Skill Spec (This Repo)
This document defines what a "production-grade Skill" means in this repository. Use it as the source of truth when creating or refactoring anything under skills/.
Keywords: MUST / SHOULD / MAY / MUST NOT / SHOULD NOT are normative.
1. Directory & Naming
- A Skill MUST be a directory under
skills/ named after its name field.
- The directory name MUST match
^[a-z][a-z0-9-]*$.
- The Skill entrypoint MUST be
SKILL.md at the root of the skill directory.
2. Frontmatter (Required)
SKILL.md MUST start with YAML frontmatter:
---
name: skill-name
description: "What it does + when to use (activation triggers)."
---
Rules:
name MUST match ^[a-z][a-z0-9-]*$.
name SHOULD equal the directory name.
description MUST be decidable and operational:
- Good: "X development and debugging. Use when doing A/B/C."
- Bad: "Helps with X."
3. SKILL.md Structure
3.1 Required Sections
SKILL.md SHOULD follow this section order, and in strict mode it MUST:
## When to Use This Skill
## Not For / Boundaries
## Quick Reference
## Examples
## References
## Maintenance
Rationale:
- Activation reliability depends on explicit triggers and boundaries.
- Usability depends on short patterns and reproducible examples.
- Maintainability depends on sources and navigable references.
3.2 Quick Reference Rules
- Quick Reference MUST contain short, directly usable patterns.
- Quick Reference MUST NOT become a documentation dump.
- Long explanations SHOULD go to
references/.
- A good target is <= 20 patterns, but large domains may justify more.
3.3 Example Rules
- The Examples section MUST contain reproducible examples.
- Each example SHOULD specify:
- input(s)
- steps
- expected output / acceptance criteria
- Pseudo-code MAY be used only if the platform is unavailable, and MUST be clearly labeled.
3.4 Boundaries Rules
- "Not For / Boundaries" MUST list:
- explicit out-of-scope items (to prevent misfires)
- required inputs and what to ask when missing (1-3 questions)
4. references/ (Long-form Docs)
references/ SHOULD exist when the domain has:
- long docs
- many edge cases
- extensive APIs/CLIs/config surfaces
- If
references/ exists, it SHOULD include:
references/index.md as a navigation entrypoint
Guideline:
references/ is for evidence, depth, and navigation.
SKILL.md is for execution: short patterns + examples + constraints.
5. scripts/ and assets/
scripts/ MAY contain helper automation (generators, validators, setup).
- Scripts MUST be non-interactive by default.
- Scripts MUST NOT require network access unless explicitly stated.
assets/ MAY contain templates, configs, or static resources.
6. Safety & Integrity
- Skills MUST NOT include secrets (API keys, tokens, credentials).
- Skills MUST NOT invent external facts.
- If uncertain, they MUST include a verification path (where/how to check).
- Potentially destructive commands MUST be explicitly labeled and gated.
7. Maintenance Metadata
Each Skill SHOULD include a ## Maintenance section with:
- sources (docs/repos/specs)
- last-updated date
- known limits / non-goals
8. Quality Gate
Before shipping, run the checklist in quality-checklist.md and (if available) the validator:
./skills/claude-skills/scripts/validate-skill.sh skills/<skill-name> --strict