create-agent

name	create-agent
description	Use this skill when asked to "create a new agent", "deploy a new agent", "add an agent", or set up a new team member. Also when someone asks "how do I create an agent" or needs to configure agent triggers, channels, or escalation.

Skill: Create New Agent

Use this skill when asked to create a new agent for the team.

Overview

Creating a new agent requires:

1. Understanding the agent's purpose and responsibilities
2. Gathering necessary configuration details
3. Creating the agent files (config.json + CLAUDE.md)
4. User creates Discord role (only step they do)
5. Building the project
6. Starting the agent
7. Updating team-agents.md
8. Announcing the new agent to the team

Questions to Ask the User

Before creating an agent, I need to gather this information:

Required Information

Question	Why I Need It	Example
What is the agent's name?	Used for folder name, AGENT_NAME env var, Discord role	qa, docs, devops
What is the agent's role/purpose?	Core of CLAUDE.md persona	"Run tests and report quality issues"
What are its main responsibilities?	Defines what the agent should/shouldn't do	"Monitor test failures, report coverage"
Which Discord channels should it access?	Configures channels in config.json	Read: development, qa-alerts. Write: development
What triggers should wake it up?	Configures triggers in config.json	On mention, every 30 mins cron
Who does it escalate to?	Configures escalatesTo	po or dev

Optional Information (with defaults)

Question	Default	When to Ask
Claude model?	claude-sonnet-4-20250514	Only if they want a different model
Max turns per run?	50	Only if high-volume agent
Max daily cost?	$25	Only if budget concerns
Cooldown minutes?	0	Only if rate limiting needed
Display name?	Capitalized agent name	Usually fine to derive

Information I Can Derive

Don't ask for these - I can figure them out:

• Folder path: src/agents/<name>/
• Discord role name: Usually same as agent name
• Model: Default to sonnet unless specified
• Cron schedule syntax: I know cron, just ask "how often"
• CLAUDE.md structure: I know the pattern from existing agents

Checklist Before Creating

Before writing any files, confirm:

• Agent name is lowercase, no spaces (e.g., qa, devops, docs-writer)
• Purpose is clear and distinct from existing agents
• Responsibilities don't overlap significantly with existing agents (see data/shared/team-agents.md)
• Discord channel(s) exist or user will create them
• User will create Discord role (this is the ONLY thing they need to do)

File Templates

config.json Template

{
  "name": "<agent-name>",
  "displayName": "<Display Name>",
  "model": "claude-sonnet-4-20250514",
  "discordRole": "<agent-name>",
  "channels": {
    "primary": "development",
    "canRead": ["development"],
    "canWrite": ["development"]
  },
  "triggers": {
    "discord": {
      "onMention": true,
      "onChannelMessage": false
    },
    "github": {
      "onPrReviewComment": false
    },
    "cron": []
  },
  "limits": {
    "maxTurnsPerRun": 50,
    "maxDailyCostUsd": 25,
    "cooldownMinutes": 0
  },
  "escalatesTo": "po"
}

CLAUDE.md Structure

# <Display Name> Agent (<Short Name>)

You are the <Role> agent for this development team. Your role is to <primary purpose>.

## Your Responsibilities

1. **<Responsibility 1>**: <Description>
2. **<Responsibility 2>**: <Description>
3. **<Responsibility 3>**: <Description>

## Communication Style

- <How to communicate with team>
- <Tone and formality>
- <When to be proactive vs reactive>

## Workflow

<Step-by-step process the agent follows>

1. When triggered, <first action>
2. <Second action>
3. <Continue as needed>

## Available Tools

### Discord Tools
- `discord_read_channel`: Read messages from a channel
- `discord_post_message`: Post messages to communicate with the team
- `discord_send_file`: Send files/images to Discord
- `discord_transcribe_voice`: Transcribe voice messages
- `discord_send_voice`: Send voice messages (TTS)

### GitHub Tools (via Bash + gh CLI)
- Create/view/comment on issues
- Create/view/merge PRs
- Manage project board

### Other Tools
- `Bash`: Run shell commands
- `Read/Write/Edit`: File operations
- `Grep/Glob`: Search codebase
- `WebFetch/WebSearch`: Web access

## Escalation

If you encounter <situation>, escalate to @<agent> in Discord with:
- Clear explanation of the issue
- What you've tried
- What you need help with

## Self-Improvement

When you discover a better way to do your job, update your own CLAUDE.md.

## Knowledge Management

### Daily Journal
Maintain a journal at `data/journals/<name>/YYYY-MM-DD.md` to track:
- Important decisions
- Learnings
- Context for future sessions

### Shared Documentation
Read and update shared docs in `data/shared/` when relevant.

Post-Creation Steps (I do these, not the user)

After creating the agent files:

1. Ask user to create Discord role

Please create a Discord role named `<agent-name>` (make it mentionable).
Let me know when it's ready and I'll start the agent.

2. Create journal folder

mkdir -p data/journals/<agent-name>

3. Build the project

cd . && pnpm run build

4. Start the agent

nohup env AGENT_NAME=<name> node dist/index.js > /dev/null 2>&1 &

5. Verify agent is running

ps aux | grep "node dist/index.js" | grep -v grep

6. Update team-agents.md

Add the new agent to data/shared/team-agents.md following the existing format.

7. Announce in Discord

New agent deployed: @<agent-name>

**Role**: <brief description>
**Mention for**: <when to use>

See `data/shared/team-agents.md` for full details.

Example Conversation Flow

User: Create a QA agent that monitors test results

Me: I'll create a QA agent for you! Let me gather a few details:

1. **Agent name**: `qa` (lowercase, for folders/env var) - is this good?
2. **Main responsibilities** - I'm thinking:
   - Monitor test results from CI
   - Report test failures in Discord
   - Track test coverage trends
   - Alert on quality regressions
   Does this match what you need?
3. **Discord channels**: Should it post to `development` or a separate `qa-alerts` channel?
4. **Triggers**:
   - Respond to @mentions? (yes/no)
   - Check periodically? If so, how often? (e.g., every 15 mins)
5. **Escalation**: Should it escalate issues to @po or @dev?

User: [provides answers]

Me: Got it! Creating the agent now...
[Creates config.json]
[Creates CLAUDE.md]
[Creates journal folder]

Please create a Discord role named `qa` (make it mentionable). Let me know when ready!

User: Done

Me: [Builds project]
[Starts agent]
[Verifies running]
[Updates team-agents.md]

@qa agent is live! See `data/shared/team-agents.md` for details.

Common Agent Types

Reference for suggesting responsibilities:

Type	Purpose	Key Responsibilities
QA/Test	Quality assurance	Run tests, report failures, track coverage
Docs	Documentation	Update docs, check for outdated content
DevOps	Infrastructure	Monitor deploys, manage infra, alerts
Security	Security scanning	Run security scans, report vulnerabilities
Support	User support	Triage user issues, escalate bugs