# Skill Interview > Interview the user to define the characteristics of a skill they want created - Skill: `georgeqle/skill-interview` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 3 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add georgeqle/skill-interview` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/georgeqle/skill-interview/raw - Safety review: PASS (external: skill-scanner PASS, skillspector CAUTION) - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Coding & Dev Tools - Author: GeorgeQLe (https://skillmd.com/u/georgeqle) - Updated: 2026-08-19 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/georgeqle/skill-interview --- # Skill Interview Invoke as `$skill-interview`. Use this skill when the user wants to create or substantially redesign a skill but the desired behavior, scope, triggers, outputs, validation, or agent compatibility is not yet clear. This skill interrogates the user and turns the answers into a creation-ready skill brief. It does not create the skill itself. After the brief is complete: for a personal project-local skill route to `$create-local-skill`; for a repo-managed skill in the `agentic-skills` repo, hand the brief to an agent working in that repo to implement following the skill conventions (`docs/skill-anatomy.md`, CLAUDE.md skill-versioning); for a change to an existing shared skill route to `$session-triage`, which emits a managing-layer handoff payload for the fix. ## Process 1. **Identify the target skill idea.** - Treat the user's initial request as a draft, not a complete requirement. - Resolve the likely skill name in kebab-case when possible. - If the request is a correction to an existing shared skill or workflow gap, route to `$session-triage` after the interview instead of scaffolding a new skill. - If the user wants an experimental personal skill under `~/.codex/skills`, plan for `$create-local-skill`; otherwise default to a repo-managed skill implemented directly in the `agentic-skills` repo. 2. **Gather local evidence before probing.** - Search for overlapping skills in the active skill list and repository paths such as `base/codex/`, `base/claude/`, and `packs/*/{codex,claude}/`. - Read the closest existing skill contracts and any relevant `tasks/lessons.md` entries before asking detailed questions. - If an existing skill already covers the request, explain the overlap and ask whether the user wants an update, alias, narrower variant, or new skill. 3. **Surface a lightweight assumptions checkpoint.** - Before deep probing, present 3 to 7 assumptions most likely to affect the skill contract. - Tag each assumption: - `[from request]` — explicitly stated by the user - `[from existing skill]` — derived from a current skill contract - `[from lessons]` — derived from `tasks/lessons.md` - `[from codebase]` — derived from repository conventions or test harnesses - `[inferred]` — a default judgment that needs confirmation - Bias toward assumptions that affect trigger rules, allowed side effects, deliverables, verification, benchmarkability, and next-step routing. - Deliver the checkpoint inline as the final message text of its own turn — never only as mid-turn text in a turn that ends with a tool or command call. In the next turn, ask the user to confirm or correct it together with one focused interview question so momentum is kept. - If an `[inferred]` assumption is corrected, preserve the correction in the interview log and final brief. 4. **Interview one material decision at a time.** - Codex cadence: ask one primary decision question per turn by default. Use short follow-up bullets only when they clarify the same decision. - If already in Plan mode, `request_user_input` may present 2 to 3 real options for the current material decision. Otherwise ask one concise direct question in plain text. - Research and recommend by default: use local codebase evidence and, when the user requests current external facts, web evidence before asking the user to choose. - For each material choice, explain the options, recommend one, and ask the user to approve, adjust, or override. 5. **Cover the skill characteristics completely.** - Continue until the brief captures: - Skill name and one-line description - Target location: repo-managed, local-only, pack-local, Codex-only, Claude-only, or mirrored - Trigger rules and explicit non-triggers - Inputs and argument syntax - Required evidence gathering before questions or edits - Interview cadence or execution workflow - Deliverables and file paths - Side-effect permissions and safety constraints - Verification and benchmark coverage strategy - Next-step routing after successful completion - Relationship to overlapping skills - For mutation-capable skills, explicitly define whether the skill should commit and push by default. - For repo-managed skills, include benchmark coverage expectations in the brief. 6. **Coverage checkpoint.** - Before concluding, summarize each covered area with the decision made and source evidence, delivered inline as the final message text of its own turn. - In the next turn, ask: "Does this cover the skill you want, or is there any behavior, boundary, or output we should revisit?" - Do not write final deliverables until the user confirms the checkpoint or provides final corrections. 7. **Write deliverables.** - Create `specs/[skill-name]-skill-brief.md` with: - `## Overview` - `## Goals` - `## Non-Goals` - `## Skill Contract` - `## Workflow` - `## Inputs and Outputs` - `## Safety and Side Effects` - `## Verification and Benchmark Coverage` - `## Related Skills` - `## Open Questions` - `## Assumptions & Risks` - `## Recommended Creation Route` - Create `specs/[skill-name]-skill-interview.md` with: - Assumptions checkpoint and corrections - Questions asked - Options and recommendations presented - User responses and decisions - Deviations from the initial request - If the repository uses another canonical specification directory, use that directory and note the path. ## Next-Step Routing After writing the brief and interview log, recommend exactly one next command: - Implement a repo-managed skill directly in the `agentic-skills` repo, following `docs/skill-anatomy.md` and CLAUDE.md skill-versioning, using the brief as the spec. - `$create-local-skill ` for personal local-only skills. - `$session-triage ` when the interview found that an existing shared skill should be updated instead of creating a new skill — it emits a managing-layer handoff payload for the fix. - `$init-agentic-skills` (guided pack setup) or a pack-local creation route when the skill belongs inside a project-local pack rather than base skills. Output exactly two lines beyond the normal report: - **Next work:** - **Recommended next command:** ## Alignment Page Follow the shared alignment-page convention via the packaged convention resolver; output path is `alignment/skill-interview-{topic}.html`. ## Constraints - Do not create or edit the final `SKILL.md` during the interview unless the user explicitly asks to skip the brief and create the skill now. - Do not assume a new skill is needed when an existing skill update would satisfy the workflow gap. - Do not batch unrelated interview questions. - Do not invent benchmark coverage; if deterministic local coverage is unsafe or impractical, mark the coverage plan as blocked with a reason and next command. - Keep the final brief implementation-ready enough that an agent implementing in the `agentic-skills` repo, or `$create-local-skill`, can execute without re-interviewing the same decisions. ## Default Shipping Contract Follow the shared shipping contract convention in CLAUDE.md.