mathodology-skill-authoring

name	mathodology-skill-authoring
description	Use when adding, updating, validating, or reviewing Mathodology project skills, SKILL.md files, or agents/openai.yaml metadata.

Mathodology Skill Authoring

Scope

This repository currently has one skill system: project skills under .claude/skills/.

Each skill directory contains:

SKILL.md
agents/openai.yaml

No separate product runtime skill directory is present on this branch.

Claude Code orchestration assets are adjacent to skills:

.claude/agents/<agent-name>.md
.claude/workflows/<workflow-name>.md

Codex orchestration belongs inside SKILL.md, agents/openai.yaml, and docs/WORKFLOWS.md.

Frontmatter Rules

Every SKILL.md needs YAML frontmatter with:

---
name: mathodology-example
description: Use when ...
---

Rules:

• name must match the directory name.
• description must start with Use when.
• Keep descriptions trigger-focused; do not summarize the whole workflow.
• Keep frontmatter concise.

Body Rules

Skills should be reusable process guidance, not a record of one editing session.

For this skills-only branch:

• Be explicit when subsystem knowledge is historical.
• Do not link to current files that are no longer present.
• Do not list old build or test commands as active validation gates.
• Keep current-branch edits limited to skills, metadata, Claude Code agents/workflows, docs, and backup helper files.

Adapter Rules

Claude Code adaptation:

• Put reusable project subagent definitions in .claude/agents/.
• Put repeatable phase workflow templates in .claude/workflows/.
• Keep each subagent role narrow and gate-driven.
• Mention which Mathodology skill the subagent should load.

Codex adaptation:

• Put startup prompts and multi-agents rules in SKILL.md and docs/WORKFLOWS.md.
• Keep agents/openai.yaml default prompts explicit enough to trigger the right skill.
• Phrase Codex instructions as phase tasks with synthesis and independent critic gates.

Metadata

Each project skill should have agents/openai.yaml with:

interface:
  display_name: "Readable Name"
  short_description: "Short UI label"
  default_prompt: "Use $skill-name ..."

The default prompt must mention the matching $skill-name.

Validation

Run the shared validator from the repository root; it covers frontmatter, metadata, links, whitelist, agents, and doc sync:

python3 .claude/skills/mathodology-dev-test-release/scripts/validate_repo.py all

Use a single subcommand (skills, metadata, links, whitelist, agents, sync, selftest) while iterating.

Rules for validation logic and scripts:

• Shared validation logic lives ONLY in .claude/skills/mathodology-dev-test-release/scripts/validate_repo.py. Never re-inline these checks as heredocs in a SKILL.md, doc, or agent file; extend the script instead.
• A skill MAY ship a scripts/ directory. Every shipped script must be executable, carry a --self-test (or selftest subcommand) that is run and passes before shipping, and declare its prerequisites with an actionable error when one is missing.
• Run-time gate contracts (the handoff / gate / scorecard / decision_memo schemas, judge thresholds, and QA scripts) belong to mathodology-award-gates. Reference that skill; do not invent new inline gate formats in individual skills or agents.

Update Checklist

1. Pick the narrowest skill that owns the behavior.
2. Edit SKILL.md.
3. Update agents/openai.yaml if display text or default prompt should change.
4. Run validation.
5. Check that no non-skills files were added back to the repository.