Creating Skills

Creating Skills

Skills are folders of instructions that give AI agents new capabilities. This guide helps you create, test, and share a skill with minimal ceremony.

Quick Start

agr init my-skill

Creates my-skill/SKILL.md in your current directory:

my-skill/
└── SKILL.md

If you're adding the skill to this repo, place it under ./skills/:

skills/
└── my-skill/
    └── SKILL.md

From there you can:

1. Write the instructions in SKILL.md
2. Add the skill to your tool with agr add ./skills/my-skill
3. Add it to agr.toml for team sync (see below)

SKILL.md Format

A skill requires YAML frontmatter with name and description:

---
name: my-skill
description: Brief description of what this skill does and when to use it.
---

# My Skill

Instructions for the agent go here.

Required Fields

Optional Fields

Example: Complete Skill

---
name: code-reviewer
description: Reviews code for bugs, security issues, and best practices. Use when reviewing pull requests or code changes.
license: MIT
metadata:
  author: your-username
  version: "1.0"
---

# Code Reviewer

You are a code review expert. When reviewing code:

1. Check for bugs and logic errors
2. Identify security vulnerabilities
3. Suggest performance improvements
4. Ensure code follows project conventions

Be specific and actionable in your feedback. Reference line numbers when possible.

Skills with Supporting Files

For complex skills, add supporting files:

my-skill/
├── SKILL.md
├── references/       # Additional documentation
│   └── style-guide.md
├── scripts/          # Executable code
│   └── validate.py
└── assets/           # Templates, data files
    └── template.json

Reference them in your SKILL.md:

See [style guide](references/style-guide.md) for formatting rules.

Run the validation script:
scripts/validate.py

Keep your main SKILL.md under 500 lines. Put detailed reference material in the references/ folder.

Test Your Skill

Add your local skill and test it:

agr add ./skills/my-skill

(If your skill is elsewhere, point to that path instead.)

Your skill is now available in your configured tool. Test it by starting your agent and invoking the skill.

Add to agr.toml (Team Sync)

To share a skill with your team, add it to agr.toml as a local path dependency:

dependencies = [
    {path = "./skills/my-skill", type = "skill"},
]

Teammates run:

agr sync

Share with Others

Push to GitHub. Others install with:

agr add your-username/my-skill

Or from a specific repo:

agr add your-username/my-repo/my-skill

Tips

• Write clear, specific descriptions—agents use them to decide when to activate your skill
• Keep instructions focused on one task
• Use examples to show expected inputs and outputs
• Test thoroughly before sharing

Learn More

• Agent Skills Specification — Full format details
• Example Skills — Reference implementations