Can you save prompts in Gemini?
Yes. In the Gemini app, a reusable prompt is saved as a skill that you run by typing / and its name, and Gemini can also apply it on its own when it fits. Around it sit Instructions for Gemini (Saved info in some regions) for guidance in every chat, Skills in Chrome for prompts you run on web pages, and custom commands in Gemini CLI. Gems are being retired: for personal accounts they become read-only on November 17, 2026.
All of these keep prompts inside one Google account, so this guide also covers keeping a copy that works in other tools.
Which Gemini option should you use?
| Option | Where it runs | Who can use it (as of October 2026) | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gemini app skills | Any Gemini chat, by / or automatically |
18+, signed in, Keep Activity on; no subscription needed | Prompts and workflows you reuse |
| Gems | Chats with that Gem | Personal accounts: read-only Nov 17, removed Dec 17, 2026 | Nothing new; export what you have |
| Instructions for Gemini | Every chat | Anyone can add instructions | Tone, format and facts about you |
| Skills in Chrome | Gemini side panel, on the open page | English (US) Chrome, personal account, rolling out | Prompts you run on web pages |
| Gemini CLI custom commands | Your terminal | Gemini CLI users | Coding prompts you run with /name |
| Outside library | Wherever you paste | Any | One copy for every AI tool |
Sources: Google's help articles on skills, the Gems transition, instructions and Skills in Chrome, and the Gemini CLI custom commands docs.
How do you save a prompt as a skill in the Gemini app?
Google's skills article defines a skill as "a set of reusable instructions and additional context," and says "Skills are available without a Google AI subscription." You need to be 18 or older, signed in, with Keep Activity turned on. Skills work in the Gemini mobile app, the Mac app and the web app.
There are three ways to create one:
- From a chat: ask Gemini to create a skill and describe what it should do. Gemini saves it to your Skills page.
- From settings: go to Customize, then Skills, and click Create. Work with Gemini, edit a template or start blank.
- By upload: click Create, then Upload, and pick a
SKILL.mdfile, or a folder or .zip with aSKILL.mdin its main folder.
To use a skill, type / (or @ if you have the updated shortcut) in a chat and pick it. Gemini can also apply activated skills on its own when they match your request, and you can combine several in one chat. Uploaded files are capped at 100 MB in total. To edit, open the skill on the Skills page, change its description or instructions, and click Save.
Because uploads accept SKILL.md, a skill written for the Agent Skills format can be brought in as a file. Write the description so it says when to use the skill; Gemini relies on it to decide. The free SKILL.md generator turns a prompt into one in your browser.
What is happening to Gems?
Gems are being replaced by skills. Google's transition article gives these dates:
- Personal accounts, 18 and over: "November 17, 2026: Gems transition to skills and become read only." Gems are removed on December 17, 2026.
- Under 18: later, with details to come.
- Workspace business, enterprise and non-profit: March 2027.
- Workspace education: June 2027.
"When we remove Gems, we'll automatically recreate your Gems as skills." Two catches: most Gem tools, including Create video, Create music, Canvas, Deep research and Guided learning, do not work with skills, and some files (audio, video, GitHub files, archives) do not carry over.
If a Gem holds a prompt you rely on, copy its name, description and instructions into a text file now. To move it yourself, Google's steps are: open the Skills page, choose Create manually, paste the Gem's name, description and instructions, and click Create.
What is Instructions for Gemini (Saved info) for?
It holds guidance Gemini applies to every chat. Google's instructions article says to "Enter the instructions you want Gemini Apps to apply to every chat," and that "anyone can add instructions to customize Gemini responses." Google's privacy hub says it is called Saved Info in some locales.
- In the Gemini mobile app, open the menu and tap your profile picture or initial.
- Tap Personal Intelligence, then Instructions for Gemini. On the web, the path runs through Settings & help.
- Tap Add +, enter your instruction and tap Submit.
Put tone, format and facts about you here, not task prompts. Google warns that asking Gemini to forget or avoid a topic "doesn't always work perfectly."
How do you save a prompt as a Skill in Chrome?
Skills in Chrome save a Gemini prompt you run on the page you are viewing. Google announced them on April 14, 2026, in Turn your best AI prompts into one-click tools in Chrome, and they are "rolling out on Mac, Windows and ChromeOS to users with their Chrome language set to English-US." Per the Chrome help page:
- Open the Gemini side panel in Chrome and type
/to open the Skills menu. - Click Add Skill +, enter a name and the prompt, and click Save.
- To run it, type
/, pick the skill and press Enter. It reads your active tab and applies your saved prompt. - To edit or delete, type
/and click Browse Skills.
You need a personal Google Account (managed accounts need an admin to enable it) on a Mac, Windows computer or Chromebook Plus. Google's ready-made skills are at chrome://skills/browse, your own are at chrome://skills/yourSkills, and Copy Instructions copies a skill's text so you can keep it elsewhere.
How do you save prompts in Gemini CLI?
As custom commands. Per the Gemini CLI docs, each command is a .toml file in ~/.gemini/commands/ (every project) or .gemini/commands/ in a repo (that project only). Only prompt is required:
description = "Review the staged diff for bugs"
prompt = """
Review the staged changes for bugs, missing tests and unclear names.
List each issue with the file, why it matters and a fix.
Focus area: {{args}}
"""
Save it as review.toml and run /review security. The text after the command replaces {{args}}; a file at git/commit.toml becomes /git:commit. See the Gemini CLI guide for setup.
How do you keep prompts that work across Gemini, ChatGPT and Claude?
Gemini skills, Chrome skills and CLI commands each keep prompts in a different place, and none of them follow you into ChatGPT or Claude. Keep the master copy outside all of them:
- Save each prompt as Markdown with blanks, such as
{{audience:new customers}}, for the parts that change. - Tag by job and by tool so you can filter quickly.
- Copy prompts into a Gemini skill or Chrome skill when you use them there often.
- Keep
SKILL.mdfolders next to your prompts so the same skill can be uploaded to Gemini and other apps.
Kipt keeps prompts and Agent Skills as Markdown in a private GitHub repo you own, with {{name:default}} blanks, tags and Cmd+K search. The AI prompt library guide compares other approaches, and the same breakdown for other apps is in how to save prompts in ChatGPT and how to save prompts in Claude. For prompts to start with, see these Gemini prompts.