Add a User-Facing Skill

End-to-end workflow for creating a skill in skills/ that teaches AI agents how to use a cx CLI command. This skill is often invoked from add-command Step 6, but can also be used standalone when documenting an existing command.

contributing/adding-a-skill.md has the full reference guide and a copy-pasteable template. Read it alongside this workflow.

Step 0: Understand the Domain

Before writing anything, answer these questions:

1. What cx command are you documenting? Identify the command and all its subcommands (e.g., cx alerts list, cx alerts get, cx alerts create).
2. What can the user do with it? List the key operations, flags, and output formats supported.
3. Who is the audience? Skills are consumed by AI agents, not humans directly. Write instructions an agent can follow step-by-step to accomplish a user's goal.
4. Is there dense reference material? Schemas, enum catalogs, field references, or language syntax exceeding ~100 lines belong in a separate references/ file.

Step 1: Read Existing Skills

Before writing any skill, read existing ones to internalize the project's patterns. Agents that study existing skills first produce consistent, high-quality results rather than inventing new formats.

Always read:

• contributing/adding-a-skill.md - full guide with directory structure, frontmatter conventions, reference file rules, and a copy-pasteable template
• skills/README.md - the public catalog you'll update in Step 4

Study at least two existing skills:

Pick the two closest to what you're building and read them completely.

Step 2: Create Directory and Write SKILL.md

Create skills/cx-<domain-name>/SKILL.md. All skill directories use the cx- prefix. Use the directory structure, frontmatter format, and templates from contributing/adding-a-skill.md § "Directory Structure" through "Complete Template" (single-command) or § "Workflow Skills" (multi-command).

Writing effective trigger descriptions

The description frontmatter field is the primary trigger mechanism - agents use it to decide when to activate a skill. This is the single most important line in the file. Write at least 10 trigger phrases covering:

• Explicit command names ("list alerts", "get alert by ID")
• User intents ("investigate alert failures", "debug noisy alerts")
• Synonyms and variations ("check", "find", "search", "analyze")
• Domain jargon ("SLO breach", "error budget")

Body structure

Follow this order (see contributing/adding-a-skill.md § "Complete Template" for a starting point):

1. Title and intro - one sentence explaining what the skill covers and which cx commands it uses
2. CLI Commands table - | Command | Purpose | Key flags | for every subcommand. Include -o json/-o toon and -p <profile> notes.
3. Workflow / Investigation steps - numbered steps an agent should follow. Start with discovery, end with verification.
4. Key Principles - 4-6 bullet points: use -o json with jq, multi-profile behavior, always verify, etc.
5. Additional Resources - links to references/ files and related skills

Style guidelines

• Write for an AI agent - be explicit about what to run and in what order
• Use code blocks for every CLI invocation
• Include realistic examples with actual flag values, not placeholders
• Show jq filtering examples when the command supports -o json
• Keep SKILL.md under ~200 lines; move dense material to references/

Step 3: Add Reference Files and Update README

Follow contributing/adding-a-skill.md § "Reference Files" for when and how to create references/ files, and § "Updating skills/README.md" for adding the skill to the public catalog.

Shared vs. skill-local references

Before creating a new reference file, check whether the content is language-level or telemetry-pillar material:

• Language guides (DataPrime syntax, PromQL guidelines) → skills/shared/
• Telemetry-pillar how-tos (logs querying, spans querying, metrics workflow, RUM) → skills/shared/
• Skill-specific schemas or templates (alert JSON schemas, dashboard widget templates) → skills/cx-your-domain/references/

If your skill needs a file from skills/shared/:

1. Add your skill and file list to scripts/sync-shared-references.sh
2. Run bash scripts/sync-shared-references.sh — it copies the file(s) into your references/
3. Commit the sync script change and the generated references/ copies together

If you're adding a new shared reference:

1. Create it in skills/shared/
2. Register it in the sync script for all consuming skills
3. Run the script to generate copies, then commit everything

Step 4: Verify

1. Frontmatter - name matches directory, description has 10+ trigger phrases, metadata.version is "0.1.0"
2. Body completeness - has CLI Commands table, workflow steps, key principles, and additional resources (if references exist)
3. Reference links - any references/ paths in SKILL.md point to files that actually exist
4. README updated - skills/README.md has the new row
5. No bloat - SKILL.md doesn't duplicate >100 lines of material that belongs in references/
6. Shared references synced - if the skill uses files from skills/shared/, confirm bash scripts/sync-shared-references.sh was run and the generated references/ copies are committed
7. Agent readability - would an AI agent know exactly what to do after reading this skill? If not, add missing steps or examples

For advanced trigger optimization, use the /skill-creator skill to run eval-driven description testing and iterate on your trigger phrases.

Use the PR checklist from contributing/adding-a-skill.md § "PR Checklist" in your PR description.