How do I install the Skill Authoring skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add cbrock84/skill-authoring in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

Is Skill Authoring safe to use?

This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with Skill Authoring?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is Skill Authoring free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free, and the skill stays under its author's original license.

Who published Skill Authoring?

cbrock84 (@cbrock84) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Skill Authoring by cbrock84 — Agent Skill

Name: Skill Authoring
Author: cbrock84

Skill Authoring

Writes and revises agent skills so they trigger at the right moments and give usable instruction when they do. Use this when creating a new skill, editing an existing one, diagnosing a skill that fires too often or never fires, or reviewing a set of skills for overlap. Also use before adding to a skill library, to check the capability is not already covered.

cbrock84 139e922 2.7 KB Updated Sep 17, 2026

File contents

Skill authoring

A skill is judged twice: on whether it loads at the right moment, and on whether it helps once loaded. Most fail the first test.

The description does the triggering

It is the only part read when deciding whether to load. Write it for that job:

Lead with what the skill does, in one clause.
Then when to reach for it — the situations, in the words someone would actually use, including the oblique ones ("why isn't this converting" as well as "CRO audit").
Name the edge cases that should still trigger it, and where useful, what should not.

Vague descriptions produce two failures at once: the skill misses cases it should catch, and fires on cases it cannot help.

The body does the work

Write for someone competent who has not thought about this problem today. That means:

Method over exhortation. "Be thorough" is noise. An ordered procedure is instruction.
State the failure behind each rule. A rule with no failure attached gets optimized away by the next reader.
Be specific enough to be wrong. Guidance too hedged to contradict is too vague to follow.
Put long material in references/ and say when to read it. The body should fit in working memory.

Overlap is the silent killer

Two skills whose descriptions both match a request means neither reliably wins. Before adding one, check what already covers the ground. Prefer extending an existing skill, or consolidating the family into one skill with references, over adding a near-neighbor.

Mechanics

name must be lowercase-hyphenated and equal the directory name, or the skill will not load.
One skill, one directory, SKILL.md at its root; supporting material in references/ and scripts/.

Verify before shipping

Write three requests that should trigger it and two that should not, and check the description actually discriminates. If a near-miss request would pull it in, tighten the description.

Never

Ship a skill whose description does not say when to use it. A skill that never triggers is dead weight.
Write a skill that restates what the model already does well without prompting.
Let two skills claim the same trigger. Move the boundary or merge them.
Ship without running the skill against the case that motivated writing it.

---name: skill-authoringdescription: Writes and revises agent skills so they trigger at the right moments and give usable instruction when they do. Use this when creating a new skill, editing an existing one, diagnosing a skill that fires too often or never fires, or reviewing a set of skills for overlap. Also use before adding to a skill library, to check the capability is not already covered.---# Skill authoringA skill is judged twice: on whether it loads at the right moment, and on whether it helps onceloaded. Most fail the first test.## The description does the triggeringIt is the only part read when deciding whether to load. Write it for that job:- Lead with **what the skill does**, in one clause.- Then **when to reach for it** — the situations, in the words someone would actually use, including the oblique ones ("why isn't this converting" as well as "CRO audit").- Name the **edge cases that should still trigger it**, and where useful, what should *not*.Vague descriptions produce two failures at once: the skill misses cases it should catch, and fireson cases it cannot help.## The body does the workWrite for someone competent who has not thought about this problem today. That means:- **Method over exhortation.** "Be thorough" is noise. An ordered procedure is instruction.- **State the failure behind each rule.** A rule with no failure attached gets optimized away by the next reader.- **Be specific enough to be wrong.** Guidance too hedged to contradict is too vague to follow.- **Put long material in `references/`** and say when to read it. The body should fit in working memory.## Overlap is the silent killerTwo skills whose descriptions both match a request means neither reliably wins. Before adding one,check what already covers the ground. Prefer extending an existing skill, or consolidating thefamily into one skill with references, over adding a near-neighbor.## Mechanics- `name` must be lowercase-hyphenated and equal the directory name, or the skill will not load.- One skill, one directory, `SKILL.md` at its root; supporting material in `references/` and `scripts/`.## Verify before shippingWrite three requests that should trigger it and two that should not, and check the descriptionactually discriminates. If a near-miss request would pull it in, tighten the description.## Never- Ship a skill whose description does not say when to use it. A skill that never triggers is dead weight.- Write a skill that restates what the model already does well without prompting.- Let two skills claim the same trigger. Move the boundary or merge them.- Ship without running the skill against the case that motivated writing it.

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