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}.
license: Apache-2.0
metadata:
author: gentleman-programming
version: "1.0"
---
## 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}` | `pytest`, `playwright`, `typescript` |
| Prowler-specific | `prowler-{component}` | `prowler-api`, `prowler-ui`, `prowler-sdk-check` |
| Testing skill | `prowler-test-{component}` | `prowler-test-sdk`, `prowler-test-api` |
| Workflow skill | `{action}-{target}` | `skill-creator`, `jira-task` |
---
## 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.
---
## Decision: Prowler-Specific vs Generic
Patterns apply to ANY project? → Generic skill (e.g., pytest, typescript) Patterns are Prowler-specific? → prowler-{name} skill Generic skill needs Prowler info? → Add references/ pointing to Prowler docs
---
## Frontmatter Fields
| Field | Required | Description |
|-------|----------|-------------|
| `name` | Yes | Skill identifier (lowercase, hyphens) |
| `description` | Yes | What + Trigger in one block |
| `license` | Yes | Always `Apache-2.0` for Prowler |
| `metadata.author` | Yes | `gentleman-programming` |
| `metadata.version` | Yes | Semantic version as string |
---
## 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, add it to `AGENTS.md`:
```markdown
| `{skill-name}` | {Description} | [SKILL.md](skills/{skill-name}/SKILL.md) |
Checklist Before Creating
- Skill doesn't already exist (check
skills/) - Pattern is reusable (not one-off)
- Name follows conventions
- Frontmatter is complete (description includes trigger keywords)
- Critical patterns are clear
- Code examples are minimal
- Commands section exists
- Added to AGENTS.md
Resources
- Templates: See assets/ for SKILL.md template