writing-skills

name	writing-skills
description	Use when creating new skills, editing existing skills, or verifying skills work before deployment

Skill: writing-skills

---

name: writing-skills description: Use when creating new skills, editing existing skills, or verifying skills work before deployment

Writing Skills

Overview

Writing skills IS Test-Driven Development applied to process documentation.

Personal skills live in agent-specific directories (~/.claude/skills for Claude Code, ~/.agents/skills/ for Copilot CLI)

You write test cases (pressure scenarios with subagents), watch them fail (baseline behavior), write the skill (documentation), watch tests pass (agents comply), and refactor (close loopholes).

Core principle: If you didn't watch an agent fail without the skill, you don't know if the skill teaches the right thing.

REQUIRED BACKGROUND: You MUST understand superpowers:test-driven-development before using this skill. That skill defines the fundamental RED-GREEN-REFACTOR cycle. This skill adapts TDD to documentation.

What is a Skill?

A skill is a reference guide for proven techniques, patterns, or tools. Skills help future Claude instances find and apply effective approaches.

Skills are: Reusable techniques, patterns, tools, reference guides Skills are NOT: Narratives about how you solved a problem once

When to Create a Skill

Create when:

• Technique wasn't intuitively obvious to you
• You'd reference this again across projects
• Pattern applies broadly (not project-specific)
• Others would benefit

Don't create for:

• One-off solutions
• Standard practices well-documented elsewhere
• Project-specific conventions (put in CLAUDE.md)
• Mechanical constraints (if it's enforceable with regex, automate it)

SKILL.md Structure

Frontmatter (YAML):

---
name: Skill-Name-With-Hyphens
description: Use when [specific triggering conditions and symptoms]
---

Only two fields: name and description (max 1024 chars total)

Content:

• Overview: What is this? Core principle in 1-2 sentences
• When to Use: Flowchart if decision non-obvious, bullet list with symptoms
• Implementation: Inline code for simple patterns, link to file for heavy reference
• Common Mistakes: What goes wrong + fixes
• Real-World Impact (optional): Concrete results

Claude Search Optimization (CSO)

Critical for discovery: Future Claude needs to FIND your skill

Description = When to Use, NOT What the Skill Does

CRITICAL: Description should ONLY describe triggering conditions. Do NOT summarize the skill's workflow.

# ❌ BAD: Summarizes workflow - Claude may follow this instead of reading skill
description: Use when executing plans - dispatches subagent per task with code review between tasks

# ✅ GOOD: Just triggering conditions, no workflow summary
description: Use when executing implementation plans with independent tasks in the current session

Keyword Coverage

Use words Claude would search for:

• Error messages: "Hook timed out", "ENOTEMPTY", "race condition"
• Symptoms: "flaky", "hanging", "zombie", "pollution"
• Synonyms: "timeout/hang/freeze", "cleanup/teardown/afterEach"
• Tools: Actual commands, library names, file types

Descriptive Naming

Use active voice, verb-first:

• ✅ creating-skills not skill-creation
• ✅ condition-based-waiting not async-test-helpers

The Iron Law (Same as TDD)

NO SKILL WITHOUT A FAILING TEST FIRST

This applies to NEW skills AND EDITS to existing skills.

Write skill before testing? Delete it. Start over. Edit skill without testing? Same violation.

No exceptions:

• Not for "simple additions"
• Not for "just adding a section"
• Not for "documentation updates"
• Don't keep untested changes
• Delete means delete

Testing All Skill Types

Discipline-Enforcing Skills (rules/requirements)

Examples: TDD, verification-before-completion, designing-before-coding

Test with:

• Academic questions: Do they understand the rules?
• Pressure scenarios: Do they comply under stress?
• Multiple pressures combined: time + sunk cost + exhaustion

Success criteria: Agent follows rule under maximum pressure

Technique Skills (how-to guides)

Examples: condition-based-waiting, root-cause-tracing

Test with:

• Application scenarios: Can they apply the technique correctly?
• Variation scenarios: Do they handle edge cases?
• Missing information tests: Do instructions have gaps?

Success criteria: Agent successfully applies technique to new scenario

Pattern Skills (mental models)

Examples: reducing-complexity, information-hiding concepts

Test with:

• Recognition scenarios: Do they recognize when pattern applies?
• Application scenarios: Can they use the mental model?
• Counter-examples: Do they know when NOT to apply?

Success criteria: Agent correctly identifies when/how to apply pattern

Reference Skills (documentation/APIs)

Examples: API documentation, command references

Test with:

• Retrieval scenarios: Can they find the right information?
• Application scenarios: Can they use what they found correctly?
• Gap testing: Are common use cases covered?

Success criteria: Agent finds and correctly applies reference information

Bulletproofing Skills Against Rationalization

Skills that enforce discipline need to resist rationalization.

Close Every Loophole Explicitly

Write code before test? Delete it. Start over.

**No exceptions:**
- Don't keep it as "reference"
- Don't "adapt" it while writing tests
- Don't look at it
- Delete means delete

Address "Spirit vs Letter" Arguments

Add foundational principle:

**Violating the letter of the rules is violating the spirit of the rules.**

Build Rationalization Table

Capture rationalizations from testing:

| Excuse | Reality |
|--------|---------|
| "Too simple to test" | Simple code breaks. Test takes 30 seconds. |

Create Red Flags List

## Red Flags - STOP and Start Over

- Code before test
- "I already manually tested it"
- "This is different because..."

**All of these mean: Delete code. Start over with TDD.**

RED-GREEN-REFACTOR for Skills

RED: Write Failing Test (Baseline)

Run pressure scenario with subagent WITHOUT the skill. Document exact behavior:

• What choices did they make?
• What rationalizations did they use (verbatim)?
• Which pressures triggered violations?

GREEN: Write Minimal Skill

Write skill that addresses those specific rationalizations. Don't add extra content.

Run same scenarios WITH skill. Agent should now comply.

REFACTOR: Close Loopholes

Agent found new rationalization? Add explicit counter. Re-test until bulletproof.

Common Rationalizations for Skipping Testing

Excuse	Reality
"Skill is obviously clear"	Clear to you ≠ clear to other agents. Test it.
"It's just a reference"	References can have gaps, unclear sections. Test retrieval.
"Testing is overkill"	Untested skills have issues. Always. 15 min testing saves hours.
"I'll test if problems emerge"	Problems = agents can't use skill. Test BEFORE deploying.

All of these mean: Test before deploying. No exceptions.

File Organization

Self-Contained Skill

skill-name/
  SKILL.md    # Everything inline

Skill with Reusable Tool

skill-name/
  SKILL.md    # Overview + patterns
  example.ts  # Working helpers to adapt

Skill with Heavy Reference

skill-name/
  SKILL.md       # Overview + workflows
  reference.md   # 600+ lines API reference
  scripts/       # Executable tools

Skill Creation Checklist

RED Phase - Write Failing Test:

• Create pressure scenarios (3+ combined pressures for discipline skills)
• Run scenarios WITHOUT skill - document baseline behavior verbatim
• Identify patterns in rationalizations/failures

GREEN Phase - Write Minimal Skill:

• Name uses only letters, numbers, hyphens
• YAML frontmatter with only name and description (max 1024 chars)
• Description starts with "Use when..." and includes specific triggers
• Keywords throughout for search
• Clear overview with core principle
• Address specific baseline failures identified in RED
• Code inline OR link to separate file
• One excellent example (not multi-language)
• Run scenarios WITH skill - verify agents now comply

REFACTOR Phase - Close Loopholes:

• Identify NEW rationalizations from testing
• Add explicit counters (if discipline skill)
• Build rationalization table from all test iterations
• Create red flags list
• Re-test until bulletproof

Quality Checks:

• Small flowchart only if decision non-obvious
• Quick reference table
• Common mistakes section
• No narrative storytelling
• Supporting files only for tools or heavy reference

Deployment:

• Commit skill to git and push
• Consider contributing back via PR if broadly useful

Discovery Workflow

How future Claude finds your skill:

1. Encounters problem ("tests are flaky")
2. Finds SKILL (description matches)
3. Scans overview (is this relevant?)
4. Reads patterns (quick reference table)
5. Loads example (only when implementing)

Optimize for this flow - put searchable terms early and often.

Anti-Patterns

❌ Narrative Example

"In session 2025-10-03, we found empty projectDir caused..." Why bad: Too specific, not reusable

❌ Multi-Language Dilution

example-js.js, example-py.py, example-go.go Why bad: Mediocre quality, maintenance burden

❌ Generic Labels

helper1, helper2, step3, pattern4 Why bad: Labels should have semantic meaning

The Bottom Line

Creating skills IS TDD for process documentation.

Same Iron Law: No skill without failing test first. Same cycle: RED (baseline) → GREEN (write skill) → REFACTOR (close loopholes).

If you follow TDD for code, follow it for skills. It's the same discipline applied to documentation.