Agent Skill Creator
Overview
Design Agent Skills that are spec-compliant, portable, and clear about when to activate. Prioritize concise triggers, progressive disclosure, and compatibility with both filesystem-based and tool-based agents.
Workflow
0. Confirm target agent constraints
- •Ask which agent(s) the skill must work with and whether they are filesystem-based or tool-based.
- •Ask about constraints: shell access, network access, allowed tools, and whether scripts can execute.
- •If constraints are unknown, assume conservative defaults: no shell access, no network, no external dependencies. Keep scripts optional and provide manual steps.
- •Include the
compatibilityfrontmatter field only when a real constraint exists.
1. Gather concrete usage examples
- •Ask for 3-5 example user requests that should trigger the skill.
- •Ask for a couple of out-of-scope examples to set boundaries.
- •Convert these into the skill's
descriptionkeywords and "Examples" section.
2. Define scope and resources
- •Decide which content belongs in
SKILL.mdvsreferences/vsassets/. - •Use
references/for long docs, schemas, or policies. - •Use
assets/for templates or files that should be copied into outputs. - •Use
scripts/only if the target agent can execute them; otherwise provide manual alternatives. - •Keep the skill folder minimal and avoid extra documentation.
3. Author SKILL.md
- •Follow the Agent Skills spec (summary in
references/agentskills-spec.md). - •Frontmatter must include
nameanddescriptionwith correct constraints. - •Keep the body imperative and task-focused: steps, edge cases, examples, and outputs.
- •Keep
SKILL.mdunder 500 lines and move details intoreferences/. - •When referencing files, use relative paths from the skill root and keep references one level deep.
4. Add resources
- •Add reference files with focused scope and clear titles.
- •If scripts are included, document dependencies and a fallback path.
- •Link to any references from
SKILL.mdusing relative paths.
5. Validate
- •If available, run
skills-ref validate <skill-dir>. - •Otherwise, manually verify:
- •
namematches the folder and follows naming rules. - •
descriptionis specific and under 1024 chars. - •Optional fields are used only when needed.
- •File references are relative and one level deep.
- •
Output requirements
- •Provide a concise file tree of the created skill.
- •Include the final
SKILL.mdcontent. - •Call out any assumptions about agent capabilities.
- •Provide 2-3 example prompts that should trigger the skill.
Examples
Example 1:
Input: "Create a skill that helps agents generate weekly status updates for engineering teams."
Output: A spec-compliant skill folder with SKILL.md instructions, a references/ guide for update format, and clear triggering keywords.
Example 2:
Input: "Convert our internal onboarding doc into a reusable skill for any agent."
Output: A skill that summarizes the onboarding workflow in SKILL.md with detailed policies in references/ and optional templates in assets/.
Response checklist
- •Confirmed target agent constraints
- •Defined scope and examples
- •
SKILL.mdfrontmatter valid and descriptive - •Progressive disclosure applied (references/assets/scripts)
- •Validation completed or manual checks noted