creating-skills

name	creating-skills
description	Creates new Agent Skills (SKILL.md + optional scripts/references) that follow the Agent Skills spec. Use when the user asks to create, structure, validate, or improve an agent skill.
metadata	{"author":"acasto"}

Creating Skills

Create a new Agent Skills-compatible skill directory with a high-quality SKILL.md.

Quick start (new skill)

1. Pick a skill name:
   • 1–64 chars
   • lowercase letters, numbers, hyphens only
   • no leading/trailing hyphen, no consecutive --
2. Create a directory named exactly the skill name.
3. Add SKILL.md with YAML frontmatter and a short, practical body.

Minimal template:

---
name: <skill-name>
description: <what it does>. Use when <triggers / keywords / situations>.
---

# <Title Case Skill Name>

## When to use this skill
- ...

## Workflow
1. ...

## Examples
### Example 1
Input: ...
Output: ...

Authoring guidance

1) Write for discovery first (frontmatter)

The description is how agents decide to activate the skill. It should:

• Say what the skill does
• Say when to use it (include keywords users will say)
• Be third-person and specific

Good:

description: Generates descriptive git commit messages from diffs. Use when the user asks for help writing commit messages or summarizing changes for a commit.

Weak:

description: Helps with git.

2) Keep SKILL.md short; link out for details

Assume the agent is competent; include only what it needs to be correct in your environment.

When SKILL.md gets long, split content into files and link them directly from SKILL.md (avoid deep chains).

Suggested structure:

my-skill/
├── SKILL.md
├── references/
│   ├── REFERENCE.md
│   └── EXAMPLES.md
└── scripts/
    ├── validate.py
    └── run.py

3) Prefer deterministic scripts for fragile steps

If correctness matters, bundle scripts that:

• Validate inputs
• Produce machine-checkable intermediate outputs (e.g., plan.json)
• Fail with actionable errors

Be explicit in instructions whether to:

• run a script (most common), or
• read a script as reference (less common)

4) Make workflows checkable

For multi-step tasks, include a checklist and validation loop:

Progress:
- [ ] Gather inputs
- [ ] Generate plan artifact
- [ ] Validate artifact
- [ ] Apply changes
- [ ] Verify outputs

5) Avoid assumptions

Don’t assume tools/packages exist. If something is required:

• name it
• show the command to install/run it
• include a fallback if possible

Review checklist

• Directory name equals name: in frontmatter
• description includes “what” + “when”
• SKILL.md is concise; heavy details are in referenced files
• File references are relative paths from the skill root
• Scripts (if any) handle errors and edge cases explicitly

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