How do I install the Authoring Adept Skills skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add itaywol/authoring-adept-skills 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 Authoring Adept Skills 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 Authoring Adept Skills?

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 Authoring Adept Skills free to use?

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

Who published Authoring Adept Skills?

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

Authoring Adept Skills by itaywol — Agent Skill

Name: Authoring Adept Skills
Author: itaywol

File contents

Authoring a good adept skill

A skill is a directory <root>/skills/<id>/ with one SKILL.md (YAML frontmatter + markdown body) and optional sidecars. adept renders it into every enabled harness, so write it once, well, and harness-neutral.

Canonical SKILL.md format

---
id: pr-review                 # ^[a-z0-9](?:[a-z0-9-]{0,48}[a-z0-9])?$ — matches the directory name
description: Use before opening a PR. Tests, security, performance.   # <= 280 chars
activation: agent             # always | globs | agent | manual
globs: []                     # REQUIRED when activation: globs (e.g. ["**/*.go"])
allowed-tools: [Read, Grep]   # carried into Claude Code
targets: []                   # empty = all enabled harnesses
tags: [review, quality]
---
# PR Review Checklist
- [ ] Tests added or updated
- [ ] No secrets in the diff

Validated against pkg/adeptschema/skill.schema.json on every load — adept sync fails loudly on a malformed skill, so let it catch your mistakes.

Pick activation deliberately — this is the whole game

activation	Fires when	Use for
`agent`	The model decides from the description	Most skills. Procedures, checklists, how-tos.
`globs`	A matching file is in context	Language/path-specific rules (`*/.go`, `*/.tsx`).
`always`	Every request	Rare. Project-wide invariants only — costs budget on every turn.
`manual`	Only when explicitly invoked	Heavy or destructive procedures you don't want auto-firing.

The description is the trigger — write it like one

For activation: agent, the description is the only thing the model sees when deciding whether to load the skill. Make it earn the load:

Lead with when to apply, not what it is: "Use before opening a PR…" beats "A PR helper."
Name concrete nouns the user will say (file types, commands, tools, error strings).
One line, ≤ 280 chars. If you can't say when it applies in one line, the skill is too broad — split it.

Keep it portable and lean

Harness-neutral body. Don't say "in Cursor, click…"; describe the behavior, not the UI.
Budget-aware. Aggregator harnesses (Codex/Copilot) cap total bytes; a bloated skill gets dropped first. Tighten prose; move long reference material into references/ sidecars.
Scan-safe. Installs run a safety scan. Avoid anything that reads like prompt injection, exfiltrates secrets, or runs opaque remote code — it will flag (critical hard-blocks).
Sidecars (scripts/, references/, assets/) ride along to harnesses that support them; keep the SKILL.md body self-sufficient for those that don't.

Loop

adept skill add my-skill --edit   # scaffold + open $EDITOR
adept sync                        # render to every enabled harness
adept status && adept diff        # confirm it landed clean

Run adept skill --help (and adept skill add --help) for the current flags and subcommands — prefer it over memory; it never drifts. Edit canonical, adept sync, never hand-edit rendered files. See [[using-adept]] for the full CLI and [[adept-self-improve]] for turning a one-off lesson into a durable skill.

---name: authoring-adept-skillsdescription: Write a good, portable adept skill: pick the right activation, craft a triggering description, keep it scan-safe and within harness byte budgets. Apply when creating or editing a SKILL.md or running `adept skill add`.---# Authoring a good adept skillA skill is a directory `<root>/skills/<id>/` with one `SKILL.md` (YAML frontmatter +markdown body) and optional sidecars. `adept` renders it into every enabled harness, sowrite it **once, well, and harness-neutral**.## Canonical SKILL.md format```markdown---id: pr-review # ^[a-z0-9](?:[a-z0-9-]{0,48}[a-z0-9])?$ — matches the directory namedescription: Use before opening a PR. Tests, security, performance. # <= 280 charsactivation: agent # always | globs | agent | manualglobs: [] # REQUIRED when activation: globs (e.g. ["**/*.go"])allowed-tools: [Read, Grep] # carried into Claude Codetargets: [] # empty = all enabled harnessestags: [review, quality]---# PR Review Checklist- [ ] Tests added or updated- [ ] No secrets in the diff```Validated against `pkg/adeptschema/skill.schema.json` on every load — `adept sync` failsloudly on a malformed skill, so let it catch your mistakes.## Pick activation deliberately — this is the whole game| activation | Fires when | Use for ||---|---|---|| `agent` | The model decides from the **description** | Most skills. Procedures, checklists, how-tos. || `globs` | A matching file is in context | Language/path-specific rules (`**/*.go`, `**/*.tsx`). || `always` | Every request | Rare. Project-wide invariants only — costs budget on every turn. || `manual` | Only when explicitly invoked | Heavy or destructive procedures you don't want auto-firing. |## The description is the trigger — write it like oneFor `activation: agent`, the description is the **only** thing the model sees when decidingwhether to load the skill. Make it earn the load:- Lead with **when to apply**, not what it is: *"Use before opening a PR…"* beats *"A PR helper."*- Name concrete nouns the user will say (file types, commands, tools, error strings).- One line, ≤ 280 chars. If you can't say when it applies in one line, the skill is too broad — split it.## Keep it portable and lean- **Harness-neutral body.** Don't say "in Cursor, click…"; describe the behavior, not the UI.- **Budget-aware.** Aggregator harnesses (Codex/Copilot) cap total bytes; a bloated skill gets dropped first. Tighten prose; move long reference material into `references/` sidecars.- **Scan-safe.** Installs run a safety scan. Avoid anything that reads like prompt injection, exfiltrates secrets, or runs opaque remote code — it will flag (`critical` hard-blocks).- **Sidecars** (`scripts/`, `references/`, `assets/`) ride along to harnesses that support them; keep the SKILL.md body self-sufficient for those that don't.## Loop```bashadept skill add my-skill --edit # scaffold + open $EDITORadept sync # render to every enabled harnessadept status && adept diff # confirm it landed clean```Run `adept skill --help` (and `adept skill add --help`) for the current flags andsubcommands — prefer it over memory; it never drifts. Edit canonical, `adept sync`, neverhand-edit rendered files. See [[using-adept]] for thefull CLI and [[adept-self-improve]] for turning a one-off lesson into a durable skill.

Frequently asked questions

Authoring Adept Skills