| name | deepworkplan-author |
| description | Author or update reusable skills, agents, and commands in the current repo — reason about the repo's .agents/ layout, follow the Open Agent Skills frontmatter contract, and keep the .agents/docs/ catalog in sync. Use when a developer wants to create or evolve the repo's agent kit (skills, agents, commands), or runs /skill-create or /agent-create. |
| version | 2.15.0 |
| documentation_url | https://deepworkplan.com |
| user-invocable | true |
| allowed-tools | Bash, Read, Grep, Glob, Edit, Write |
DeepWorkPlan — Author
Author and maintain the current repository's agent kit: reusable skills, agents, and
commands. Reason about the repo — never copy a generic kit. This sub-skill is also the executor of
the mandatory "Skills & Agents Discovery" plan task.
Concepts
- Skill — a reusable, parameterized procedure invoked in-session (e.g.
/fix-lint). Encodes
"how to do X". Lives in <skills-dir>/<name>/SKILL.md.
- Agent — a specialized worker definition (role, model tier, tools, system prompt) dispatched to
handle a class of tasks (e.g.
reviewer, executor). Encodes "who does X". Lives in
<agents-dir>/<name>.md.
- Command — a thin slash-command entry point that routes to a skill or agent. Logic stays in the
skill/agent; the command is a delegator.
| Need | Create |
|---|
| A repeatable procedure run in-session | Skill |
| A persistent role with its own model tier / tools | Agent |
| A shortcut to invoke a skill or agent | Command |
Step 0 — Detect the repo layout (do NOT assume)
Before authoring anything, discover where this repo keeps its kit. Do not hardcode any single repo's
conventions.
- Find the agent root: look for
.agents/, then .claude/ (often a symlink to .agents/), then any
AGENTS.md / CLAUDE.md at the repo root for documented paths.
- Within it, locate
skills/, agents/, commands/, and a catalog under docs/.
- Inspect 1-2 existing skills/agents to learn the repo's local conventions (frontmatter keys it
uses, naming, body structure, whether commands are thin delegators). Match them.
ls -d .agents .claude 2>/dev/null
ls .agents/skills .agents/agents .agents/commands .agents/docs 2>/dev/null
ls AGENTS.md CLAUDE.md 2>/dev/null
If the repo has no .agents/ layout yet, route the developer to the onboard sub-skill first
(onboard/SKILL.md) — onboarding scaffolds the directories this sub-skill writes into.
Flows
Pick the flow that matches the developer's intent.
A. Create a skill
- Audit fit — confirm a real, repeatable workflow exists (see "Repo-fit rubric" below). Skip
generic skills that do not match an actual workflow.
- Name it — kebab-case, English, unique. Check for collisions in the skills dir.
- Scaffold — copy
templates/SKILL_TEMPLATE.md into <skills-dir>/<name>/SKILL.md. Adapt the
frontmatter to the repo's local convention (keys it already uses).
- Fill — one-procedure focus; clear Goal, When-to-use, Steps, Validation.
- Keep commands thin — if it needs a slash command, add a delegator (see Flow C).
- Catalog — update the repo's catalog under the docs dir (see "Keep the catalog in sync").
- Validate — naming, structure, frontmatter, and that any command is thin.
B. Create an agent
- Confirm a recurring role with distinct model/tools needs (not just a one-off procedure → that
is a skill).
- Name it — kebab-case, English, unique.
- Scaffold — copy
templates/AGENT_TEMPLATE.md into <agents-dir>/<name>.md.
- Choose a model tier — reason about it (see "Model tiers" below). Do NOT hardcode vendor model
IDs inside the agent body; keep the abstract tier and map it in repo config.
- Fill — Role, Inputs, Process, Output, escalation rules.
- Catalog — update the catalog under the docs dir.
- Validate — naming, structure, tier chosen with justification.
C. Create a command (thin delegator)
- Confirm the target skill or agent exists.
- Add
<commands-dir>/<cmd>.md as a ~20-line delegator: read the target skill/agent fresh and follow
it, passing along args. Do NOT embed logic — logic lives in the skill/agent so updates propagate.
- Reference the new command in the catalog / commands reference.
D. Update an existing skill / agent / command
- Read the existing file and the repo's conventions first.
- Make the smallest change that satisfies the request; preserve frontmatter the repo relies on.
- Keep delegators thin; keep skills single-procedure.
- Update the catalog if name, description, or surface changed.
E. Evaluate the catalog (Skills & Agents Discovery)
This is the flow invoked by the mandatory plan task.
- Enumerate every skill (
<skills-dir>/*/SKILL.md) and agent (<agents-dir>/*.md).
- For each, capture name, one-line description, and model tier (if any).
- Cross-check against the repo's catalog under the docs dir: flag missing entries, stale
descriptions, orphaned commands, and duplicates.
- Reconcile: update the catalog so it matches reality. Report drift found and fixed.
Repo-fit rubric (before creating)
Gather: stack & tooling (languages, frameworks, package manager, test runner, linter); workflows (how
code is built, tested, reviewed, released); pain points (repetitive manual steps); the existing kit
(avoid duplicates). Then:
- Create a skill for a repeatable procedure people do by hand.
- Create an agent for a recurring role with distinct model/tools needs.
- Create a command only as a thin entry point.
- Skip anything generic that does not match a real workflow.
Anti-patterns to avoid: generic kits that do not match the repo; fat commands with embedded logic;
duplicates of existing skills/agents; agents pinned to vendor model IDs in their bodies.
Model tiers (for agents)
Skills inherit the session model; agents may pin an abstract tier.
| Tier | Use for | Examples |
|---|
| light | Mechanical, well-specified, low-judgment tasks | formatting, lint fixes, renames, list/status commands |
| standard | Most engineering work; moderate reasoning | feature work, refactors, test writing, reviews |
| heavy | High-judgment, architectural, ambiguous tasks | architecture, security audits, complex planning |
How to choose: default to standard; drop to light only if mechanical and well-specified; raise
to heavy only for deep reasoning or high blast radius. Keep tiers abstract — map them to concrete
model IDs in the repo's runtime/config, in one place, never inside skill bodies.
Keep the catalog in sync
After any create/update, reconcile the repo's catalog (commonly under the docs dir, e.g. a
skills/agents catalog and a commands reference). Add or update the row for the affected skill/agent/
command: name, one-line description, tier (agents), and the command that invokes it. The catalog must
always match what is on disk.
Templates
templates/SKILL_TEMPLATE.md — skill scaffold.templates/AGENT_TEMPLATE.md — agent scaffold.
Reference them by these relative paths. Adapt the frontmatter to the host repo's local convention
(some repos add version, documentation_url, or user-invocable; match what neighboring files use).
Validation
- Names are kebab-case, English, unique.
- Frontmatter matches the repo's convention; descriptions are a single line starting with a verb.
- Skills are single-procedure; agents declare a justified tier (no hardcoded vendor model IDs).
- Commands are thin delegators with no embedded logic.
- The catalog under the docs dir reflects every change.
Notes
- Reason about the repo; never copy a generic kit.
- Propose before creating when scope is broad — confirm the short list with the developer first.
- All references inside the skill are relative; nothing outside the skill root is required at runtime.
