writing-skills - Agent Skills

Writing Skills (Excellence)

Dispatcher for skill creation excellence. Use the decision tree below to find the right template and standards.

⚡ Quick Decision Tree

What do you need to do?

Create a NEW skill:

- Is it simple (single file, <200 lines)? → Tier 1 Architecture
- Is it complex (multi-concept, 200-1000 lines)? → Tier 2 Architecture
- Is it a massive platform (10+ products, AWS, Convex)? → Tier 3 Architecture

Improve an EXISTING skill:

- Fix "it's too long" -> Modularize (Tier 3)
- Fix "AI ignores rules" -> Anti-Rationalization
- Fix "users can't find it" -> CSO (Search Optimization)

Verify Compliance:

- Check metadata/naming -> Standards
- Add tests -> Testing Guide

📚 Component Index

Component	Purpose
CSO	"SEO for LLMs". How to write descriptions that trigger.
Standards	File naming, YAML frontmatter, directory structure.
Anti-Rationalization	How to write rules that agents won't ignore.
Testing	How to ensure your skill actually works.

🛠️ Templates

Technique Skill (How-to)

Reference Skill (Docs)

Discipline Skill (Rules)

Pattern Skill (Design Patterns)

When to Use

Creating a NEW skill from scratch

Improving an EXISTING skill that agents ignore

Debugging why a skill isn't being triggered

Standardizing skills across a team

How It Works

Identify goal → Use decision tree above

Select template → From references/templates/

Apply CSO → Optimize description for discovery

Add anti-rationalization → For discipline skills

Test → RED-GREEN-REFACTOR cycle

Quick Example

---
name: my-technique
description: Use when [specific symptom occurs].
metadata:
  category: technique
  triggers: error-text, symptom, tool-name
My Technique
When to Use

[Symptom A]

[Error message]

Common Mistakes

Mistake	Fix
Description summarizes workflow	Use "Use when..." triggers only
No `metadata.triggers`	Add 3+ keywords
Generic name ("helper")	Use gerund (`creating-skills`)
Long monolithic SKILL.md	Split into `references/`

See gotchas.md for more.

✅ Pre-Deploy Checklist

Before deploying any skill:

[ ] name field matches directory name exactly

[ ] SKILL.md filename is ALL CAPS

[ ] Description starts with "Use when..."

[ ] metadata.triggers has 3+ keywords

[ ] Total lines < 500 (use references/ for more)

[ ] No @ force-loading in cross-references

[ ] Tested with real scenarios

🔗 Related Skills

opencode-expert: For OpenCode environment configuration

Use /write-skill command for guided skill creation

Examples

Create a Tier 1 skill:

mkdir -p ~/.config/opencode/skills/my-technique
touch ~/.config/opencode/skills/my-technique/SKILL.md

Create a Tier 2 skill:

mkdir -p ~/.config/opencode/skills/my-skill/references/core
touch ~/.config/opencode/skills/my-skill/{SKILL.md,gotchas.md}
touch ~/.config/opencode/skills/my-skill/references/core/README.md