skill-creator

Creates new AI agent skills following the Agent Skills spec. Trigger: When user asks to create a new skill, add agent instructions, or document patterns for AI.

Quality

70%

Does it follow best practices?

Impact

Pending

No eval scenarios have been run

Securityby

Passed

No known issues

Optimize this skill with Tessl

npx tessl skill review --optimize ./skills/skill-creator/SKILL.md

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` |
| Project-specific | `{project}-{component}` | `myapp-api`, `myapp-ui` |
| Testing skill | `{project}-test-{component}` | `myapp-test-sdk`, `myapp-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, not web URLs.

---

## Frontmatter Fields

| Field | Required | Description |
|-------|----------|-------------|
| `name` | Yes | Skill identifier (lowercase, hyphens) |
| `description` | Yes | What + Trigger in one block |
| `license` | Yes | Always `Apache-2.0` |
| `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

Repository: Gentleman-Programming/agent-teams-lite
Commit: 6901875

Last updated: 7 days ago
Created: 7 days ago

Is this your skill?

If you maintain this skill, you can claim it as your own. Once claimed, you can manage eval scenarios, bundle related skills, attach documentation or rules, and ensure cross-agent compatibility.