Skill Author

Skill Author

This skill assists in the end-to-end lifecycle of developing specialized AI skills. It ensures adherence to the repository's architectural standards and provides automation for scaffolding and packaging.

Workflow

1. Discovery & Planning

• Identify a domain or repetitive task that would benefit from specialized instructions or scripts.
• Analyze existing skills in the repository to avoid duplication.
• Plan the skill's structure: will it need scripts, references, or assets?

2. Scaffolding

• Use the bundled scaffold.ps1 script to create the initial structure.

• Naming Convention: [category]/[category]-[skill-name].

• Example: api/api-stripe-integration.

powershell.exe -File <path-to-skill>/scripts/scaffold.ps1

3. Implementation

• SKILL.md: Write clear, imperative instructions. Keep it lean (under 500 lines).

• Scripts: Place automation logic in scripts/. Ensure they output LLM-friendly results.

• References: Move detailed schemas or documentation to references/.

• Assets: Store templates or boilerplate in assets/.

4. Metadata Synchronization

• Run the bundled sync-metadata.ps1 to refresh category manifests and READMEs.

powershell.exe -File <path-to-skill>/scripts/sync-metadata.ps1

5. Packaging

• Use the bundled package.ps1 script to create the .skill distribution package.

• This ensures the skill is zipped correctly and renamed to the expected .skill format.

powershell.exe -File <path-to-skill>/scripts/package.ps1 -SkillPath ./category/skill-folder

6. Verification

• Install the package locally to test:

  
  
  
  gemini skills install pkg/skill-name.skill --scope workspace
  
  
  

• Reload skills in the interactive session: /skills reload.

Cross-Agent Compatibility

While these skills are optimized for Gemini CLI, they can be used with Cursor, Windsurf, Claude, and more.

• See agent-compatibility.md for specific integration instructions for other AI agents.

Repository Standards

Frontmatter Requirements

• name: Must match the folder name (kebab-case).

• description: Single-line summary including clear trigger scenarios.

Architectural Integrity

• Follow the "Single Source of Truth" pattern.

• The root README.md is the primary discovery engine.

• SKILLS_MANIFEST.json in each category is automatically generated.

Automation Tools

package.ps1

Automates the zip-and-rename process for cross-platform compatible .skill files.

• Location: scripts/package.ps1

sync-metadata.ps1

Synchronizes the root README inventory with category-level manifests.

• Location: scripts/sync-metadata.ps1

scaffold.ps1

Boilerplate generator for new skills.

• Location: scripts/scaffold.ps1