My First Skill

My First Skill

This is an example skill demonstrating the Anthropic SKILL.md format.

Purpose

This skill shows how to structure procedural guidance for AI coding agents using progressive disclosure.

When to Use

Load this skill when:

• Learning how skills work
• Testing the OpenSkills loader
• Understanding the SKILL.md format

Instructions

To create a skill:

1. Create a directory: mkdir my-skill/
2. Add SKILL.md with YAML frontmatter:

   ---
   name: my-skill
   description: When to use this skill
   ---
   

3. Write instructions in imperative form (not second person)
4. Reference bundled resources as needed

Bundled Resources

For detailed information about the SKILL.md specification:

See references/skill-format.md

Best Practices

• Write in imperative/infinitive form: "To do X, execute Y"
• NOT second person: avoid "You should..."
• Keep SKILL.md under 5,000 words
• Move detailed content to references/
• Use scripts/ for executable code
• Use assets/ for templates and output files

Resource Resolution

When this skill is loaded, the base directory is provided:

Base directory: /path/to/my-first-skill

Relative paths resolve from base directory:

• references/skill-format.md → /path/to/my-first-skill/references/skill-format.md
• scripts/helper.sh → /path/to/my-first-skill/scripts/helper.sh