Skill Creator
Create, validate, and maintain skills that follow the agentskills.io open specification.
When to Use
- •Creating a new skill from scratch
- •Auditing existing skills for spec compliance
- •Restructuring a skill for progressive disclosure
- •Adding scripts/, references/, or assets/ to an existing skill
Decision Tree
code
Need to work on a skill?
├─ Creating new skill?
│ ├─ Run: scripts/init-skill.ps1
│ └─ Fill in SKILL.md template
├─ Auditing existing skill?
│ ├─ Check frontmatter against spec (see Frontmatter Rules)
│ ├─ Check line count (target < 500, ideal < 350)
│ └─ Verify progressive disclosure structure
├─ Skill too large (> 500 lines)?
│ ├─ Extract detailed examples → references/
│ ├─ Extract executable logic → scripts/
│ └─ Keep SKILL.md as slim router
└─ Adding capability to existing skill?
├─ Executable automation → scripts/
├─ Extended docs/examples → references/
└─ Templates, starter code, sample data → assets/
Quick Start: Create a New Skill
powershell
# Scaffold a new skill with all directories ./.github/skills/ai-systems/skill-creator/scripts/init-skill.ps1 ` -Name "my-new-skill" ` -Category "development" ` -Description "Brief description of the skill" ` -WithScripts -WithReferences
This creates:
code
.github/skills/development/my-new-skill/
├── SKILL.md # Main skill document
├── scripts/
│ └── example.ps1 # Starter script
├── references/
│ └── reference-guide.md # Extended content
└── assets/ # (with -WithAssets)
└── .gitkeep # Templates, starter code, sample data
Core Rules (Frontmatter)
Required Fields
| Field | Rules | Example |
|---|---|---|
name | lowercase, hyphens, 1-64 chars | "api-design" |
description | 1-1024 chars, plain text | "REST API design patterns" |
Recommended Fields
| Field | Purpose | Example |
|---|---|---|
metadata.author | Attribution | "AgentX" |
metadata.version | Skill version (SemVer) | "1.0.0" |
metadata.created | Creation date | "2025-01-15" |
metadata.updated | Last update date | "2025-01-15" |
compatibility.languages | Language scope | ["csharp", "python"] |
compatibility.frameworks | Framework scope | ["dotnet", "flask"] |
compatibility.platforms | OS scope | ["windows", "linux"] |
prerequisites | Required tools, MCP servers, env | ["Node.js 18+", "Docker"] |
allowed-tools | Space-delimited tool names | "read_file run_in_terminal" |
Frontmatter Template
yaml
--- name: "skill-name" description: 'Create, validate, and maintain AgentX skills following the agentskills.io specification. Use when scaffolding a new skill, auditing skill compliance, restructuring for progressive disclosure, or adding scripts/references/assets to an existing skill.' metadata: author: "AgentX" version: "1.0.0" created: "YYYY-MM-DD" updated: "YYYY-MM-DD" compatibility: languages: ["lang1", "lang2"] frameworks: ["framework1"] platforms: ["windows", "linux", "macos"] prerequisites: ["tool or runtime required"] allowed-tools: "tool1 tool2 tool3" ---
Progressive Disclosure Pattern
Skills load in 3 tiers to manage context window tokens:
| Tier | What Loads | Token Budget | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Metadata | Frontmatter only | ~100 tokens | Always (skill discovery) |
| Body | SKILL.md content | < 5,000 tokens | On skill activation |
| Extended | references/ files | Variable | On-demand via read_file |
Structure Rules
- •SKILL.md (< 500 lines, ideal < 350): Decision tree, quick start, core rules, pattern summaries
- •references/: Detailed examples, extended documentation, edge cases
- •scripts/: Executable automation (scanners, scaffolders, validators)
- •assets/: Reusable templates, starter code, sample data, report templates
Assets Directory Convention
| Content Type | Example | When to Use |
|---|---|---|
| Code templates | pyspark_transforms.py | Reusable starter code for the skill domain |
| Report templates | completion_report_template.md | Structured output documents |
| Config templates | pipeline-templates.json | Pre-built configurations |
| Sample data | sample-input.csv | Test/demo data for the skill |
| Prompt templates | system-prompt.md | AI prompt patterns for the skill |
Skill Quality Checklist
- • Frontmatter has
nameanddescription(required) - • Frontmatter has
metadata.version(recommended) - • SKILL.md is under 500 lines
- • Has a decision tree section
- • Has "When to Use" section
- • Has "Core Rules" section
- • Has "Anti-Patterns" section
- • Large examples are in references/ (not inline)
- • Executable tools are in scripts/ (not just documented)
- • Reusable templates/starter code in assets/ (not inline)
- •
prerequisiteslisted if skill requires external tools - • Added to Skills.md master index
Anti-Patterns
- •Monolith skills: > 500 lines with no references/ → split them
- •Missing frontmatter: No
nameordescription→ spec violation - •Code-dump skills: Walls of example code → move to references/
- •Undiscoverable skills: Not listed in Skills.md → invisible to routing
- •Stale metadata:
versionnever bumped after changes → unreliable
Scripts
- •
scripts/init-skill.ps1- Scaffold a new skill with proper structure and frontmatter