Skill Authoring Guide
Skill Format
A skill is a directory with a required SKILL.md file:
owner/skill-name/
SKILL.md # the skill prompt with YAML frontmatter (required)
scripts/ # optional executable scripts
references/ # optional reference docs
assets/ # optional templates, configs
SKILL.md
Agent Skills spec-compatible markdown with YAML frontmatter for metadata:
---
name: my-skill
description: What this skill does and when to use it.
version: 2026.02.27
trigger: When to activate this skill
license: MIT
author: Your Name
categories:
- development
tags:
- rust
- testing
---
## My Skill
Instructions for the agent...
Frontmatter fields: name, description, version, trigger,
license, author, categories, tags. All optional -- skillet infers
what it can from the directory name, git remote, and content.
Zero-config mode: a directory with only a bare SKILL.md (no
frontmatter) is still discoverable. Frontmatter improves search results.
Extra Files
scripts/-- executable scripts the skill referencesreferences/-- reference documentation for contextassets/-- templates, configs, or other static files
Scaffolding
skillet init-skill owner/skill-name
skillet init-skill owner/skill-name --description "My skill" --category development --tags "rust,testing"
Discovery via Suggest
Use [[suggest]] in your repo's skillet.toml to create a decentralized
discovery graph. Each suggest entry points to another repo that skillet
can traverse to find more skills:
[[suggest]]
url = "https://github.com/org/their-skills.git"
description = "Skills from org"
This lets users discover skills across repos without a central authority.
Project Manifest
Embed skills in any repository with skillet.toml:
skillet init-project path --skill # single inline skill
skillet init-project path --multi # multi-skill directory
skillet init-project path --registry # repo configuration
[project]
name = "my-tool"
description = "A CLI tool"
# Single inline skill (SKILL.md at project root)
[skill]
name = "my-tool-usage"
description = "How to use my-tool"
# Or multiple skills in a subdirectory
[skills]
path = ".skillet"
members = ["api", "debug"]