Convert Gemini Gems to Skills — free SKILL.md validator
Google is shutting down Gemini Gems. Personal Gems stop working on November 17, 2026, and you can no longer create or edit them after October 13, 2026. Paste your Gem instructions below and get a spec-compliant SKILL.md file back, plus a report of what changes and what may break.
The one thing most people miss: migrated Gems arrive as disabled drafts. Google preserves your name, description, instructions and knowledge files, but it does not activate them for you. You have to open each one, review it, and switch it on.
A second thing: Skills do not support everything Gems did. Canvas, Deep Research, video generation, music generation and Guided Learning do not carry over. Connected Apps, including Workspace apps, do work.
Step 1 of the migration. Open your Gem, copy the instruction text, paste it here.
0 / 1024 characters
Nothing you paste leaves your browser. All conversion and validation run locally in JavaScript.
Checking an existing file before you upload it. Add the folder name to catch the mismatch that silently stops a skill from triggering.
Validation runs entirely in your browser. No file is uploaded or stored.
What happens to your Gems on November 17
Google will automatically recreate your Gems as Skills. The migration preserves the original name, description, custom instructions and uploaded knowledge files, and Drive sharing permissions carry over.
What it does not do is turn them on. Each converted Skill lands in your list as an inactive draft. Until you review and activate it, it cannot be used or shared. Plan on spending a few minutes per Gem after the migration rather than assuming the migration handled everything.
Workspace accounts have longer: business, enterprise and nonprofit keep Gems until at least March 1, 2027, and education until at least June 1, 2027. Those accounts are not in the first wave, so they can watch how the personal conversion behaves in November.
Three things that break during migration
| What | Status | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Canvas, Deep Research, video and music generation, Guided Learning | Not supported by Skills yet | Rebuild that specific workflow as a standalone prompt or a different tool |
| Gemini app and Google Workspace | Skills do not sync between them | Create the skill twice if you use both surfaces |
| Google Labs premade Gems | Shut down, no conversion path | Write down what it did and rebuild it as your own skill before November |
| Chat history grouped under the Gem | Grouping is gone | Those chats now sit in the normal side panel |
| Knowledge files | Must be re-uploaded | Download the skill first, then upload it together with its files |
What this tool checks
| Check | Rule | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Name format | Lowercase letters, numbers and hyphens, max 64 characters | An uppercase letter causes the upload to fail |
| Hyphen rules | No leading hyphen, no trailing hyphen, no two in a row | pdf--processing is rejected |
| Name matches folder | The name in SKILL.md must equal its parent directory name | A mismatch means the skill never triggers |
| Description length | 1 to 1024 characters | Over the limit is rejected outright |
| Description quality | Should state what it does and when to use it | Vague descriptions cause missed triggers |
| External requests | Scripts cannot call external websites | Google blocks this at upload |
| File types | Plain text and media work; .docx, .doc, .xlsx do not | Binary formats must be converted first |
| Total upload size | 100 MB across all files | Large reference libraries hit this |
| Empty body | Instructions are required after the frontmatter | A skill with no instructions has nothing to run |
How to convert a Gem, step by step
- Back up every Gem before November 17. Open each one and copy the instruction text into a document. Also download the knowledge files. The automatic conversion is convenient, not guaranteed, and ten minutes now removes the risk entirely.
- Identify the Gems that will not survive intact. Check whether any of them rely on Canvas, Deep Research, video, music or Guided Learning. Those capabilities do not exist in Skills, so they need a different plan rather than a conversion.
- Create the Skill manually rather than waiting. Google will convert everything on November 17 whether you are ready or not. Creating it yourself means you can test it in a fresh conversation while the old Gem is still available to compare against.
- Write the frontmatter correctly. The name must be lowercase with single hyphens, match its folder, and stay under 64 characters. The description must be 1024 characters or fewer. Use the WHAT plus WHEN pattern so the model knows when to load it.
- Test, then verify after the 17th. Run a real task against the new Skill. After the migration, confirm each converted draft is enabled.
Four ways to create a skill
| Method | Best for | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Ask Gemini to build it | Getting a first draft fast | You will want to edit it afterwards |
| Start from a template | Filling in a known structure | Limited to what the template covers |
| Write it manually | Full control over the instructions | Slowest option |
| Upload a SKILL.md or folder | Portability across Claude, ChatGPT and Gemini | You must respect the file rules above |
Frequently asked questions
What happens to my Gemini Gems on November 17, 2026?
Personal Gems are shut down on November 17, 2026 and automatically rebuilt as Skills. Google preserves the name, description, custom instructions and uploaded knowledge files, but each migrated Gem arrives as a disabled draft that you must open, review and activate yourself. Google does not activate them for you.
Do I need to do anything before the migration?
No, migration is automatic. But automatic is not the same as instant. After November 17 you still have to open each converted Skill, check it, and enable it. Copying your Gem instructions to a document before November takes ten minutes and removes the risk of losing work you spent time on.
Why are my migrated Gems showing as drafts?
Because Google deliberately does not enable converted Skills for you. A migrated Gem appears in your Skill list as an inactive draft. You must review and activate each one, otherwise it cannot be used or shared.
Will skills have the same functionality as Gems?
No. Google states that Skills work with some but not all features. Canvas, Deep Research, Create video, Create music and Guided Learning do not work with Skills yet. Connected Apps, including Workspace apps, do work. This is a current gap rather than a permanent limit.
Do skills sync between the Gemini app and Google Workspace?
No. Skills created in the Gemini app and Skills created in Google Workspace do not currently sync automatically. If you use both surfaces, you need to create the skill twice and manage them separately.
What file types can I upload to a skill?
Total uploads are capped at 100 MB across all files. Anything plain-text based works: .txt, .md, .rst, .rtf, .tex, .log, code files like .py and .sh, data and config like .json, .yaml, .csv, .toml, .xml and .sql, and web files like .html, .css and .svg. Rich media including .pdf, .jpg and .png is also supported. Binary formats such as .docx, .doc and .xlsx are not supported and must be converted first.
How many skills can I create?
You can have up to 100 skills active simultaneously. There is no practical limit on how many templates you create, but only 100 will be active at once.
Can I use a skill I created on another platform?
Yes in practice. Skills are built on the open, Markdown-native SKILL.md standard, which is also used by Claude and ChatGPT. A skill you write once is no longer locked to one vendor, which is something a Gem never offered.
Why is my SKILL.md upload rejected?
Two rules fail an upload if you miss them. The skill name inside SKILL.md must be all lowercase with words separated by hyphens, and scripts cannot make requests to external websites. Common other causes include an uppercase letter, a leading or trailing hyphen, consecutive hyphens, a name that does not match its folder, a description longer than 1024 characters, or binary files such as .docx and .xlsx.
What happened to the chats that used my Gem?
A Gem used to have its own page listing your recent chats with it. Skills do not. Because a skill can be used in any chat, those conversations now appear in the normal side panel instead, and you lose the per-Gem chat grouping.
Can I batch transfer Gem knowledge files to a skill?
No. Knowledge files must be uploaded one at a time. You can download the skill and re-upload it together with its files, but there is no bulk conversion path.
What is the full migration timeline?
September 30, 2026: Google replaced Gems with Skills. October 5 to 12: Rapid Release for Workspace. October 13: Gemini app rollout, and the last day you can create or edit Gems. November 17: personal account Gems are converted and support ends. March 2027: Workspace business, enterprise and nonprofit. June 2027: education. The Opal experiment shuts down in November 2026 alongside Gems.
Next steps
How to convert a Gem to a Skill, step by step — the full walkthrough including the four creation methods and what to test before the 17th.
The SKILL.md format reference — every frontmatter field, the file type rules, and good versus bad examples.
What happens to Gems that cannot convert — the migration risks in detail, including the draft trap and the Labs gems that have no conversion path.
Open the standalone validator — check a file without touching the converter.