skill-authoring

name	skill-authoring
description	Guidelines for writing Agent Skills. TRIGGERS: create a skill, new skill, write a skill, skill template, skill structure, review skill, skill PR, skill compliance, agentskills spec, SKILL.md format, skill frontmatter, skill best practices

Skill Authoring Guide

This skill provides guidance for writing Agent Skills that comply with the agentskills.io specification.

When to Use

• Creating a new skill for this repository
• Reviewing a skill PR for compliance
• Checking if an existing skill follows best practices
• Understanding token budgets and progressive disclosure

Constraints

• name: 1-64 chars, lowercase + hyphens, match directory
• description: 1-1024 chars, explain WHAT and WHEN
• SKILL.md: <500 tokens (soft), <5000 (hard)
• references/*.md: <1000 tokens each

Structure

• SKILL.md (required) - Instructions
• references/ (optional) - Detailed docs
• scripts/ (optional) - Executable code

Frontmatter: name (lowercase-hyphens), description (WHAT + WHEN)

Progressive Disclosure

Metadata (~100 tokens) loads at startup. SKILL.md (<5000 tokens) loads on activation. References load only when explicitly linked (not on activation). Keep SKILL.md lean.

Reference Loading

References are JIT (just-in-time) loaded:

• Only files explicitly linked via [text](references/file.md) load
• Each file loads in full (not sections)
• No caching between requests - write self-contained files
• Use recipes/services patterns for multi-option skills

See REFERENCE-LOADING.md for details.

Validation

# Run from the scripts directory
cd scripts
npm run tokens -- check plugin/skills/my-skill/SKILL.md

Reference Documentation

• GUIDELINES.md - Detailed writing guidelines
• REFERENCE-LOADING.md - How references load and token efficiency
• CHECKLIST.md - Pre-submission checklist
• agentskills.io/specification - Official spec