skill-creator

name	skill-creator
description	Create new Atlas skills with proper structure. Use when building new capabilities, automations, or workflows.

Skill Creator

Guide for creating effective skills that extend Atlas capabilities.

Trigger

/skill-creator [name] or "create a skill for X"

What Are Skills?

Skills are modular, self-contained packages that transform Atlas into a specialized agent. Each skill provides:

• Procedural knowledge — Step-by-step workflows
• Tool integrations — MCP calls, scripts, APIs
• Domain expertise — Context and best practices
• Bundled resources — Templates, references, assets

Core Principles

1. Concise is Key

The context window is a public good. Atlas is already intelligent — don't over-explain. Only add what's necessary.

Bad:

You are an AI assistant helping with email.
First, understand that emails have subjects, bodies, and recipients...

Good:

Send professional emails. Match tone to relationship. Keep under 5 sentences.

2. Appropriate Degrees of Freedom

Match specificity to task fragility:

Freedom	When to Use	Example
High	Creative tasks, exploration	"Draft a thank you note"
Medium	Structured but flexible	"Create meeting agenda with context + action items"
Low	Critical workflows, integrations	"Sync calendar: fetch → parse → save to exact path"

3. Progressive Disclosure

Skills load in three levels:

1. Metadata (always) — name, description in orchestrator
2. SKILL.md body (when triggered) — full instructions
3. Bundled resources (as needed) — scripts, templates

Skill Anatomy

skills/
└── {Skill Name}/
    ├── SKILL.md          # Required — main instructions
    ├── scripts/          # Optional — automation code
    ├── references/       # Optional — docs, examples
    └── assets/           # Optional — templates, configs

SKILL.md Template

---
name: {kebab-case-name}
description: {One sentence. When to use this skill.}
---

# {Skill Name}

> {One-line purpose statement}

## Trigger
`/{command}` or "{natural language triggers}"

## What It Does
{2-3 bullet points explaining the workflow}

## Execution Steps

### 1. {First Step}
{Clear instructions with code/examples if needed}

### 2. {Second Step}
{...}

## Output Format
{Show expected output structure}

## Example Usage
{Input → Output example}

## Dependencies
{Files, scripts, MCPs this skill requires}

## Notes
{Edge cases, gotchas, related skills}

Creation Process

Step 1: Define the Problem

• What task does this skill automate?
• What triggers it? (command, pattern, schedule)
• What's the expected output?

Step 2a: Map the Workflow

• List every step from trigger to completion
• Identify data sources (Vault paths, MCPs, APIs)
• Define output location and format

Step 2b: Check the skill repository

• Check if any similar skill is available in https://skills.sh/
• Check if there are any other great skills on top-20 that we are missing in our repo (if yes - propose to implement them as well)

Step 3: Write SKILL.md

Use the template above. Focus on:

• Clear trigger patterns
• Numbered execution steps
• Concrete output format
• Working example

Step 4: Add to Orchestrator

Update skills/orchestrator.md:

| `/command` | Skill Name | What It Does |

And add routing patterns:

| "user says X" | `/command` |

Step 5: Test & Iterate

Run the skill, note failures, refine instructions.

Example: Creating a "Daily Standup" Skill

Problem: Generate standup summary from yesterday's work.

Workflow:

1. Read yesterday's todo file
2. Read yesterday's brief
3. Summarize: done, blocked, today's plan
4. Output to clipboard or Slack

SKILL.md:

---
name: standup
description: Generate daily standup summary from yesterday's work
---

# Daily Standup

> Quick standup summary: done, blocked, today

## Trigger
`/standup` or "generate my standup"

## Execution Steps

### 1. Gather Context
Read these files:
- `Vault/3 - Todos/{yesterday}.md`
- `Vault/0 - Daily Briefs/{yesterday}.md`
- `Vault/3 - Todos/{today}.md`

### 2. Generate Summary
Format:
**Yesterday:** {completed items}
**Blockers:** {anything marked blocked or incomplete}
**Today:** {top 3 priorities}

### 3. Output
Copy to clipboard and display.

## Output Format

Standup — Jan 24 Yesterday: Shipped error logging, reviewed Legion task Blockers: Codos Bot health check failing Today: Finish landing, telegram auto-reply research

Checklist

Before shipping a new skill:

• SKILL.md follows template structure
• Trigger is clear (/command format)
• Execution steps are numbered and specific
• Output format is defined
• Example shows real usage
• Added to orchestrator.md (trigger table + routing)
• Tested manually at least once

Related

• orchestrator.md — Skill routing and registry
• Existing skills in skills/ for reference patterns