skill-file-standards

name

skill-file-standards

description

Defines standards and best practices for authoring Agent Skill folders and SKILL.md files (frontmatter, descriptions/triggers, progressive disclosure, references/scripts/assets, and validation with skills-ref). Use when creating a new skill, reviewing or validating an existing skill, fixing skill discovery issues, or deciding what belongs in SKILL.md vs references/ vs scripts/. Use when user or you want to run skills-ref validation on a skill folder.

Skill File Standards

Use this skill when you need to create, review, or validate an Agent Skill.

This skill is intentionally concise. Detailed (dated) notes live in references/.

Quick Rules (what to remember)

• Frontmatter description is routing metadata: include WHAT + WHEN + user keywords.
• Write description in third person.- Skills must be self-contained. Never reference external files (e.g., repo/ docs, workflow files, other project paths) as runtime dependencies. Instead, condense all needed knowledge into the skill's own SKILL.md and references/. External sources are inputs to skill authoring — the skill ships its own copy. When sources change, regenerate the skill's references.- Keep SKILL.md an index + procedure; push long/volatile material into references/.
• Reference files in references/ MUST use YAML frontmatter (CatHerder convention) with provenance (snapshot_date, sources) so future humans/agents can re-check upstream.
• Keep references one hop from SKILL.md (avoid deep chains).
• Use forward slashes in paths (avoid Windows \\ paths).
• Prefer defaults + escape hatches, not menus of options.
• Use scripts for deterministic checks; build a “validate → fix → re-validate” loop.

Minimal Standard Skill Layout

skill-file-standards/
├── SKILL.md
├── references/
└── scripts/

Only SKILL.md is required by the spec; references/ and scripts/ are optional.

CatHerder Extension: Reference Frontmatter

Upstream spec requires YAML frontmatter only for SKILL.md. CatHerder adds a convention:

• Every references/*.md MUST start with YAML frontmatter for provenance.
• Required keys: type: reference, description, snapshot_date (YYYY-MM-DD), sources.
• Template: references/REFERENCE_TEMPLATE.md.

This convention is agent-safe: Markdown frontmatter is either understood or treated as plain text.

Scripts (provided)

All scripts are optional helpers; they do not change the upstream spec.

Script	Purpose	Usage	Exit Codes	Dependencies / Notes
scripts/validate.sh	Validate the skill against the upstream Agent Skills spec (via skills-ref). Reports errors; does not modify files.	bash scripts/validate.sh path/to/skill	0=pass 1=errors-found 2=usage-or-config-error 127=skills-ref-not-found	Requires skills-ref on PATH. Install notes: references/skills-ref-2026-03.md.
scripts/validate-references.sh	Validate CatHerder reference-frontmatter convention in references/*.md. Reports errors; does not modify files.	bash scripts/validate-references.sh path/to/skill	0=pass 1=errors-found 2=usage-error	Uses bash, head, awk, grep. Allows sources: [] and snapshot_date: YYYY-MM-DD in templates.

Script Header Convention (CatHerder)

Every script in scripts/ MUST start with a structured comment block immediately after the shebang. This block enables deterministic sub-agents to parse script metadata without executing scripts.

Required keys (in order):

# SCRIPT_ID:   <filename>
# PURPOSE:     <one-line description of what it does>
# USAGE:       <executable + args>
# ARGS:        <name (required|optional) - description>  (one line per arg)
# OUTPUT:      <stdout description>
# EXIT:        <code=meaning  code=meaning  …>
# DEPS:        <dependency list; "none" if none>

Key rules:

• Align values with spaces (not tabs) for readability.
• EXIT must enumerate every exit code the script may return.
• DEPS lists what must be installed/on-PATH; not language builtins.

Authoring Checklist (short)

• name matches folder name and passes constraints (lowercase, hyphens, no --, etc.).
• description includes WHAT + WHEN + keywords; avoid first-person voice.
• SKILL.md stays short; anything long or likely to drift goes to references/.
• Every referenced file is linked directly from SKILL.md.
• Every script in scripts/ starts with the # SCRIPT_ID: header block.
• Validation command exists and is run (prefer skills-ref validate).

Validation

Run both checks when creating/updating a skill:

• Upstream: skills-ref validate path/to/skill (or bash scripts/validate.sh path/to/skill)
• CatHerder references: bash scripts/validate-references.sh path/to/skill

When to Read Which Reference

• Spec constraints (field lengths, name rules, allowed directories): references/agent-skills-spec-2026-03.md
• Authoring heuristics (concision, progressive disclosure, TOC rule): references/anthropic-best-practices-2026-03.md
• Validator usage and prompt-generation helpers: references/skills-ref-2026-03.md
• Cross-ecosystem placement notes: references/compatibility-notes-2026-03.md
• Manual test prompts (trigger / non-trigger sanity checks): references/test-prompts-2026-03.md

Scope

• In scope: skill file format, layout conventions, authoring heuristics, and validation.
• Out of scope: AGENTS.md standards, .instructions/ plan/task templates, and project-specific workflows (see agent-file-standards and other instruction skills).