Skill Creation

Skill Creation References

Detailed guides for creating standards-compliant skills

Quick Navigation

ReferencePurposeRead When
frontmatter.mdRequired/optional fields, YAML syntaxCreating/validating frontmatter
structure.mdDirectory organization, complexity assessmentDetermining skill architecture
content-patterns.mdCritical Patterns structure, visual markersWriting patterns section
dependencies-matrix.mdSkill dependencies by categoryChoosing metadata.skills
examples.mdComplete skill examples (Simple/Medium/Complex)Need reference implementation
token-efficiency.mdOptimization techniques, compressionSkill exceeds 300 lines
validation.mdPre-creation through post-creation checksBefore finalizing skill

Reading Strategy

For Simple Skills (<15 patterns)

  1. Read main SKILL.md
  2. Check frontmatter.md for field reference
  3. Optional: examples.md for simple skill example

For Medium Skills (15-40 patterns)

  1. Read main SKILL.md
  2. Read frontmatter.md + structure.md
  3. Check dependencies-matrix.md for skill category
  4. Optional: content-patterns.md for writing style

For Complex Skills (40+ patterns)

  1. Read main SKILL.md
  2. MUST read: structure.md - Directory organization
  3. MUST read: token-efficiency.md - Optimization
  4. MUST read: dependencies-matrix.md - Dependencies
  5. Check: content-patterns.md - Pattern writing
  6. Check: validation.md - Quality checks
  7. See also: reference-creation skill for creating references/

File Descriptions

frontmatter.md

Frontmatter requirements: required fields (name, description with Trigger, metadata.version), optional fields (license, skills, dependencies, allowed-tools), YAML syntax, validation, common mistakes.

structure.md

Directory organization: complexity assessment (simple/medium/complex), directory naming, file organization, content distribution, migration paths.

content-patterns.md

Writing patterns: Critical Patterns structure, visual markers (✅/❌/⚠️/💡), inline examples, Decision Trees, Conventions delegation, Edge Cases, writing style.

dependencies-matrix.md

Skill dependency guide: which skills to include by category (Frontend, Backend, Testing, Build tools), decision rules, common mistakes.

examples.md

Complete skill examples: Simple (Prettier, 150 lines), Medium (Formik, 280 lines), Complex (React, 350+ lines with references/).

token-efficiency.md

Optimization: frontmatter compression, content efficiency, code examples under 15 lines, target metrics by complexity level.

validation.md

Quality checks: pre-creation (delegation, uniqueness), structure validation, content validation, post-creation (sync, documentation).

Cross-Reference Map

  • Main Skill: SKILL.md - Overview, decision tree, critical patterns
  • Template: SKILL-TEMPLATE.md - Skill template
  • Schema: assets/frontmatter-schema.json - Validation schema (reference only, not included in repo)
  • Reference Creation: reference-creation - Creating references/ directories