| name | meta-skill |
| description | Write or update project skills and rules markdown files (.ai/skills/, .ai/rules/, .cursor/rules/). Use when creating a new SKILL.md or rule, updating an existing one, or when the user asks to document a workflow, pattern, or convention as a reusable skill. |
| disable-model-invocation | true |
Writing Skills and Rules
Non-negotiables
No directory structure trees (no ASCII trees with ├──, └──, scripts/, etc.).
No tables. Use lists, nested lists, or definition-style text instead.
No file listings. Don't enumerate every file in the codebase. Explain what the thing does at a general level; let the reader find the files themselves.
No — do not write:
| File | Role |
|------|------|
| fetch-logs.ts | Does X |
Yes — write instead: "Failure logs are fetched and trimmed before being passed to the agent."
Structure
Every skill needs YAML frontmatter and a markdown body:
---
name: your-skill-name
description: Third-person, specific. Say WHAT it does and WHEN to use it.
disable-model-invocation: true
---
# Skill Name
Concise body.
disable-model-invocation: true is the default — omit only if the skill should activate from ambient context.
Content rules
- One skill = one concern. If it does two things, split it.
- Assume the agent is smart. Only write what it cannot infer from general knowledge.
- No directory trees.
- No tables. Lists, nested lists, or prose.
- No verbose preamble. Skip "This skill helps you…" — get to the instructions.
- No time-sensitive notes ("as of June 2026…").
- Keep SKILL.md under 150 lines. Extract reference material to a sibling file and link to it.
Description checklist
- Third person ("Generates…", "Reviews…", not "I can…")
- Includes trigger terms (specific function names, file patterns, keywords)
- Both WHAT (capability) and WHEN (trigger scenarios)
- Under 1 024 chars
Location
- This project:
.ai/skills/<name>/SKILL.md
- Personal (all projects):
~/.cursor/skills/<name>/SKILL.md
Never write into ~/.cursor/skills-cursor/ — that is Cursor's internal directory.
