| name | skill-creator |
| description | Create AiderDesk Agent Skills by writing SKILL.md files, defining frontmatter metadata, structuring references, and organizing skill directories. Use when building a new skill, creating a SKILL.md, planning skill architecture, or writing skill content. |
Skill Creator
Create effective Agent Skills using progressive disclosure.
When to Create a Skill
Create a skill when you notice:
- Repeating context across conversations
- Domain expertise needed repeatedly
- Project-specific knowledge the agent should know automatically
Progressive Disclosure
Skills load in 3 levels:
- Metadata (~27 tokens) - YAML frontmatter for triggering
- Instructions (<680 tokens) - SKILL.md body with core patterns
- Resources (unlimited) - references/ scripts/ assets/ loaded on
demand
Key: Keep Levels 1 & 2 lean. Move details to Level 3.
Quick Workflow
- Create skill directory:
.aider-desk/skills/my-skill/
- Write
SKILL.md with YAML frontmatter (name, description) and body instructions
- Add detailed docs to
references/ as needed
- Verify: mention a trigger keyword — skill should appear in active skills sidebar
If skill doesn't load: check YAML syntax is valid, name is lowercase-hyphenated, and description contains the trigger terms users would say
SKILL.md Example
---
name: deploy-helper
description: Deploy AiderDesk builds to staging and production environments. Use when deploying, releasing, or publishing builds.
---
# Deploy Helper
Build and deploy AiderDesk to target environments.
## Steps
1. Run `npm run build` to generate production artifacts
2. Verify build output exists in `dist/`
3. Deploy to staging: `./scripts/deploy.sh staging`
4. Verify deployment: check health endpoint returns 200
## Troubleshooting
- Build fails: check `tsconfig.json` paths and run `npm run typecheck`
## References
- [environments.md](references/environments.md) - Environment configs
Structure
my-skill/
├── SKILL.md # Core instructions + metadata
├── references/ # Detailed docs (loaded as needed)
├── scripts/ # Executable operations
└── assets/ # Templates, images, files
References
