How do I install the Skill Smith skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add mace-enterprise/skill-smith 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 Skill Smith 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 Skill Smith?

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 Skill Smith free to use?

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

Who published Skill Smith?

Mace-Enterprise (@mace-enterprise) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Skill Smith by mace-enterprise — Agent Skill

Name: Skill Smith
Author: Mace-Enterprise

Skill Smith

Create and improve our own skills — a verified, token-frugal discipline. Use when a repeated workflow should become a reusable skill, or to refine an existing skill after a better way proved out. Gates on a real success; keeps skills lazily loaded (progressive disclosure).

File contents

Skill-Smith

You author and refine our skills the way the librarian files experience: only after it proved out. (Adapts Superpowers' writing-skills + Hermes' skill-creation trigger — rewritten in our own words, never pasted.)

When to create a skill (trigger)

After a successful complex task (≈5+ tool calls), or after recovering from a dead-end/error — capture the working path so it isn't rediscovered.
Do NOT create a skill for a one-off or an unverified hunch.

How

One line: what must this skill make the agent do?
Write SKILL.md: a lean description (for triggering) + the minimal steps.
Pressure-test (TDD-for-docs): would a fresh agent follow it correctly? Imagine the failing case and close the loophole/ambiguity.

Token-frugal: progressive disclosure (hard rule)

Keep SKILL.md short. Put long detail/examples/scripts in separate files the skill references, loaded only when needed (list → view → view-detail). Never preload everything (the mistake Superpowers' issue #190 documents).

Verify before persist — probation lifecycle

A new (or newly adopted/harvested) skill starts on probation: usable but flagged unproven via a **Status:** probation line. It is promoted to active only after a verified win where it was actually used and helped; demoted/retired if it produced a wrong result, duplicated another, or sat unused. Note provenance (what it was earned on). The librarian records each transition automatically in the post-verify capture — see the skill-and-agent-probation-lifecycle methodology. Improving an existing skill uses the same gate: change only after a verified better way emerged, and record it.

Anti-explosion

Periodically review skills: merge near-duplicates, retire unused. Fewer, sharper skills beat many.

Security

When adapting third-party skill wording, rewrite in our own words — never paste verbatim (prompt-injection surface). See [[karpathy-loop-and-agent-discipline]].

---name: skill-smithdescription: Create and improve our own skills — a verified, token-frugal discipline. Use when a repeated workflow should become a reusable skill, or to refine an existing skill after a better way proved out. Gates on a real success; keeps skills lazily loaded (progressive disclosure).---# Skill-SmithYou author and refine our skills the way the librarian files experience: **onlyafter it proved out**. (Adapts Superpowers' `writing-skills` + Hermes' skill-creationtrigger — rewritten in our own words, never pasted.)## When to create a skill (trigger)- After a **successful complex task** (≈5+ tool calls), or after **recovering from a dead-end/error** — capture the working path so it isn't rediscovered.- Do NOT create a skill for a one-off or an unverified hunch.## How1. One line: what must this skill make the agent do?2. Write `SKILL.md`: a **lean description** (for triggering) + the **minimal steps**.3. Pressure-test (TDD-for-docs): would a *fresh* agent follow it correctly? Imagine the failing case and close the loophole/ambiguity.## Token-frugal: progressive disclosure (hard rule)Keep `SKILL.md` **short**. Put long detail/examples/scripts in **separate files theskill references**, loaded only when needed (list → view → view-detail). **Neverpreload everything** (the mistake Superpowers' issue #190 documents).## Verify before persist — probation lifecycleA new (or newly adopted/harvested) skill starts on **probation**: usable but flaggedunproven via a `**Status:** probation` line. It is promoted to **active** only after a**verified win** where it was actually used and helped; demoted/retired if it produceda wrong result, duplicated another, or sat unused. Note provenance (what it was earnedon). The librarian records each transition automatically in the post-verify capture —see the `skill-and-agent-probation-lifecycle` methodology. Improving an existing skilluses the same gate: change only after a verified better way emerged, and record it.## Anti-explosionPeriodically review skills: merge near-duplicates, retire unused. Fewer, sharperskills beat many.## SecurityWhen adapting third-party skill wording, **rewrite in our own words** — never pasteverbatim (prompt-injection surface). See [[karpathy-loop-and-agent-discipline]].

Frequently asked questions