adding-a-skill

name	adding-a-skill
description	Use in the BuilderIO/skills repo whenever adding, updating, publishing, documenting, validating, or wiring a public skill. Covers the repo-local skill files, root catalog docs, plugin metadata, @agent-native/skills dynamic install path, optional managed AGENTS/CLAUDE instruction blocks in ../agent-native/framework, and generated/synced Plan skill gotchas.

Adding A Skill

Use this for public skill work in this repo. Keep ordinary skill changes in skills/<skill-name>/; keep repo-only guidance under .agents/skills/.

First Decide The Skill Kind

• Plain public skill: a normal folder under skills/<name>/ with SKILL.md. This is the common case. @agent-native/skills discovers these dynamically from BuilderIO/skills@main, so there is no framework registry to edit just to make npx @agent-native/skills@latest add --skill <name> work.
• Instruction-style skill: a plain skill that should optionally write an always-on managed AGENTS.md / CLAUDE.md line when users pass --update-instructions. These need one extra framework change; see "Managed Instruction Blocks" below.
• App-backed / MCP skill: a skill that registers a hosted/local MCP server or uses framework-owned install behavior. These are not plain public skills; inspect ../agent-native/framework/packages/core/src/cli/skills.ts and ../agent-native/framework/packages/skills/src/built-in-apps.ts.
• Plan skills: visual-plan and visual-recap have generated/synced copies between this repo and ../agent-native/framework. Do not treat them like a standalone prose folder.
• Rewind: its canonical SKILL.md is generated from Agent Native because the instructions and local Screen Memory tools share one privacy contract. Keep the human README here; use npm run sync:agent-native-skills for the generated skill instead of editing it by hand.

Plain Public Skill Checklist

1. Create or update skills/<skill-name>/SKILL.md.

2. Add skills/<skill-name>/README.md when the skill should appear in the public catalog. This repo intentionally uses READMEs for public skill pages.

3. If the collection positioning changes, update root README.md, .codex-plugin/plugin.json, .claude-plugin/plugin.json, and package.json descriptions.

4. Keep the skill concise. Put only essential agent instructions in SKILL.md; avoid extra docs unless they directly support the skill.

5. Validate with:

   python3 /Users/steve/.codex/skills/.system/skill-creator/scripts/quick_validate.py skills/<skill-name>
   

6. Smoke-test install discovery locally before claiming the CLI path works:

   node ../agent-native/framework/packages/skills/dist/cli.js add --copy . --skill <skill-name> --client codex --scope project --dry-run --json
   

7. Run npm run check. If it fails on visual-plan / visual-recap sync while the change is unrelated, report that specifically instead of rewriting those skills casually.

@agent-native/skills Install Path

For a plain public skill, the install path is dynamic:

• ../agent-native/framework/packages/skills/src/index.ts sets DEFAULT_SKILLS_SOURCE = "BuilderIO/skills".

• It materializes that repo, reads plugin manifests via resolveSkillsRoot, and discovers every skills/*/SKILL.md through discoverSkills.

• Therefore a new folder under skills/<name>/ is enough for:

  npx @agent-native/skills@latest add --skill <name>
  

No @agent-native/core built-in registry change is needed unless the skill is app-backed or needs custom install behavior.

Managed Instruction Blocks

If the skill should affect AGENTS.md / CLAUDE.md through --update-instructions, update the framework wrapper:

• Add a concise line in ../agent-native/framework/packages/skills/src/index.ts inside instructionContentForSkill(skillName).

• Add or update tests in ../agent-native/framework/packages/skills/src/index.spec.ts.

• Run:

  pnpm --filter @agent-native/skills test -- src/index.spec.ts --runInBand
  

Use this for durable behavior rules like quick-recap, efficient-fable, stay-within-limits, and likely docs-first behavior such as read-the-damn-docs.

App-Backed Or MCP Skills

If a skill needs hosted tools, auth, MCP registration, local-files mode, or special install flags, inspect the framework before editing:

• ../agent-native/framework/packages/core/src/cli/skills.ts
• ../agent-native/framework/packages/skills/src/built-in-apps.ts
• ../agent-native/framework/packages/skills/src/sync-with-core.spec.ts

Keep the core and standalone @agent-native/skills MCP descriptors in sync.

Agent Native Skill Sync Gotchas

visual-plan, visual-recap, and rewind are special:

• Framework contains canonical/generated copies and Plan marketplace bundles.
• This repo's npm run check compares those copies and can fail for drift unrelated to a new plain skill.
• When intentionally changing Plan skills, use the framework sync paths instead of hand-editing generated copies. Search the framework for sync-plan-marketplace, sync-workspace-skills, and skills.sync.spec.ts.
• Rewind's SKILL.md is generated from packages/core/src/cli/skills-content/rewind-skill.ts. Its public README is preserved as an overlay. The plain-copy installer cannot configure Rewind's local MCP connection; public setup docs must use @agent-native/skills or @agent-native/core.
• Plugin manifests that publish the whole skills/ directory must carry an always-on setup directive: invoking Rewind with Clips absent asks permission before opening the official install flow, never installs or enables capture silently, and keeps Rewind unavailable until Core configures the local MCP connection and screen_memory_status succeeds.

Final Reporting

When finishing a skill change, tell the user:

• Which skill files changed.
• Whether @agent-native/skills dynamic install discovery is enough.
• Whether a framework managed-instruction change was added or intentionally left as a follow-up.
• Which validation commands passed or failed, including unrelated Plan sync failures.