Plan-Based Skill Builder

Quick Start

When building a skill from a plan document:

•Analyze the plan document structure and purpose
•Extract workflows, checklists, and key instructions
•Identify trigger scenarios and use cases
•Create a structured SKILL.md following best practices
•Generate supporting files if needed (reference.md, examples.md)

Plan Document Types

Restart Plans

•Focus on restart procedures, verification steps, health checks
•Extract restart workflows, validation commands, troubleshooting steps
•Create skills for restart operations, system recovery, health monitoring

Deployment Plans

•Focus on deployment steps, configuration, validation
•Extract deployment workflows, configuration templates, rollback procedures
•Create skills for deployment operations, configuration management

Prioritization Plans

•Focus on ranking, scoring, decision-making frameworks
•Extract scoring rubrics, ranking algorithms, decision criteria
•Create skills for prioritization, ranking, selection workflows

Retest Plans

•Focus on testing procedures, validation steps, success criteria
•Extract test workflows, validation commands, acceptance criteria
•Create skills for testing, validation, quality assurance

Migration Plans

•Focus on migration steps, data transformation, validation
•Extract migration workflows, transformation rules, verification steps
•Create skills for migration operations, data transformation

Skill Creation Workflow

Step 1: Analyze Plan Document

Read the plan document and identify:

Purpose & Scope:

•What is the main goal of this plan?
•What domain/area does it cover?
•What problems does it solve?

Key Workflows:

•What are the main steps or procedures?
•Are there checklists or sequential processes?
•What decision points exist?

Trigger Scenarios:

•When would someone need this skill?
•What keywords or situations trigger its use?
•What related tasks would benefit from this?

Key Instructions:

•What specific commands or procedures are documented?
•What patterns or templates are provided?
•What validation or verification steps exist?

Supporting Information:

•Are there examples or reference materials?
•Are there scripts or utilities mentioned?
•Are there integration points with other systems?

Step 2: Extract Skill Components

Name:

•Use lowercase, hyphens, max 64 chars
•Reflect the plan's purpose (e.g., restart-operations, deployment-workflow)
•Be specific and descriptive

Description:

•Write in third person
•Include WHAT (capabilities) and WHEN (trigger scenarios)
•Include key terms for discovery
•Max 1024 chars

Instructions:

•Convert plan steps into actionable instructions
•Preserve workflows and checklists
•Include command examples and code snippets
•Add validation steps and error handling

Examples:

•Extract concrete examples from the plan
•Include command-line examples
•Show expected outputs or results

Integration Points:

•Identify related skills or systems
•Document dependencies
•Reference related workflows

Step 3: Structure the Skill

Follow the standard SKILL.md structure:

markdown

---
name: skill-name
description: [Third-person description with triggers]
---

# Skill Name

## Quick Start
[Essential instructions]

## Workflow
[Step-by-step process]

## Key Components
[Important concepts, commands, patterns]

## Examples
[Concrete examples]

## Integration Points
[Related skills, systems, workflows]

## Troubleshooting
[Common issues and solutions]

Step 4: Create Supporting Files (If Needed)

reference.md:

•Detailed API documentation
•Complete command reference
•Advanced configurations

examples.md:

•Extended examples
•Use case scenarios
•Edge cases

scripts/ (if needed):

•Utility scripts mentioned in plan
•Validation scripts
•Helper tools

Plan Analysis Patterns

Restart Plan Pattern

Common Sections:

•Restart procedures (stop → wait → start)
•Health checks and verification
•Troubleshooting steps
•Rollback procedures

Skill Extraction:

markdown

## Restart Workflow

1. Stop services: [commands]
2. Wait for cleanup: [duration]
3. Start services: [commands]
4. Verify health: [checks]
5. Validate functionality: [tests]

Deployment Plan Pattern

Common Sections:

•Pre-deployment checks
•Deployment steps
•Post-deployment validation
•Rollback procedures

Skill Extraction:

markdown

## Deployment Process

### Pre-Deployment
- [ ] Checklist item 1
- [ ] Checklist item 2

### Deployment
1. Step 1: [command]
2. Step 2: [command]

### Post-Deployment
- Verify: [check]
- Validate: [test]

Prioritization Plan Pattern

Common Sections:

•Scoring framework
•Ranking algorithm
•Decision criteria
•Action recommendations

Skill Extraction:

markdown

## Scoring Framework

### Factor 1: [Name]
- **5**: [Criteria]
- **4**: [Criteria]
- **3**: [Criteria]

### Ranking Process
1. Score each item
2. Calculate composite
3. Rank by score
4. Categorize by action

Example: Building from Restart Plan

Input Plan Document:

markdown

# System Restart Plan

## Restart Procedure
1. Stop API: `kill -TERM <PID>`
2. Wait 10 seconds
3. Start API: `make start-paper`
4. Verify: `curl :8000/ready`

Generated Skill:

markdown

---
name: system-restart
description: Restart trading systems with proper sequencing and health verification. Use when restarting APIs, services, or when system recovery is needed.
---

# System Restart

## Quick Start

Restart sequence:
1. Stop services gracefully
2. Wait for cleanup
3. Start services
4. Verify health

## Restart Workflow

### Step 1: Stop Services
```bash
# Find and stop API
lsof -nP -iTCP:8000 | awk '/LISTEN/ {print $2}' | xargs kill -TERM

Step 2: Wait for Cleanup

bash

sleep 10  # Allow graceful shutdown

Step 3: Start Services

bash

make start-paper  # or make live

Step 4: Verify Health

bash

curl :8000/ready | jq  # Should return 200
curl :8000/metrics | grep '^trader_is_leader'  # Should be 1

code


## Best Practices

### 1. Preserve Plan Structure
- Keep workflows intact
- Maintain checklists
- Preserve command sequences

### 2. Enhance with Context
- Add error handling not in plan
- Include troubleshooting steps
- Add validation checks

### 3. Make It Discoverable
- Include trigger keywords in description
- Add related terms
- Reference common use cases

### 4. Keep It Concise
- Extract essential information
- Remove redundant explanations
- Focus on actionable content

### 5. Add Integration Points
- Reference related skills
- Link to documentation
- Connect to related workflows

## Common Extraction Patterns

### Commands → Instructions
```markdown
# Plan:
```bash
make start-paper

Skill:

Start System

bash

make start-paper

Wait 10 seconds, then verify with curl :8000/ready

code


### Checklists → Workflows
```markdown
# Plan:
- [ ] Step 1
- [ ] Step 2

# Skill:
## Deployment Checklist
1. Step 1: [details]
2. Step 2: [details]

Procedures → Step-by-Step

markdown

# Plan:
1. Do X
2. Then Y
3. Finally Z

# Skill:
## Procedure
### Step 1: Do X
[Details and commands]

### Step 2: Then Y
[Details and commands]

### Step 3: Finally Z
[Details and commands]

Validation Checklist

After creating a skill from a plan, verify:

Related Resources

•Skill creation guide: create-skill skill
•Plan documents: *PLAN*.md files in root
•Existing skills: .cursor/skills/ directory
•Agent files: .cursor/agents/ directory

Troubleshooting

Plan Too Vague

•Look for implicit workflows
•Extract common patterns
•Add general guidance

Plan Too Specific

•Generalize to broader use cases
•Extract reusable patterns
•Add configuration options

Missing Information

•Infer from context
•Add placeholder sections
•Document assumptions

Conflicting Information

•Use most recent or authoritative source
•Document conflicts
•Provide alternatives

Always create skills that are discoverable, actionable, and aligned with the plan's intent while following Cursor skill best practices.