> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.selftune.dev/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Skill distribution, licensing, and signals

> Understand what SelfTune shares, how it checks distribution rights, and when a skill owner receives contributor signals.

An Agent Skill is a folder whose entry point is `SKILL.md`. It can also contain
scripts, references, assets, license terms, and notices. SelfTune distributes
that folder as one immutable package; it does not reduce a skill to a database
row or a prompt string.

The [Agent Skills specification](https://agentskills.io/specification) defines
the package format and allows a `license` field. It does not define a registry,
prove ownership, authorize redistribution, or give a skill owner telemetry.
SelfTune applies the additional checks on this page before a package crosses an
organization boundary.

## Where a shared package is stored

SelfTune has two separate distribution systems:

| System        | What it stores                                             | Use it for                                                     |
| ------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Registry      | Named, versioned public, unlisted, or organization entries | Publishing a version that people can discover or install       |
| Sync & Backup | Immutable, content-addressed package objects and snapshots | Backup, exact-revision sharing, and private recipient delivery |

A private share does not publish the skill to the Registry. The recipient gets
an authorization to the exact sealed Sync & Backup object selected by the
sender. Accepting or importing that object does not install it on the
recipient's computer.

A Skill Set is a bill of materials. Its package contains the set manifest and
identifies every pinned component revision. SelfTune evaluates the license and
distribution rights of every component; a curator does not acquire ownership
or telemetry rights merely by assembling the set.

## What SelfTune checks

Before Registry publication, private recipient sharing, workspace
distribution, or portable Skill Set export, SelfTune checks the exact revision
that will leave its current boundary:

* the root `SKILL.md` and complete bounded file manifest;
* an SPDX license expression, or bundled terms for a `LicenseRef` or
  proprietary package;
* required license and notice files and their hashes;
* the declared rights holder and the publisher's channel-specific rights
  attestation;
* source provenance and its verification strength; and
* the final sealed package hash after any declared SelfTune packaging step.

Uploading a private draft or backing up your own package does not assert that
you may distribute it. A missing or ambiguous license leaves that revision
available for private authoring but marks outward distribution as blocked or
requiring manual review.

<Warning>
  These checks verify package consistency, evidence, and policy. They do not
  prove legal ownership or replace legal review for unusual terms.
</Warning>

## Publisher, rights holder, and signal recipient

SelfTune records three roles independently:

* **Publisher:** the account performing the distribution action.
* **Rights holder:** the person or organization declared as controlling the
  work or providing its license.
* **Signal recipient:** the SelfTune organization authorized to receive
  privacy-protected contributor aggregates for that exact distribution.

Package metadata such as an author name or creator UUID does not grant any of
these roles. SelfTune issues a version-scoped routing capability after a
distribution has been authorized. Changing package bytes, the recipient, or
the signal policy requires new authority.

## What the owner can see

Sharing a skill does not automatically send telemetry to its owner. Recipient
actions use separate consent choices:

| Choice              | What it enables                                                     |
| ------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| License acceptance  | Permission to receive or use the package under its terms            |
| Lifecycle reporting | Optional sender-visible status such as downloaded or used once      |
| Contributor signals | Optional aggregate fields routed to the authorized signal recipient |

Contributor signals are default-off. When enabled and consented, the capability
allows only the disclosed fields, such as bucketed trigger, grade, or miss
category signals. Raw prompts, transcripts, files, code, local paths, email,
machine identity, and stable user identity are not part of that contract.

Installing a skill with SelfTune does not silently enable contributor signals.
Desktop asks separately after a successful install. In v1, trusted
connected-install credentials are disabled: authentication and a local claim
that a token reached Keychain or Credential Manager are not server-verifiable
secure-store evidence. Contributor signals therefore remain off or use the
separate, explicitly weaker `portable_unverified` path when consented.

Revoking consent stops new contributor signals. Revoking the distribution or
its routing capability also stops new accepted events without rewriting the
historical license and authorization audit trail.

## Recipient choices

| Action                          | SelfTune account required                                | Desktop required | Persistent install |
| ------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------- | ------------------ |
| Preview                         | No                                                       | No               | No                 |
| Claim or import to your library | Yes                                                      | No               | No                 |
| Download                        | No, when the license policy permits accountless delivery | No               | No                 |

Terms that require identity-bearing acceptance can require sign-in before
Download. The preview explains this before the action.

SelfTune never installs itself or a shared skill merely because you opened a
claim link. Importing a Set into Desktop is separate from applying it to an
agent or project. Applying it shows the planned target paths and conflicts and
starts only after your final confirmation.

See [Publish or share a skill](/guides/publish-or-share) for sender and recipient
journeys, and [Privacy and permissions](/guides/privacy-and-permissions) for the
consent boundaries.