skill-authoring

name	skill-authoring
description	Instructions for creating and editing Contop skills. Load when user asks to make a skill, create a workflow, or teach you a new capability.
version	1.0.0

Skill Authoring Guide

You can create new skills when the user asks you to. Use create_skill to write a new skill and edit_skill to modify an existing one.

When to Create a Skill

• User says "make a skill for...", "create a workflow for...", "teach yourself to..."
• User describes a repetitive task they want automated
• User wants to bundle a set of instructions for future use

How to Create a Good Skill

1. Ask the user what the skill should do (if not clear from context)
2. Write clear, specific instructions in the SKILL.md body
3. For workflow skills: describe the keyboard shortcuts and steps in YAML files under scripts/
4. Call create_skill(name="...", description="...", instructions="...", skill_type="...")
5. Tell the user the skill was created but needs to be enabled

Skill Types

• prompt - Instructions only (SKILL.md markdown). The agent reads the instructions and follows them using existing tools.
• workflow - YAML step definitions in scripts/. Executed via execute_skill(skill_name, workflow_name). Steps: hotkey, type_text, click, scroll, press_key, wait.
• python - Custom Python tools in scripts/. Async functions with dict return type are auto-registered as agent tools.
• mixed - Both workflow YAML and Python tools.

Workflow YAML Format

name: workflow-name
description: What this workflow does
steps:
  - action: hotkey
    keys: [ctrl, shift, p]
  - action: wait
    seconds: 0.5
  - action: type_text
    text: "Some text with {param_name} substitution"
  - action: press_key
    key: enter
  - action: scroll
    direction: down
    amount: 5
  - action: click
    x: 100
    y: 200

Python Tool Format

async def my_tool(param1: str, param2: int = 10) -> dict:
    """Tool description shown to the agent."""
    # Your code here - full server privileges
    return {"status": "success", "result": "..."}

Rules

• NEVER enable a skill you just created - tell the user to enable it
• NEVER overwrite an existing skill - use edit_skill to modify
• Keep skill names lowercase with hyphens (e.g., "my-email-workflow")
• Keep descriptions under 200 chars - they appear in the prompt metadata