Skill Conductor

Full lifecycle management for agent skills: draft → test → review → improve → package.

One master discipline to govern skill creation and optimization, rooted in the 10 canonical authoring principles.

Core Invariants & The 10 Canonical Authoring Principles

1. Pre-flight verification: Check dependencies and environment before executing workflows.
2. No process in descriptions: Descriptions define triggering boundaries (Use when..., Do NOT use for...), never workflow recipes.
3. Map of Content (MOC): SKILL.md is a clear architectural map (< 500 lines) pointing to modular references.
4. Fresh practitioner empathy: Explain the rationale behind steps so agents understand context.
5. Training Within Industry (TWI): Structure critical instructions as Action, Key Point, and Why.
6. Blind agent testability: Ensure instructions are unambiguous when executed without prior conversation history.
7. Inline risk checklists: Place verification checklists directly at high-risk seams.
8. One term per concept: Use consistent domain terminology throughout.
9. Zero secrets / environment cleanliness: Never hardcode credentials, tokens, or absolute user home paths.
10. Match form to failure: Counter specific failure modes with targeted structural constraints and anti-rationalization tables.

Core Lifecycle Modes

Step-by-Step Procedure (TWI)

Step 1: Capture Intent & Define Triggers

• Action: Extract 2–3 concrete user scenarios and establish positive and negative trigger boundaries.
• Key Point: Specify exact phrases users say and adjacent domains the skill must reject.
• Why: Clear boundaries prevent undertriggering and false-positive overtriggering.

Step 2: Architecture & Progressive Disclosure

• Action: Select the architectural pattern (sequential, iterative, context-aware) and structure files.
• Key Point: Keep SKILL.md concise (< 500 lines) and push heavy schemas or tables into references.
• Why: Bloated instruction files exhaust attention budgets and degrade execution quality.

Step 3: Write Frontmatter & Body

• Action: Draft YAML frontmatter with kebab-case name and trigger-rich description, followed by MOC, TWI steps, and guardrails.
• Inline Checklist:
  • Frontmatter name matches directory name
  • Description is $\le 1024$ characters and contains no process steps
  • Negative triggers specified (Do NOT use for...)
  • Anti-rationalization table included
  • No hardcoded tokens, passwords, or machine-specific paths

Step 4: Validate with BinEval 5 Dimensions

• Action: Evaluate across Discovery, Clarity, Structure, Robustness, Completeness.
• Key Point: Pass every critical gate check before declaring release readiness.
• Why: Multi-dimensional evaluation catches hidden failure modes before distribution.

Anti-Rationalization Guardrails