Skill Creator

Scaffold a new, spec-valid agent Skill from the Anthropic template and save it so the agent can discover and auto-invoke it.

A skill is a directory <name>/SKILL.md: YAML frontmatter (name, description) plus markdown instructions the agent follows when the description matches the task. It can bundle scripts/ and references/. See references/agent_skills_spec.md for the full contract.

Workflow

Copy this checklist and check off steps as you go:

Progress:
- [ ] 1. Gather skill intent (name, purpose, triggers)
- [ ] 2. Draft from the template
- [ ] 3. Write the body (instructions/workflow)
- [ ] 4. Add scripts/ and references/ if needed
- [ ] 5. Validate the frontmatter
- [ ] 6. Save into the project (save_skill)
- [ ] 7. Confirm + note how it activates

1. Gather Intent

Ask the user (or infer from context):

• name — short, lowercase, hyphenated (e.g. convert-vasp-outputs). This becomes the directory name and the invocable name.
• purpose — one sentence on what the skill does.
• triggers — the user requests / phrasing that should make the agent reach for this skill. These become keywords in the description.

2. Draft From the Template

Start from references/SKILL_template.md. Fill the frontmatter:

• name: must equal the directory name.
• description: pack it with what it does AND when to use it (trigger phrases) — this is the only thing the agent sees when deciding to invoke. Keep it ≤ 1536 characters.

3. Write the Body

After the frontmatter, write the instructions the agent will follow. Prefer a copyable checklist (like this one) for multi-step workflows. Reference bundled files by relative path, e.g. [template](references/SKILL_template.md).

4. Add Supporting Files (optional)

• scripts/ — runnable helpers the body invokes.
• references/ — long reference material loaded on demand (keep it OUT of SKILL.md so it costs no tokens until used).

5. Validate

Confirm before saving:

• Frontmatter is valid YAML between --- fences.
• name is present, lowercase-hyphenated, and equals the intended directory name.
• description is present and ≤ 1536 characters.
• Any [link](references/...) path exists.

6. Save

If the save_skill MCP tool is available (DSAgt), call it with the spec (frontmatter dict: name, description, optional tags), the body markdown, and any reference_files (a {relative_path: contents} map). It writes <project>/skills/<name>/ and mirrors it into the platform's native skill directory immediately. Without that tool, write the directory under the agent's native skills directory for the active platform.

7. Confirm

Tell the user the skill was saved and is ready to use. Future sessions auto-discover it natively; to apply it in the current session, read skills/<name>/SKILL.md and follow it — that is all native invocation does. Do not tell the user a restart or any other action is needed.