Databricks Agent Skills (AI Tools) Tutorial 2026 - Install, Use, Build Custom

Your AI coding assistant keeps writing Databricks code that does not work. It calls Lakeflow pipelines "Delta Live Tables". It uses flags that were removed. It is not that the model is bad, it is that the model is guessing. Databricks Agent Skills fix that with ONE free command. 🚀 This is the complete walkthrough: what a skill actually is, installing them with the Databricks CLI, where the files really land, and then the part that matters most - writing your OWN skill so your assistant follows your company's standards without being told. I build a custom "Meridian standards" skill live, show the exact same prompt before and after, then reuse the same skill inside Databricks with Genie Code. ───────────────────────────────────── 🔥 WHAT YOU WILL LEARN ───────────────────────────────────── ✅ What an agent skill actually is - a SKILL.md file with metadata and plain English guidance ✅ How the description field decides whether your skill ever gets loaded ✅ Inside a real skill folder: SKILL.md, references, assets, agents ✅ Installing and authenticating the Databricks CLI from scratch ✅ databricks aitools install - auto-detects your coding assistants ✅ Where the files actually land, and why it is NOT your agent's skills folder ✅ Plugin vs raw skill files, and which assistants get which ✅ Listing skills, checking versions, update checks and experimental skills ✅ Creating a catalog, medallion schemas and demo tables on FREE Edition ✅ How the AI Dev Kit skills became the official Databricks AI Tools ✅ Setting up the Databricks plugin in Claude Code ✅ Generating SQL WITHOUT standards - valid, but inconsistent ✅ Building a custom skill that enforces naming, schemas, comments and tags ✅ The exact same prompt AFTER the skill - completely different answer ✅ Reusing the same skill inside Databricks with Genie Code ✅ Knowledge vs credentials vs tools - where the access actually comes from 💡 PLAN REQUIRED 100% FREE. The Databricks CLI and the agent skills are open source. Everything in this video works on Databricks FREE EDITION. 📁 The custom skill file and both demo CSVs are linked below. ───────────────────────────────────── ⏱ CHAPTERS ───────────────────────────────────── 00:00 Intro to Agent Skills 01:42 What Databricks AI Tools Are 02:29 Inside a Skill File 05:11 Install the Databricks CLI 08:31 Run databricks aitools install 12:32 Where the Skill Files Actually Land 16:19 Create the Demo Tables 19:37 AI Dev Kit vs AI Tools 21:45 Claude Code Plugin Setup 26:05 Before: SQL Without Standards 29:17 Build Your Own Custom Skill 32:35 After: Same Prompt, Different Answer 35:50 Use the Same Skill in Genie Code 39:02 Update, Version and What Skills Cannot Do 41:08 Wrap Up and Takeaways ───────────────────────────────────── 🔗 RESOURCES ───────────────────────────────────── ↗ Official skills repo → https://github.com/databricks/databricks-agent-skills ↗ Agent skills docs → https://docs.databricks.com/aws/en/agent-skills/ ↗ aitools command reference → https://docs.databricks.com/aws/en/dev-tools/cli/reference/aitools-commands ↗ Databricks CLI docs → https://docs.databricks.com/aws/en/dev-tools/cli/ ↗ Databricks CLI releases → https://github.com/databricks/cli/releases ↗ Extend Genie Code with skills → https://docs.databricks.com/aws/en/genie-code/skills ↗ Agent Skills open standard → https://agentskills.io/ ↗ Managed MCP servers → https://docs.databricks.com/aws/en/agents/mcp-tools/managed-mcp ↗ AI Dev Kit repo (uninstall steps) → https://github.com/databricks-solutions/ai-dev-kit ↗ Databricks Free Edition → https://www.databricks.com/learn/free-edition ↗ Genie Code docs → https://docs.databricks.com/aws/en/genie-code/ 📁 FILES FROM THIS VIDEO https://github.com/sudarshan-koirala/databricks-aitools-youtube Linkedin Post about AITools vs AI DevKit https://www.linkedin.com/posts/sudarshan-koirala_databricks-dataengineering-genai-activity-7490310205713494016-TzZV?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAAnlq1YBxvsQgBoNOT0ZbcnRyGlTdN5T4fY ──────────────────────────────────────────── Databricks AI Dev Kit → https://youtu.be/q7vwfBbx9Wk?si=iuC1fYND3atLZQMw Full Databricks playlist → https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLz-qytj7eIWXkF14GJUG2gjFt2gsoedSB Subscribe for new episodes → www.youtube.com/@datasciencebasics --------------------------------------------------------------------- ☕ Buy me a Coffee: https://ko-fi.com/datasciencebasics ✌️Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/datasciencebasics ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 🤝 Connect with me: 📺 Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@datasciencebasics?sub_confirmation=1 👔 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sudarshan-koirala/ 🐦 Twitter: https://twitter.com/mesudarshan 🔉Medium: https://medium.com/@sudarshan-koirala 💼 Consulting: https://topmate.io/sudarshan_koirala #databricks #agentskills #databricksaitools #aicoding #datasciencebasics