How do I install the Skill Building skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add wilcorakhorst/skill-building 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 Building safe to use?

This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. Independent scanners report: SkillSpector: CAUTION, Skill Scanner: PASS. Capability flags: docs only. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with Skill Building?

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 Building free to use?

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

Who published Skill Building?

WilcoRakhorst (@wilcorakhorst) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Skill Building by wilcorakhorst — Agent Skill

Name: Skill Building
Rating: 4.2 (5 reviews)
Author: WilcoRakhorst

Skill Building

Structured guide for building high-quality GitHub Copilot agent skills. Use when creating a new skill, improving an existing one, diagnosing why a skill isn't being invoked, or reviewing a skill before publishing. Triggers: 'create skill', 'build skill', 'new SKILL.md', 'improve skill', 'skill not triggering', 'skill not loading', 'validate skill', 'publish skill', 'YAML frontmatter', 'description field', 'trigger phrases', 'skill structure', 'references folder', 'progressive disclosure'.

WilcoRakhorst Updated Sep 22, 2026

File contents

The three levels of a skill

Skills follow a progressive disclosure pattern — load only what's needed, when it's needed:

Level	Location	When loaded
1 — Trigger	YAML `description` field	Always — determines if skill is invoked
2 — Knowledge	`SKILL.md` body	When the skill is relevant to the task
3 — Detail	`references/*.md` files	Only when the task explicitly requires them

Keep the SKILL.md body under 300 lines. Everything beyond that belongs in references/.

The description field is your trigger

Copilot decides which skill to invoke based on the description in YAML frontmatter. This is the single most important part of any skill.

Rules:

State clearly what the skill does and when to use it
Include 8–15 specific trigger phrases — the exact terms a user would say
Avoid generic words like "check", "help", "analyze" on their own
Keep it under 1024 characters
No < or > tags

Example (good):

description: "SEO strategy and on-page optimization for websites. Use when the user
  asks about 'meta description', 'title tag', 'H2 structure', 'keyword in first
  paragraph', 'internal linking', 'SEO audit', 'rank on Google', 'slug', or
  'Yoast SEO'."

Example (too vague):

description: "Helps with SEO and content."

Folder structure

.github/skills/your-skill-name/
  SKILL.md          # Required: YAML frontmatter + knowledge body
  references/       # Optional: detailed docs, loaded on demand
  assets/           # Optional: templates, examples, images
  scripts/          # Optional: executable helper scripts

The folder name must exactly match the name field in YAML (kebab-case).

SKILL.md body guidelines

Start with a one-sentence role definition ("You are a...")
Use clear H2 headings per topic
Prefer tables, checklists, and bullet lists over prose paragraphs
Reference files in references/ by name — never copy their content inline
No style rules that a linter could enforce
No code examples that go stale quickly — link to source files instead

Cross-skill references

Skills that naturally chain together should reference each other explicitly:

For keyword research, this skill assumes you've already run `seo-keyword-research`.
For content writing, see `content-creator`.

This helps Copilot chain skills in multi-step workflows.

References (loaded on demand)

skill-checklist.md — full validation checklist before publishing a skill

---name: skill-buildingdescription: Structured guide for building high-quality GitHub Copilot agent skills. Use when creating a new skill, improving an existing one, diagnosing why a skill isn't being invoked, or reviewing a skill before publishing. Triggers: 'create skill', 'build skill', 'new SKILL.md', 'improve skill', 'skill not triggering', 'skill not loading', 'validate skill', 'publish skill', 'YAML frontmatter', 'description field', 'trigger phrases', 'skill structure', 'references folder', 'progressive disclosure'.---## The three levels of a skillSkills follow a progressive disclosure pattern — load only what's needed, when it's needed:| Level | Location | When loaded ||:------|:---------|:------------|| **1 — Trigger** | YAML `description` field | Always — determines if skill is invoked || **2 — Knowledge** | `SKILL.md` body | When the skill is relevant to the task || **3 — Detail** | `references/*.md` files | Only when the task explicitly requires them |Keep the `SKILL.md` body under **300 lines**. Everything beyond that belongs in `references/`.---## The description field is your triggerCopilot decides which skill to invoke based on the `description` in YAML frontmatter. This is the single most important part of any skill.**Rules:**- State clearly **what the skill does** and **when to use it**- Include 8–15 specific trigger phrases — the exact terms a user would say- Avoid generic words like `"check"`, `"help"`, `"analyze"` on their own- Keep it under 1024 characters- No `<` or `>` tags**Example (good):**```yamldescription: "SEO strategy and on-page optimization for websites. Use when the user asks about 'meta description', 'title tag', 'H2 structure', 'keyword in first paragraph', 'internal linking', 'SEO audit', 'rank on Google', 'slug', or 'Yoast SEO'."```**Example (too vague):**```yamldescription: "Helps with SEO and content."```---## Folder structure```.github/skills/your-skill-name/ SKILL.md # Required: YAML frontmatter + knowledge body references/ # Optional: detailed docs, loaded on demand assets/ # Optional: templates, examples, images scripts/ # Optional: executable helper scripts```The folder name must exactly match the `name` field in YAML (kebab-case).---## SKILL.md body guidelines- Start with a one-sentence role definition ("You are a...")- Use clear H2 headings per topic- Prefer tables, checklists, and bullet lists over prose paragraphs- Reference files in `references/` by name — never copy their content inline- No style rules that a linter could enforce- No code examples that go stale quickly — link to source files instead---## Cross-skill referencesSkills that naturally chain together should reference each other explicitly:```markdownFor keyword research, this skill assumes you've already run `seo-keyword-research`.For content writing, see `content-creator`.```This helps Copilot chain skills in multi-step workflows.---## References (loaded on demand)- [skill-checklist.md](references/skill-checklist.md) — full validation checklist before publishing a skill

Frequently asked questions