# Routine Writer > Write routines — scheduled or triggered prompts that iterate over a set of items, optionally take action on them, and return a short structured report. Use when users want to draft a briefing, triage pass, health check, review digest, tracker, fixer, or any recurring prompt over emails, PRs, issues, alerts, CI, or deps. - Skill: `frontboat/routine-writer` (Agent Skill) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add frontboat/routine-writer` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/frontboat/routine-writer/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: AI & ML - Author: frontboat (https://skillmd.com/u/frontboat) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/frontboat/routine-writer --- # Routine Writer A routine is a prompt that fires on a schedule or trigger, iterates over a set of items (inbox entries, open PRs, issues, CI runs, monitoring alerts), optionally takes action on them (opens a PR, posts a comment, applies a fix, files an issue), and produces a short structured report. The report may summarize what the routine found, what it did, or both. Well-written routines share a tight shape; this skill encodes it. ## When to use Invoke this skill whenever you write or edit a routine, whether the user calls it that or not. Signals: "every morning", "on a schedule", "each time X merges", "digest", "triage", "briefing", "health check", "tracker", "catch me up on", "review my inbox/PRs/issues". Do not invoke for one-off prompts, single-turn questions, or prompts that don't iterate over a set of items. ## The shape of a routine Every routine has three parts: title, tagline, body. The body does six moves, in order. ### Part 1 — Title Short noun phrase, domain + action. No articles, no first-person verbs. - `Email triage`, `PR review digest`, `System health check`, `Flaky test tracker`, `Briefing` ### Part 2 — Tagline One line. Describes the outcome, not the mechanism. Ends with a period. - `Summary of your calendar, emails, and messages.` - `Categorize and prioritize your inbox, with draft responses for urgent items.` - `Find tests that pass and fail intermittently across recent CI runs.` ### Part 3 — Body #### Move 1 — Opening directive One imperative sentence. Verb + scope. No preamble, no "please", no softening. - `Generate a briefing to help me catch up. Include:` - `Review my inbox for new and unread emails. For each email:` - `Identify flaky tests — tests that both passed and failed on the same code over the past week.` Pick a specific verb (Review, Identify, Scan, Draft, Perform, Generate) over a generic one (Help, Look at, Check out). #### Move 2 — Per-item numbered list When the routine processes a set of units (emails, PRs, issues, tests), open with `For each :` (or `For each , report:`) and list the attributes to produce per item. Items are verb-first and each produces a discrete output: a category, a field, a summary, a draft, a flag. ``` For each PR, report: 1. Title and author 2. How long it's been open 3. Review status — approved, changes requested, or awaiting review 4. CI status — passing, failing, or pending 5. Merge conflicts — whether the branch is up to date ``` When the routine produces sections of a single report (not per-item), open with `Include:` or `Report:` and number the sections instead: ``` Generate a briefing to help me catch up. Include: 1. Schedule — List upcoming meetings and events... 2. Important emails — Summarize unread emails... ``` #### Move 3 — Classification schemes (when used) Enumerate categories inline as a closed set, comma-separated, `or` before the last item. No Oxford comma. - `Urgent, Action Needed, FYI, or Low Priority` - `Bug, Feature Request, Improvement, or Question` - `Critical, High, Medium, or Low` - `New, Improved, Fixed, or Breaking` #### Move 4 — Presentation paragraph A prose paragraph (not a list) specifying how to sort, group, highlight, or format the output. - `Present results grouped by category, with Urgent items first.` - `Sort by oldest first.` - `Present as a ranked table followed by per-test detail.` - `Prioritize by severity.` #### Move 5 — Empty-state handling Always explicit. Never omitted. Names the null case. - `If the inbox is empty or all caught up, confirm that briefly.` - `If all systems are healthy, confirm with a brief "All systems nominal" message.` - `If there are no open PRs, confirm briefly.` #### Move 6 — Tone/length constraint (optional) One closing line when output length matters. - `Keep the briefing concise and scannable.` - `Keep the tone professional and concise.` - `Keep drafts short — 2 to 4 sentences. Long release notes don't get read.` ## Secondary patterns - **Em-dash for inline definition.** When a field name needs values, use `— ` then the enumeration. `Update type — major, minor, or patch`. - **Branching in prose, not nested bullets.** Use `If X, do Y. Otherwise, do Z.` at the decision point. - **Skip, don't null-pad.** Tell the routine to omit empty sections rather than writing "nothing to report" under each one. - **Imperative voice throughout.** Not "you should", "the assistant will", "please". Use direct commands: Categorize, Summarize, Flag, Present, Prioritize, Post. - **Possessive "my" is fine.** `Review my inbox` is the user's possessive. `You should review the inbox` is soft second-person — avoid it. ## A minimal template ``` <Tagline ending in period.> <Imperative opening + scope>. <For each X: | Include:> 1. <Verb-first attribute or section> — <closed enumeration if classification> 2. ... 3. ... <Presentation paragraph: sort, group, highlight, format.> <Empty-state sentence.> <Optional tone/length line.> ``` ## Common failure modes - **Preamble.** "This routine will help you..." — cut it. Start with the verb. - **Open-ended categories.** "Categorize appropriately" — always enumerate the set. - **Mixed numbering.** Pick one: the list describes attributes for each unit, or it describes sections of one report. Not both. - **Missing empty-state line.** Leads to "no items found" padding in every section at runtime. - **Pipeline numbering when items are attributes.** `1. Read the inbox. 2. For each email, categorize...` is a pipeline; `For each email: 1. Categorize... 2. Summarize...` is attribute extraction. Attribute extraction is the common idiom; reach for the pipeline form only when stages truly run in sequence. - **Explaining the why.** Routines are terminal instructions to an agent with tools, not tutorials. Cut rationale. ## When the routine has real branching Some routines are multi-stage pipelines rather than per-item extractions — triggered by one event (a PR merge, a CI failure), they run several steps in sequence and sometimes exit early. For these: - Number the stages as sequential steps, each verb-first. - Use `If X, <terminal action>. Otherwise, <continue>.` for early exits. - Stages can include real work, not just reads — apply a fix, open a PR, file an issue, quarantine a test. The report then describes what was done and links to the artifact. - The terminal action (Post, Open, Submit, Comment) serves as the presentation move — no separate Present/Sort line needed. - Keep an empty-state sentence at the end. - End with a length constraint if output size matters.