Create Skill

When to use this skill

Use this skill when the user wants to create a new agent skill or explicitly asks to "create a skill". This skill provides the standard procedure and specification for creating high-quality, compliant agent skills.

Prerequisite: Understand the Goal

1. Identify the Skill Name:
   • must be 1-64 characters.
   • only lowercase alphanumeric (a-z, 0-9) and hyphens (-).
   • cannot start or end with a hyphen.
   • cannot have consecutive hyphens (--).
2. Identify the Purpose: Understand what task the skill is solving to write a good description.

Step 1: Create Directory Structure

Create a new directory with the exact name of the skill.

<skill-name>/
  ├── SKILL.md  (Required)
  ├── scripts/  (Optional: executable code)
  ├── references/ (Optional: docs, forms)
  └── assets/   (Optional: templates, images)

Step 2: Create SKILL.md

The SKILL.md file is the core of the skill. It MUST strictly follow this format:

Frontmatter

The file must start with a YAML frontmatter block:

---
name: <skill-name>
description: <text description of what the skill does and when to use it>
# Optional fields:
# license: <license type>
# compatibility: <system requirements>
# metadata:
#   author: <name>
#   version: "1.0"
---

Critical Rules:

• name in frontmatter MUST match the directory name.
• description should include keywords to help agents find the skill (1-1024 chars).

Body

The body should be standard Markdown containing:

• Header: # Title of Capability
• When to use: A section explaining the specific scenarios where this skill is applicable.
• Instructions: Step-by-step procedures the agent should follow.
  • Be prescriptive and clear.
  • Reference scripts or assets using relative paths (e.g., scripts/my-script.py).

Step 3: Populate Optional Directories (If needed)

• scripts/: For code that needs to be executed (e.g., Python scripts). Ensure they are self-contained.
• references/: For static knowledge, cheat sheets, or lookup tables.
• assets/: For templates the agent should copy or use.

Validation

After creating the files, ensure:

1. The directory name and name field match exactly.
2. The YAML frontmatter is valid.
3. The description clearly explains when to use the skill.