Common Skill Creator

Agent Skill Creator Standard

Priority: P0 (CRITICAL)

Applies to every skill in this registry. Maximize Token ROI. Every line in SKILL.md must provide specific procedural value. Activation (how it triggers) and Implementation (how it helps) primary quality metrics.

Three-Level Loading System

• Level 1 Frontmatter: name + description (Activation Anchor), ≤100 words.
• Level 2 SKILL.md body: Core Rules + Workflows (Implementation Core), ≤100 lines.
• Level 3 references/: Detailed examples, schemas, and "TESTS.md" (On-demand).

Workflow (New or Existing Skill)

New skill:

1. Research — web-search domain best practices, checklists, and standards; extract key terms → triggers, workflows → guidelines, mistakes → anti-patterns. See Web Search Research.
2. Capture intent — what it , when it trigger, expected output format?
3. Draft the SKILL.md — draft using TEMPLATE.md
4. Test — spawn parallel subagents: one with-skill, one without-skill (baseline)
5. Evaluate — grade assertions, review benchmark (pass rate, tokens, time)
6. Iterate — rewrite based on feedback, rerun into next iteration dir, repeat
7. Optimize description — run trigger eval queries, target ≥80% accuracy
8. Pressure-test — for discipline skills, capture agent excuses, red flags, and stop conditions Existing skill:
9. Audit — run Quality Checklist below; identify violations
10. Snapshot — cp -r <skill-dir> <workspace>/skill-snapshot/ before any edits
11. Improve SKILL.md — fix violations, compress, move oversized content to references/
12. Test — spawn parallel subagents: one with-new-skill, one with-snapshot (baseline)
13. Evaluate & iterate — same as steps 4–5 above
14. Optimize description — re-run trigger eval if description changed
15. Harden — add rationalization counters where agents still fail under pressure See Eval Workflow for full testing + iteration details.

Description Quality (Activation)

• Third-Person Voice: Use Standardizes..., Audits..., Encrypts.... Avoid "I will" or "This skill helps to".
• What + When Structure:
• What: Define 5–8 specific capabilities (e.g., "Generates JWT tokens, rotates keys").
• When: Explicitly define triggers (e.g., "Use when user says 'rotate keys'").
• Specificity: Avoid vague verbs like "manage" or "handle". Use "Validate", "Inject", "Refactor", "Sanitize".
• Trigger Hint: Include (triggers: *.ext, keyword) suffix for technical skills.

Content Quality (Implementation)

• No Redundant Knowledge: NOT explain concepts AI already knows (e.g., HTTP status codes, standard library docs, basic SOLID principles). Focus strictly on project-specific rules.
• Caveman Compression: Use "Caveman Mode" for rules to save tokens. Drop articles (, , ), remove filler words ("should", "will", "), and use telegraphic snippets.
• Standard: "You should ensure that database connection closed after every query to prevent leaks." (15 tokens)
• Caveman: "Close DB connection after query. Prevent leaks." (7 tokens)
• Actionability: Examples must copy-paste ready and executable.
• Workflow Clarity: Use sequential ordered lists for multi-step processes.
• Progressive Disclosure: Move code blocks >10 lines to references/.
• Pressure Hardening: Discipline skills must name red flags, common excuses, and exact stop/restart conditions.

Behavior Guardrails

• Use pressure tests for discipline skills: TDD, debugging, verification, review, protocol, and workflow skills need baseline failure evidence.
• Capture rationalizations: Save the exact excuses agents use when they skip the rule.
• Add red flags: Short phrases that tell the agent to stop and restart the protocol.
• Encode behavior in evals: Add pressure_scenarios, rationalizations, red_flags, and behavior_assertions when the skill is guardrail-oriented.
• Keep it local: Put behavior details in evals or references/; keep SKILL.md compact.

Anti-Patterns

• No "AI-splaining": not explain why pattern good unless it's unique project constraint.
• No Vague Triggers: Never use src/** or **/*. surgical.
• No Description Bloat: If description exceeds 100 words, some capabilities belong in body.
• No long code blocks: >10 lines → extract to references/
• No redundancy: don't repeat frontmatter content in body
• No untested guardrails: Rules that were never pressure-tested are speculation.

Quality Checklist (Tessl-Aligned)

• Activation ≥ 90%: Description covers both capabilities ("What") and triggers ("When").
• Implementation ≥ 90%: No general-purpose explanations; all examples executable.
• Structural Compliance: SKILL.md ≤ 100 lines; code blocks moved to references/.
• Trigger rate ≥80% on should-trigger queries.
• Guardrail skills include rationalizations, red flags, behavior eval fields, and should_trigger/should_not_trigger cases.

References

• Skill Template — load when starting new skill from scratch
• Anti-Patterns Detail — load when fixing or reviewing anti-pattern format
• Size & Limits — load when SKILL.md approaches 100 lines
• Resource Organization — load when deciding where to place content (scripts/, references/, assets/)
• Testing & Trigger Rate — load when writing evals or measuring trigger rate
• Eval Workflow — load when running parallel subagent tests
• Full Lifecycle — load for complete phase-by-phase creation guide
• Web Search Research — load when creating skill for unfamiliar or non-engineering domain