# Use Skilo > Creates skills from templates, validates against specification, and formats SKILL.md files. Use when developing, linting, or formatting Agent Skills. - Skill: `tomevault-io/use-skilo` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 2 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add tomevault-io/use-skilo` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/tomevault-io/use-skilo/raw - Safety review: pending (external: skill-scanner PASS, skillspector PASS) - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: AI & ML - Author: tomevault-io (https://skillmd.com/u/tomevault-io) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/tomevault-io/use-skilo --- # Use Skilo Skilo is a CLI tool for developing [Agent Skills](https://agentskills.io/specification). ## Installation ```bash # From crates.io cargo install skilo # From source cargo install --path . ``` ## Commands | Command | Description | |-------------------------|----------------------------------| | `skilo new` | Create a new skill from template | | `skilo lint` | Validate skills against spec | | `skilo fmt` | Format SKILL.md files | | `skilo check` | Run lint + format check | | `skilo validate` | Alias for `lint --strict` | | `skilo read-properties` | Output skill metadata as JSON | | `skilo to-prompt` | Generate XML for agent prompts | ## Creating Skills ```bash # Basic usage skilo new my-skill # With options skilo new my-skill \ --description "What the skill does" \ --lang python \ --license MIT \ --template hello-world # Output to specific directory skilo new my-skill -o ./skills/ ``` **Templates:** `hello-world` (default), `minimal`, `full`, `script-based` **Languages:** `python`, `bash`, `javascript`, `typescript` ## Validating Skills ```bash # Lint a single skill skilo lint path/to/skill # Lint all skills in directory skilo lint . # Strict mode (warnings as errors) skilo lint --strict . # JSON output skilo lint --format json . # SARIF output (for CI integrations) skilo lint --format sarif . > results.sarif ``` ## Formatting Skills ```bash # Format in place skilo fmt . # Check only (for CI) skilo fmt --check . # Show diff skilo fmt --diff . ``` ## Reading Skill Properties Extract skill metadata as JSON: ```bash # Single skill (outputs JSON object) skilo read-properties path/to/skill # Multiple skills (outputs JSON array) skilo read-properties path/to/skills/ # Multiple paths skilo read-properties skill-a skill-b ``` Output fields: `name`, `description`, `license`, `compatibility`, `metadata`, `allowed_tools`, `path`. ## Generating Agent Prompts Generate `` XML for agent system prompts: ```bash # Single skill skilo to-prompt path/to/skill # All skills in directory skilo to-prompt path/to/skills/ ``` Output: ```xml my-skill What the skill does path/to/my-skill/SKILL.md ``` ## CI Integration ### GitHub Actions ```yaml name: Validate Skills on: push: paths: ['.claude/skills/**'] pull_request: paths: ['.claude/skills/**'] jobs: validate: runs-on: ubuntu-latest steps: - uses: actions/checkout@v4 - name: Install Rust uses: dtolnay/rust-toolchain@stable - name: Cache cargo uses: Swatinem/rust-cache@v2 - name: Install skilo run: cargo install skilo@0.4.0 - name: Lint skills run: skilo lint .claude/skills/ - name: Check formatting run: skilo fmt --check .claude/skills/ ``` ### SARIF Integration Upload results to GitHub Code Scanning: ```yaml - name: Run skilo lint run: skilo lint --format sarif . > results.sarif continue-on-error: true - name: Upload SARIF uses: github/codeql-action/upload-sarif@v3 with: sarif_file: results.sarif ``` ### Quick CI Check Use `skilo check` to run both lint and format check in one command: ```yaml - name: Validate skills run: skilo check --strict .claude/skills/ ``` ## Configuration Create `.skilorc.toml` in your project: ```toml [lint] strict = false [lint.rules] name_format = true # E001 name_length = 64 # E002 (threshold) name_directory = true # E003 description_required = true # E004 description_length = 1024 # E005 (threshold) compatibility_length = 500 # E006 (threshold) references_exist = true # E009 body_length = 500 # W001 (threshold) script_executable = true # W002 script_shebang = true # W003 [fmt] sort_frontmatter = true indent_size = 2 format_tables = true [new] default_license = "MIT" default_template = "hello-world" default_lang = "bash" ``` ### Disabling Rules ```toml [lint.rules] name_directory = false # Disable rule body_length = false # Disable threshold rule description_length = 2048 # Custom threshold ``` ## Skill Structure ``` my-skill/ ├── SKILL.md # Required: manifest with YAML frontmatter ├── scripts/ # Optional: executable scripts ├── references/ # Optional: additional docs └── assets/ # Optional: static resources ``` ## SKILL.md Format ```markdown --- name: my-skill description: What the skill does license: MIT --- # My Skill Documentation goes here. ``` ## Best Practices ### Description Describe **what** the skill does AND **when** to use it. Include keywords that help agents match user requests. **Good:** ```yaml description: Extracts text and tables from PDF files, fills PDF forms, and merges multiple PDFs. Use when working with PDF documents or when the user mentions PDFs, forms, or document extraction. ``` **Bad:** ```yaml description: Helps with PDFs. ``` ### Body Content - Keep concise, move detailed content to `references/` - Include step-by-step instructions, examples, and edge cases ### Progressive Disclosure 1. **Metadata** - `name` and `description` loaded at startup for all skills 2. **Instructions** - Full body loaded when skill activates 3. **Resources** - `scripts/`, `references/`, `assets/` loaded only when needed ### Scripts - Be self-contained or document dependencies - Include helpful error messages - Handle edge cases gracefully ### References - Keep files focused (one file = one concept) - Use relative paths from skill root - Avoid deeply nested reference chains ### Optional Fields Only include if truly needed: - `license` - Keep short, reference LICENSE file for details - `compatibility` - Specify environment requirements (e.g., `Requires git, docker`) - `metadata` - Key-value pairs with unique keys - `allowed-tools` - Space-delimited list of pre-approved tools ## Exit Codes | Code | Meaning | |------|--------------------------| | 0 | Success | | 1 | Validation errors found | | 2 | Invalid arguments/config | | 3 | I/O error | --- > Converted and distributed by [TomeVault](https://tomevault.io/claim/manuelmauro) — claim your Tome and manage your conversions.