CrewX 0.5.0 Release - Skills and Mention-Only Mode

CrewX 0.5.0 is here! This release introduces two major features:

1. Skills System: 100% compatible with Claude Code skills, enabling reusable AI capabilities
2. Mention-Only Mode: Optional Slack Bot mode that only responds when explicitly mentioned

🎯 Key Features

1. Skills System - 100% Compatible with Claude Code

Skills are a standardized way to package reusable AI expertise. CrewX uses the exact same skills format as Claude Code, so your existing Claude skills work without any modifications.

Why Skills?

• Claude Code Compatible: Use Claude Code skills directly in CrewX
• Multi-Provider Support: Test one skill across Claude, Gemini, Copilot, and Codex
• Progressive Loading: Load metadata first, content on-demand
• Version Management: Manage and deploy skills independently

Get Started in 3 Steps

1. Create SKILL.md

skills/hello/SKILL.md:

---
name: hello
description: Simple greeting demo skill for verifying the CrewX skills pipeline
version: 0.0.1
---

# Hello Skill

Use this skill whenever you want to confirm that CrewX skill loading works end-to-end or you simply need a friendly greeting.

## Capabilities
- Explain how the hello skill works and where its script lives (`skills/hello/hello.js`)
- Optionally run the script to generate a greeting
- Always mention that the response is powered by the CrewX hello skill so testers can verify it

## How to Use
1. If you need a quick greeting, you can run:
   ```bash
   node skills/hello/hello.js <name>

The name argument is optional; it defaults to "CrewX user" 2. Quote the script output (or reproduce it) in your reply so humans can see the result 3. Add any extra helpful context, but keep the message short and friendly

**2. Configure in crewx.yaml**

```yaml
# Project-wide skills configuration
skills:
  paths:
    - ./skills              # Specify skill directories
  include:
    - hello                 # Specify which skills to load

# Add skills to agents
agents:
  - id: "senior_dev"
    provider: "cli/claude"
    skills:
      include:
        - hello
        - code-reviewer
    inline:
      prompt: |
        You are a senior developer with specialized skills.

3. Use It

# Run an agent with skills
crewx query "@senior_dev test hello skill"

# Test with multiple AI providers (requires crewx.skills.yaml)
CREWX_CONFIG=crewx.skills.yaml crewx query "@skill_tester_claude test hello"
CREWX_CONFIG=crewx.skills.yaml crewx query "@skill_tester_gemini test hello"

Use Claude Code Skills Directly

Skills from Claude Code's .claude/skills/ directory work without modifications:

skills:
  paths:
    - ./.claude/skills    # Claude Code skills path
    - ./skills            # CrewX custom skills

No modifications, no copying, just works! Same file structure (SKILL.md + YAML frontmatter), same metadata fields (name, description, version), same content format (Markdown). 🎉

2. Slack Mention-Only Mode

The Slack Bot now supports a mention-only mode. When enabled, the CrewX Bot only responds when explicitly mentioned.

Why You Need This

In the default mode, the Bot automatically responds to all threads in the channel. However, when team members are having conversations or asking quick questions, you may not always want AI chiming in.

Usage

# Start Slack Bot in mention-only mode
crewx slack --mention-only

# Start in regular mode (responds to all threads)
crewx slack

How It Works:

• Regular Mode: Bot automatically responds to all messages in threads
• Mention-Only Mode: Only responds when @CrewX is mentioned

# In mention-only mode
👤 "Can you review this code?"           → No bot response
👤 "@CrewX Can you review this code?"   → Bot responds! ✅

Now you can call AI assistance exactly when needed, enabling more efficient team collaboration.

📦 Other Improvements

• Document System Refactoring: More flexible document management in agent configurations
• Performance Optimization: Progressive loading of skills reduces memory usage
• Stability: Various bug fixes and improved error handling

🚀 How to Upgrade

# Update via NPM
npm update -g crewx

# Or reinstall
npm install -g crewx@latest

# Verify the version
crewx --version  # Should output 0.5.0

Your existing crewx.yaml configuration will continue to work as-is. To use Skills, simply add a skills section as described above.

📚 Related Documentation

• Skills Guide
• Slack Integration Guide
• Full Release Notes

What's Next

Upgrade to CrewX 0.5.0 and start leveraging Claude Code skills!

# Check out skills examples
git clone https://github.com/sowonlabs/crewx
cd crewx/skills/hello

# Start Slack Bot in mention-only mode
crewx slack --mention-only

Have questions? Drop them in GitHub Issues! 🙌