skill-best-practices

Skill Authoring Procedure

Follow these steps to generate a skill that adheres to the agentskills.io specification and progressive disclosure principles.

Bundled Path Rule

Resolve bundled paths relative to the directory that contains this SKILL.md. When invoking a helper from another working directory, expand <skill-best-practices-dir> to that directory first so the command is unambiguous.

Step 1: Initialize and Validate Metadata

1. Define a unique name: 1-64 characters, lowercase, numbers, and single hyphens only.
2. Draft a description: Max 1,024 characters, written in the third person, including negative triggers.
3. Execute Validation Script (read-only helper): Run the validation script to ensure compliance before proceeding: python3 <skill-best-practices-dir>/scripts/validate-metadata.py --name "[name]" --description "[description]"
4. If the script returns an error, self-correct the metadata based on the stderr output and re-run until successful.

Step 2: Structure the Directory

1. Create the root directory using the validated name.
2. Initialize the following subdirectories:
   • scripts/: For tiny CLI tools and deterministic logic.
   • references/: For flat (one-level deep) context like schemas or API docs.
   • assets/: For output templates, JSON schemas, or static files.
3. Ensure no human-centric files (README.md, INSTALLATION.md) are created.

Step 3: Draft Core Logic (SKILL.md)

1. Use the template in assets/SKILL.template.md as the starting point.
2. Write all instructions in the third-person imperative (e.g., "Extract the text," "Run the build").
3. Enforce Progressive Disclosure:
   • Keep the main logic under 500 lines.
   • If a procedure requires a large schema or complex rule set, move it to references/.
   • Command the agent to read the specific file only when needed: "Read references/api-spec.md to identify the correct endpoint."

Step 4: Identify and Bundle Scripts

1. Identify "fragile" tasks (regex, complex parsing, or repetitive boilerplate).
2. Outline a single-purpose script for the scripts/ directory.
3. Ensure the script uses standard output (stdout/stderr) to communicate success or failure to the agent.
4. In SKILL.md, reference bundled helpers by a path that is unambiguous from the agent's working directory (the same path the agent will type to invoke them), rather than bare scripts/helper.py snippets that silently depend on CWD.
5. Label each helper as read-only, bootstrap, or mutating so downstream agents know whether the helper only inspects state or changes it.

Step 5: Final Logic Validation

1. Review the SKILL.md for "hallucination gaps" (points where the agent is forced to guess).
2. Verify all file paths are relative and use forward slashes (/).
3. Verify every referenced helper path is unambiguous from the agent's working directory and that the helper's role (read-only, bootstrap, or mutating) is stated.
4. Read references/checklist.md and cross-reference every checklist item against the final output.

Error Handling

• Metadata Failure: If scripts/validate-metadata.py fails, identify the specific error (e.g., "STYLE ERROR") and rewrite the field to remove first/second person pronouns.
• Context Bloat: If the draft exceeds 500 lines, extract the largest procedural block and move it to a file in references/.