Skill Writing

Before you start

Ask yourself: is a skill the right tool? A skill encodes reusable, domain-specific knowledge that an agent lacks on its own. If the task is a one-off, a simple prompt handles it better. Push back when a skill request is really a script, a config file, or a one-time instruction.

When the user's intent is clear, proceed directly. When it is ambiguous, clarify with targeted questions:

What task or domain does this cover?
What specific use cases should it handle?
Does it need scripts, or instructions alone?
What source material exists (docs, runbooks, code reviews, past conversations)?

Ground the skill in real expertise - internal docs, actual incident reports, code review patterns. A skill synthesized from project-specific material outperforms one built from generic knowledge.