an in-repository skill so
local agents and GitHub Actions share the same workflow definition.
The update workflow is now an explicit, optional-tag entrypoint;
latest-release resolution, duplicate PR handling, Java/Rust dependency
updates, and Sophon follow-up are documented in the skill and backed by
a small deterministic helper.
Dan Tasse
Prashanth Rao
Xuanwo