wisdom

name	wisdom
description	Write or edit SKILL.md, CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md. NOT for general code (use go/rs/py/ts), mining history (use learn), or researching/codifying public best practice into a skill (use scavenge).
when_to_use	creating a new skill, adding a rule to CLAUDE.md, fixing a skill description, writing ALWAYS/NEVER statements

Wisdom Skill

SKILL.md frontmatter

---
name: short-name          # must match intended slash command slug if user-invocable
description: <one-line summary>. NOT for <case> (use <other-skill>).
when_to_use: <trigger phrases — natural requests users would say>
user-invocable: true      # optional — exposes skill as /name slash command in the UI
---

• ALWAYS keep description minimal — short summary + NOT clause only.
• ALWAYS pack when_to_use with retrieval keywords: error messages, symptom words, tool/library names, synonyms.
• description + when_to_use share a 1,536-char budget — both shown to Claude for routing.
• NEVER write description as workflow summary ("summarizes X via Y") — Claude shortcuts past skills whose description states the process.
• ALWAYS add NOT for <case> (use <other-skill>) in description — disambiguates neighbors.
• NEVER write "This skill helps you…" or marketing prose.
• NEVER use vague terms like "general utilities", "various tools".
• NEVER use trigger words shared with a sibling skill's primary trigger — causes routing races.

Body patterns

• Mode-toggle (fin/explore style): concise ## Behavior block, no other sections.
• Agent-launcher (visual/readme style): single sentence: "Launch the @X agent (Task tool, subagent_type: X) to…"

SKILL.md body

• ALWAYS use ALWAYS/NEVER; NEVER use SHOULD (too soft).

• ALWAYS pair NEVER with ALWAYS: "NEVER X — ALWAYS Y instead."

• ALWAYS keep under 200 lines; skills persist in context all session. No exceptions — overflow goes to sibling files, never a longer SKILL.md.

• NEVER add obvious code examples LLMs already know.

• NEVER duplicate content between skills or with the global wisdom file.

• ALWAYS push overflow (anything >50 lines — API docs, tables, deep dives) into adjacent sibling files linked from the SKILL.md, loaded on demand; SKILL.md stays workflow-only. The SKILL.md MAY tell the LLM to force-read a sibling when it's mandatory, not optional.

• For example/context-budget and subagent effort defaults, follow skills/CLAUDE.md; keep this skill as the compact writing checklist.

Router skills

• Router = one SKILL.md (the only preloaded file) + sibling cold data .md files read on demand (create/, software/).
• ALWAYS make a router instead of N sibling skills when they share an audience and are rarely invoked — N preloaded descriptions collapse to 1.
• Router body = explicit dispatch table mapping trigger keywords → data file; NEVER prose links alone.
• Router frontmatter MUST carry every folded mode's retrieval keywords within the 1,536-char budget — /resolve routes on them.
• Light content lives flat (<mode>.md); heavy ported trees keep their subtree intact at <mode>/<slug>/.
• NEVER name a data file SKILL.md — that is what makes it preload.
• Maintenance procedure: skills/CLAUDE.md.

CLAUDE.md (project)

• Project-specific only — skills carry general knowledge.
• ALWAYS document architecture, state machines, external systems.
• Put critical rules at the top or bottom — middle content is least reliably attended to.