---
name: writing-skills
description: Propose new agent skills with proper structure, progressive disclosure, and bundled resources. Use when user wants to draft, write, create, or design a new skill.
---

# Writing Skills

> BooChat adaptation: this skill runs in a read-only environment. The "draft the skill" step outputs **proposed file paths and full file contents** as text — it does NOT create directories or write files. Sam mkdir's and commits manually.

## Process

1. **Gather requirements** - ask user about:
   - What task/domain does the skill cover?
   - What specific use cases should it handle?
   - Does it need executable scripts or just instructions?
   - Any reference materials to include?

2. **Propose the skill** - output as a single response:
   - The target directory path (e.g. `/opt/skills/<group>/<skill-name>/`)
   - The full proposed `SKILL.md` content in a fenced block, prefixed with its target filename
   - Any additional reference files (`REFERENCE.md`, `EXAMPLES.md`) as separate fenced blocks if content exceeds 500 lines
   - Any utility scripts as separate fenced blocks
   - Do NOT call any write/edit/mkdir tool — output is text only

3. **Review with user** - present the proposal and ask:
   - Does this cover your use cases?
   - Anything missing or unclear?
   - Should any section be more/less detailed?

## Skill Structure

```
skill-name/
├── SKILL.md           # Main instructions (required)
├── REFERENCE.md       # Detailed docs (if needed)
├── EXAMPLES.md        # Usage examples (if needed)
└── scripts/           # Utility scripts (if needed)
    └── helper.js
```

## SKILL.md Template

```md
---
name: skill-name
description: Brief description of capability. Use when [specific triggers].
---

# Skill Name

## Quick start

[Minimal working example]

## Workflows

[Step-by-step processes with checklists for complex tasks]

## Advanced features

[Link to separate files: See [REFERENCE.md](REFERENCE.md)]
```

## Description Requirements

The description is **the only thing your agent sees** when deciding which skill to load. It's surfaced in the system prompt alongside all other installed skills. Your agent reads these descriptions and picks the relevant skill based on the user's request.

**Goal**: Give your agent just enough info to know:

1. What capability this skill provides
2. When/why to trigger it (specific keywords, contexts, file types)

**Format**:

- Max 1024 chars
- Write in third person
- First sentence: what it does
- Second sentence: "Use when [specific triggers]"

**Good example**:

```
Extract text and tables from PDF files, fill forms, merge documents. Use when working with PDF files or when user mentions PDFs, forms, or document extraction.
```

**Bad example**:

```
Helps with documents.
```

The bad example gives your agent no way to distinguish this from other document skills.

## When to Add Scripts

Add utility scripts when:

- Operation is deterministic (validation, formatting)
- Same code would be generated repeatedly
- Errors need explicit handling

Scripts save tokens and improve reliability vs generated code.

## When to Split Files

Split into separate files when:

- SKILL.md exceeds 100 lines
- Content has distinct domains (finance vs sales schemas)
- Advanced features are rarely needed

## Review Checklist

After drafting, verify:

- [ ] Description includes triggers ("Use when...")
- [ ] Description ≤1024 chars
- [ ] SKILL.md under 100 lines
- [ ] No time-sensitive info
- [ ] Consistent terminology
- [ ] Concrete examples included
- [ ] References one level deep