Native Skill Addition

native-skill-addition

Guide for adding new opence native skills to the workflow (plan, work, review, compound, archive, skill-creator).

When to Use

Use this workflow when:

• Adding a new workflow stage that needs AI guidance
• Creating a skill that all opence users should have (not project-specific)
• Completing an existing workflow set (like adding archive after compound)
• Providing authoritative guidance on opence conventions

Examples of native skills:

• Workflow stages: plan, work, review, compound, archive
• Meta-skills: skill-creator (teaches how to create skills)

Not for:

• Project-specific skills (use opence skill add instead)
• One-off guidance (document in docs/ or AGENTS.md)
• Experimental features (start as project skill first)

Implementation Steps

1. Update Type Definitions

Edit src/core/templates/opence-skill-templates.ts:

// Add to OpenceSkillId union type
export type OpenceSkillId = SlashCommandId | 'skill-creator' | 'archive' | 'your-skill';

// Define tools needed
const YOUR_SKILL_TOOLS = ['Read', 'Write', 'Bash']; // Adjust as needed

// Add to OPENCE_SKILL_IDS array
export const OPENCE_SKILL_IDS: OpenceSkillId[] = [
  'plan', 'work', 'review', 'compound', 'skill-creator', 'archive', 'your-skill'
];

Tool selection guidelines:

• Read: Skill reads files (specs, tasks, proposals)
• Write: Skill writes files (documentation, code)
• Bash: Skill runs commands (opence, npm test, etc.)
• Grep: Skill searches code patterns
• Glob: Skill finds files by pattern

2. Add Skill Metadata

In the SKILLS object:

const SKILLS: Record<OpenceSkillId, SkillSpec> = {
  // ... existing skills
  'your-skill': {
    id: 'your-skill',
    name: 'opence-your-skill',
    description: 'One-sentence description of what the skill does.',
    shortDescription: 'Shorter version for Codex.',
    allowedTools: YOUR_SKILL_TOOLS,
  },
};

Naming conventions:

• ID: kebab-case, no opence- prefix (e.g., 'archive', 'skill-creator')
• Name: opence- prefix for display (e.g., 'opence-archive')
• Description: Clear, action-oriented, one sentence
• Short description: <50 characters for Codex metadata

3. Implement Content Generation

Add a function to generate skill body:

function generateYourSkillBody(): string {
  return `# opence-your-skill

One-sentence description.

## When to Use

- Triggering condition 1
- Triggering condition 2

## Section 1

Content...

## Section 2

Content...
`;
}

Update getSkillBody() to call your function:

function getSkillBody(id: OpenceSkillId): string {
  if (id === 'skill-creator') {
    return generateSkillCreatorBody();
  }
  if (id === 'archive') {
    return generateArchiveBody();
  }
  if (id === 'your-skill') {
    return generateYourSkillBody();
  }
  return getSlashCommandBody(id as SlashCommandId);
}

4. Skill Content Guidelines

Structure (keep <200 lines):

1. Title and description - One sentence
2. When to Use - Clear triggering conditions
3. Main workflow - Step-by-step instructions
4. Command examples - Copy-pasteable code blocks
5. Troubleshooting - Common issues and solutions

Style:

• Use code blocks for commands: ```bash ... ```
• Use checklists for verification: - [ ] Item
• Use bullet points for options: - Option 1
• Keep paragraphs short (2-3 sentences)
• Focus on how and when, not why (that's in docs/)

Avoid:

• Creating references/ unless content >200 lines
• Duplicating information from other skills
• Including implementation details (that's in code comments)
• Overly generic advice (be specific to opence)

5. Integration with Existing Skills

If your skill is referenced by other workflow stages:

Update slash-command-templates.ts:

const compoundSteps = `**Steps**
...
4. After X, consult the \`opence-your-skill\` skill for Y.`;

Update corresponding .github/prompts/ files:

4. After X, consult the `opence-your-skill` skill for Y.

Common integration points:

• Plan → Design skills
• Work → Implementation skills
• Review → Quality check skills
• Compound → Documentation/memory skills

6. Build and Update

# Build TypeScript
npm run build

# Generate skill files in all tool directories
opence update

Verify:

# Check skill appears
opence skill list

# View generated content
opence skill show opence-your-skill

# Check files created
ls .claude/skills/opence-your-skill/
ls .codex/skills/opence-your-skill/

7. Update Documentation

README.md:

• Add to skills list: .claude/skills/opence-{...,your-skill}/
• Update workflow description if adding new stage

If workflow stage:

• Update workflow diagram/description
• Update any getting started guides

8. Testing

# Run test suite
npm test

# Validation
opence validate <change-id> --strict

# Manual testing
# 1. Create test scenario
# 2. Invoke skill (read SKILL.md)
# 3. Follow instructions
# 4. Verify expected outcome

Common Patterns

Workflow Stage Skills (plan, work, review, compound, archive)

These guide AI through workflow phases:

• Content: Steps, guardrails, references
• Tools: Read, Write, Bash, Grep, Glob (comprehensive)
• Integration: Referenced by previous/next stages
• Length: Can be longer (~50-100 lines)

Meta Skills (skill-creator)

These teach concepts or processes:

• Content: Guidelines, examples, best practices
• Tools: Read, Write (focused)
• Integration: Referenced from compound phase
• Length: Keep concise (<150 lines) + references/ for details

Command Helper Skills (archive)

These guide using specific commands:

• Content: When to use, flags, output interpretation
• Tools: Read, Write, Bash (to run commands)
• Integration: Referenced when command is needed
• Length: Medium (~100-150 lines)

Verification Checklist

Before submitting:

• Type definitions updated (OpenceSkillId, OPENCE_SKILL_IDS)
• Tools constant defined
• SKILLS object entry added
• Content generation function implemented
• getSkillBody() updated
• Content <200 lines (or references/ created)
• Integration points updated (if applicable)
• npm run build successful
• opence update run
• Skill appears in opence skill list
• Content in both .claude and .codex
• Frontmatter correct for each tool
• README updated
• npm test passes
• Validation strict passes

Troubleshooting

Build Errors

Issue: TypeScript compilation fails

• Cause: Type mismatch or missing export
• Fix: Check OpenceSkillId union includes your ID
• Tip: Run npm run build to see exact error

Skill Not Appearing

Issue: opence skill list doesn't show skill

• Cause: OPENCE_SKILL_IDS array not updated
• Fix: Add skill ID to array
• Recovery: Run opence update after fixing

Content Not Generated

Issue: SKILL.md empty or missing

• Cause: getSkillBody() doesn't call your function
• Fix: Add condition for your skill ID
• Debug: Check function name matches and returns string

Frontmatter Issues

Issue: Skill won't load in AI tool

• Cause: Invalid YAML frontmatter
• Fix: Verify tool renders correct format (Claude vs Codex)
• Test: Open .claude/skills/*/SKILL.md and check ---...--- block

See Also

• opence-skill-creator - For creating project skills
• prompt-sync-workflow - For updating prompts/skills
• docs/solutions/skill-creator-native-skill.md - Example of this workflow
• docs/solutions/archive-native-skill.md - Another example

Instructions

[Add detailed instructions for when and how to use this skill]

When to use this skill

• [Scenario 1]
• [Scenario 2]
• [Scenario 3]

How to use this skill

1. [Step 1]
2. [Step 2]
3. [Step 3]

Examples

[Add examples of using this skill]

Guidelines

• [Guideline 1]
• [Guideline 2]

References

See the references/ directory for additional documentation and context.

Scripts

See the scripts/ directory for reusable code and utilities.

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