create-package-skill

# Create Package Skill Wizard > **Minimal beats comprehensive. Human-written beats auto-generated. Scaffold and iterate.** > Skills encode tribal knowledge — the "I wish someone had told me" stuff that's hard to learn from just reading code. Focus on what's non-obvious and package-specific. ## Interaction Protocols **CONFIRM Protocol** (asset-producing steps — creating files): 1. PRESENT the proposed assets and explain why. 2. ASK exactly one question: "Create now (recommended), edit first, or skip?" 3. ACT immediately. Create → write files this turn. Edit → refine, re-ask. Skip → move on. **DECIDE Protocol** (informational/correction steps — no files created): 1. PRESENT the information or findings. 2. ASK one specific question appropriate to the decision. 3. PROCEED based on the answer. One question at a time. Respect "skip" — never re-ask or defer. ## Wizard Flow Run each phase in order. **Progressive loading:** Read only the current phase file. | Phase | Description | Instructions | |---|---|---| | **Phase 0** | 🧭 Scan Package — detect architecture, customizations, key files | [phases/00-scan-package.md](phases/00-scan-package.md) | | **Phase 1** | 📝 Scaffold SKILL.md — generate skill with step-by-step post-regen workflow (Option A) or reference-manual structure (Option B) | [phases/01-scaffold-skill.md](phases/01-scaffold-skill.md) | | **Phase 2** | 📚 Generate References — create customizations.md (required) and optionally architecture.md | [phases/02-generate-references.md](phases/02-generate-references.md) | | **Phase 3** | Validate -- run vally lint | [phases/03-validate.md](phases/03-validate.md) | | **Phase 4** | 📋 Finalize — confirm discoverable location, summarize | [phases/04-finalize.md](phases/04-finalize.md) | ## Guardrails **Content:** - Every line must be non-obvious and package-specific. No generic Python/SDK boilerplate. - SKILL.md should be under 500 tokens (soft limit). Move details to references/. - References under 1000 tokens each. Split if larger. - Never duplicate what's already in `.github/copilot-instructions.md` or shared skills. **Relationship to existing SDK tools:** - Package skills **complement** the Azure SDK MCP tools (`azsdk_package_generate_code`, `azsdk_package_build_code`, `azsdk_customized_code_update`, etc.) — they do NOT replace them. - MCP tools handle deterministic operations (generate, build, test). Package skills provide the reasoning context an agent needs to use those tools correctly for a specific package, plus the package-specific verification commands the tools do not know about. - Reference the existing tools for the overall workflow (e.g., "Run `tsp-client update` or `azsdk_package_generate_code`"), but DO include the copy-pasteable verification commands an agent needs: import smoke tests (`python -c "from ... import ..."`), `ApiVersion` reconciliation (`grep`, `python -c "import json; ..."`), diff commands (`git diff --name-only | grep ...`), and the package validation invocation (`azsdk_package_run_check with checkType="All"`). - Never paraphrase an MCP tool's entire contract. Do include the one-line invocations the agent will run. **Structure:** - Skill directory: `sdk/<service>/<package-name>/.github/skills/<package-name>/` - Directory name MUST match `name` field in frontmatter (vally lint enforces this). - `name` is the distribution package name, e.g. `azure-search-documents`, `azure-ai-projects`, `azure-mgmt-appconfiguration`. - Use semicolons to separate trigger phrases in description (YAML-safe). **Security:** - Never embed secrets or credentials in skill content. - Never instruct agents to bypass CI, pylint, mypy, pyright, or other gating tools. - Never instruct agents to edit files inside `_generated/` (or any file with the `"Code generated by Microsoft (R) Python Code Generator"` header) — always route through `_patch.py` or sibling hand-written modules. ## Key Principles (from eval data) Our eval showed that skill **structure** matters more than **volume**: | Pattern | Impact | |---|---| | Numbered step-by-step post-regen workflow (Option A) | Agent executes verification top-to-bottom without inventing steps | | Copy-pasteable verification commands (import smoke tests, `ApiVersion` reconciliation, git diff of generated operations/models) | Agent actually runs the checks instead of guessing whether customizations still work | | "Expose new generated methods through `_patch.py`" step (mixin inheritance / override / polymorphic / create-or-update / list / `__all__` re-export) | Agent wires new generated operations into the public surface instead of leaving them unreachable | | "Check `_patch.py` FIRST" directives | Changes agent default from "fix the error location" to "check the customization layer" | | Per-file `Depends On` / `Defines` / `After Regeneration, Verify` inventory in `customizations.md` | Agent can pinpoint exactly which generated symbol a breakage maps to | | Generated-file detection guidance (directory OR header comment) | Agent correctly identifies auto-generated files under both `_generated/` and inline layouts | | Async parity checklist | Agent remembers to mirror sync changes into `aio/` | | CHANGELOG / README update step | Prevents "silent" releases that ship new operations without docs | ## References (load on demand) - [references/skill-template.md](references/skill-template.md) -- SKILL.md template with required sections - [references/validation-tools.md](references/validation-tools.md) -- vally lint, CI workflow setup