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When to Create a Skill

Create a skill when:

• A pattern is used repeatedly and AI needs guidance
• Project-specific conventions differ from generic best practices
• Complex workflows need step-by-step instructions
• Decision trees help AI choose the right approach

Don't create a skill when:

• Documentation already exists (create a reference instead)
• Pattern is trivial or self-explanatory
• It's a one-off task

Skill Structure

skills/{skill-name}/
├── SKILL.md              # Required - main skill file
├── assets/               # Optional - templates, schemas, examples
│   ├── template.py
│   └── schema.json
└── references/           # Optional - links to local docs
    └── docs.md           # Points to docs/developer-guide/*.mdx

SKILL.md Template

---
name: {skill-name}
description: >
  {One-line description of what this skill does}.
  Trigger: {When the AI should load this skill}.
metadata:
  author: 333-333-333
  version: "1.0"
  type: {generic|project|meta}
  scope: [{root|directory-name}]
  auto_invoke:
    - "{Action that triggers this skill}"
    - "{Another action that triggers this skill}"
---

## When to Use

{Bullet points of when to use this skill}

## Critical Patterns

{The most important rules - what AI MUST know}

## Code Examples

{Minimal, focused examples}

## Commands

```bash
{Common commands}

Resources

• Templates: See assets/ for {description}
• Documentation: See references/ for local docs

---

## Naming Conventions

| Type | Pattern | Examples |
|------|---------|----------|
| Generic skill | `{technology}` or `{tech}-{concern}` | `typescript`, `go-tdd`, `go-gin-handlers` |
| Project-specific | `{project}-{component}` | `bastet-booking`, `bastet-auth` |
| Workflow skill | `{action}-{target}` | `skill-creator`, `skill-sync` |
| Meta skill | `skill-{action}` | `skill-creator`, `skill-sync` |

---

## Decision: Skill Type

Patterns apply to ANY project? → type: generic Patterns are specific to THIS repo? → type: project Skill manages the skills system? → type: meta

**Important**: The `type` field determines where the skill appears in AGENTS.md:
- `generic` → **Generic Skills** table (reusable across projects)
- `project` → **Project Skills** table (repo-specific)
- `meta` → **Meta-Skills** section (manually managed, not synced)

---

## Decision: assets/ vs references/

Need code templates? → assets/ Need JSON schemas? → assets/ Need example configs? → assets/ Link to existing docs? → references/ Link to external guides? → references/ (with local path)

**Key Rule**: `references/` should point to LOCAL files (`docs/developer-guide/*.mdx`), not web URLs.

---

## Frontmatter Fields

| Field | Required | Description |
|-------|----------|-------------|
| `name` | Yes | Skill identifier (lowercase, hyphens) |
| `description` | Yes | What + Trigger in one block |
| `metadata.author` | Yes | `333-333-333` |
| `metadata.version` | Yes | Semantic version as string |
| `metadata.type` | Yes | `generic`, `project`, or `meta` |
| `metadata.scope` | Yes | Array of scopes: `[root]`, `[api]`, `[root, api]`, etc. |
| `metadata.auto_invoke` | Yes | String or list of actions that trigger this skill |

### Scope Values

| Scope | Updates |
|-------|---------|
| `root` | `./AGENTS.md` (repository root) |
| `{directory}` | `./{directory}/AGENTS.md` |

A skill can target multiple scopes: `scope: [root, api, web]`

### Auto-invoke Format

Single action:
```yaml
auto_invoke: "Creating new components"

Multiple actions:

auto_invoke:
  - "Creating new components"
  - "Refactoring component structure"

Content Guidelines

DO

• Start with the most critical patterns
• Use tables for decision trees
• Keep code examples minimal and focused
• Include Commands section with copy-paste commands

DON'T

• Add Keywords section (agent searches frontmatter, not body)
• Duplicate content from existing docs (reference instead)
• Include lengthy explanations (link to docs)
• Add troubleshooting sections (keep focused)
• Use web URLs in references (use local paths)

Registering the Skill

After creating the skill, run the sync script to register it in AGENTS.md:

./skills/skill-sync/assets/sync.sh

This automatically updates the skill tables and auto-invoke sections based on metadata.type, metadata.scope, and metadata.auto_invoke.

Checklist Before Creating

• Skill doesn't already exist (check skills/)
• Pattern is reusable (not one-off)
• Name follows conventions
• Frontmatter is complete:
  • name and description (with Trigger)
  • metadata.type (generic/project/meta)
  • metadata.scope (where to register)
  • metadata.auto_invoke (when to trigger)
• Critical patterns are clear
• Code examples are minimal
• Commands section exists
• Ran ./skills/skill-sync/assets/sync.sh

Resources

• Templates: See assets/ for SKILL.md template