manus

Original：🇺🇸 English
Translated

Delegate complex, long-running tasks to Manus AI agent for autonomous execution. Use when user says 'use manus', 'delegate to manus', 'send to manus', 'have manus do', 'ask manus', 'check manus sessions', or when tasks require deep web research, market analysis, product comparisons, stock analysis, competitive research, document generation, data analysis, or multi-step workflows that benefit from autonomous agent execution with parallel processing.

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NPX Install

npx skill4agent add sanjay3290/ai-skills manus

Tags

Translated version includes tags in frontmatter
manus-ai-agentautonomous-task-executionapi-integrationdeep-researchparallel-processing

SKILL.md Content

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Manus

Manus is an autonomous AI agent that handles complex tasks asynchronously. Particularly strong at deep research with parallel processing, web browsing, and generating comprehensive reports with data visualizations.

When to Use Manus

  • Deep research - Market analysis, competitive landscaping, product comparisons
  • Stock/financial analysis - Company research, technical analysis, price charts
  • Product research - Feature comparisons across brands, specs analysis
  • Report generation - Creates markdown reports, CSVs, charts, and visualizations
  • Multi-source synthesis - Gathers and combines information from multiple websites
  • Long-running tasks - Anything taking 1-10+ minutes of autonomous work

Research Prompt Examples

Effective research prompts are specific about scope, sources, and desired output:
Product comparison:
Find the best 4K monitors for Mac with Thunderbolt connectivity and 120Hz+ refresh rate.
Focus on BenQ, Samsung, Dell, LG. Only include models released in the last year.
Compare specs, prices, and Mac-specific features. Output a comparison table.
Stock/company analysis:
Analyze [TICKER] stock: company profile, recent performance, technical indicators,
valuation metrics, and insider activity. Include a price chart for the past year.
Market research:
Research the [industry] market: key players, market size, growth trends,
recent developments, and competitive landscape. Focus on [region/segment].
Competitive analysis:
Compare [Product A] vs [Product B] vs [Product C]: features, pricing,
user reviews, pros/cons. Create a decision matrix for [use case].

Environment Setup

Requires 
MANUS_API_KEY
environment variable. Base URL: 
https://api.manus.ai

Core Workflow

  1. Create task → Returns 
    task_id
    immediately
  2. Poll status → Check until 
    status
    is 
    completed
    or 
    failed
  3. Return results → Extract output text and file attachments

Creating a Task

bash
curl -s -X POST "https://api.manus.ai/v1/tasks" -H "API_KEY:$MANUS_API_KEY" -H "Content-Type:application/json" -d '{"prompt":"<task description>","agentProfile":"manus-1.6"}'
Agent Profiles:
  • manus-1.6-lite
    - Fast, simple tasks (quick lookups, simple questions)
  • manus-1.6
    - Standard (default, good for most research)
  • manus-1.6-max
    - Complex reasoning (deep research, multi-source analysis, detailed reports)
Response:
json
{"task_id":"abc123","task_title":"...","task_url":"https://manus.im/app/abc123"}

Checking Task Status

bash
curl -s -X GET "https://api.manus.ai/v1/tasks/{task_id}" -H "API_KEY:$MANUS_API_KEY"
Status values: 
pending
, 
running
, 
completed
, 
failed
Poll every 5-10 seconds until completed.
Extract text output:
bash
curl -s -X GET "https://api.manus.ai/v1/tasks/{task_id}" -H "API_KEY:$MANUS_API_KEY" | jq -r '.output[] | select(.role=="assistant") | .content[] | select(.type=="output_text") | .text'
Extract file attachments:
bash
curl -s -X GET "https://api.manus.ai/v1/tasks/{task_id}" -H "API_KEY:$MANUS_API_KEY" | jq -r '.output[] | select(.role=="assistant") | .content[] | select(.type=="output_file") | "\(.fileName): \(.fileUrl)"'

Listing Tasks

bash
curl -s -X GET "https://api.manus.ai/v1/tasks" -H "API_KEY:$MANUS_API_KEY" | jq '.data[] | {id, status, title: .metadata.task_title}'

Multi-turn Conversations

Continue an existing task by including 
taskId
:
bash
curl -s -X POST "https://api.manus.ai/v1/tasks" -H "API_KEY:$MANUS_API_KEY" -H "Content-Type:application/json" -d '{"prompt":"follow-up question","taskId":"abc123","agentProfile":"manus-1.6"}'

Delete a Task

bash
curl -s -X DELETE "https://api.manus.ai/v1/tasks/{task_id}" -H "API_KEY:$MANUS_API_KEY"

Advanced Options

ParameterDescription
taskMode
chat
, 
adaptive
, or 
agent
projectId
Associate with project for shared instructions
attachments
Array of file objects (see below)
connectors
Pre-configured connector IDs (Gmail, Calendar, Notion)
createShareableLink
Enable public access URL

File Attachments

Attach files using one of three formats:
URL attachment:
json
{"prompt":"Analyze this","attachments":[{"type":"url","url":"https://example.com/doc.pdf"}]}
Base64 attachment:
json
{"prompt":"What's in this image?","attachments":[{"type":"base64","data":"<base64>","mime_type":"image/png"}]}
File ID (after upload):
json
{"prompt":"Review this file","attachments":[{"type":"file","file_id":"file-xxx"}]}

Projects

Create a project with shared instructions:
bash
curl -s -X POST "https://api.manus.ai/v1/projects" -H "API_KEY:$MANUS_API_KEY" -H "Content-Type:application/json" -d '{"name":"My Project","instruction":"Always respond concisely"}'
Use project in task:
bash
curl -s -X POST "https://api.manus.ai/v1/tasks" -H "API_KEY:$MANUS_API_KEY" -H "Content-Type:application/json" -d '{"prompt":"...","projectId":"proj_xxx","agentProfile":"manus-1.6"}'

Best Practices

  • Use 
    manus-1.6-lite
    for simple queries (faster, cheaper)
  • Use 
    manus-1.6
    or 
    manus-1.6-max
    for research tasks
  • Always report 
    task_url
    so user can view progress in browser
  • Poll status with reasonable intervals (5-10s for simple, 15-30s for research)
  • Check 
    credit_usage
    field to track consumption
  • For research: be specific about scope, timeframe, sources, and desired output format
  • Research tasks typically produce multiple output files (reports, CSVs, charts) - extract all attachments
  • Manus uses parallel processing for multi-faceted research - one prompt can cover multiple angles

Error Handling

Check for failed tasks:
bash
curl -s -X GET "https://api.manus.ai/v1/tasks/{task_id}" -H "API_KEY:$MANUS_API_KEY" | jq '{status, error}'
If 
status
is 
failed
, the 
error
field contains the reason. Common issues:
  • Invalid API key → Check 
    MANUS_API_KEY
    is set
  • Task timeout → Simplify prompt or use 
    manus-1.6-max
  • Rate limited → Wait and retry

API Reference

For complete endpoint documentation, see references/api.md.