SkillForge

Create well-formed, spec-compliant skills from observed patterns.

When to Forge

✅ Forge when:

• You've done the same sequence 2-3 times in a session
• A project convention isn't documented anywhere
• You solved a hard problem with a reusable solution
• Someone asks you to create a skill

❌ Don't forge when:

• It's a one-time task
• An existing skill already covers it (update instead)
• The "skill" is just a single command (use a script alias)

Steps

1. Name the pattern

• What problem does this skill solve?
• What triggers it? (be specific — the description field is the discovery surface)
• What are the inputs and outputs?

2. Choose a name

• kebab-case, 1-64 characters
• Verb-led when possible: deploy-preview, scaffold-component, triage-bug
• One responsibility per skill

3. Create the skill directory

mkdir -p .skills/<skill-name>

4. Write SKILL.md

Use this skeleton:

---
name: <skill-name>
description: <what it does>. Use when <triggers>.
metadata:
  forged-by: <agent-id>
  forged-from: <session-or-context>
  forged-reason: "<why this was created>"
---

# <Skill Name>

## Inputs
- ...

## Steps
1. ...
2. ...

## Conventions
- Project-specific patterns that apply

## Edge Cases
- Known gotchas or special handling

5. Add scripts (optional)

If the skill involves file generation or automation:

.skills/<skill-name>/
├── SKILL.md
├── scripts/
│   └── run.sh         # Executable automation
└── references/
    └── conventions.md # Detailed reference (keeps SKILL.md lean)

6. Register the skill

Update .skills-registry.md at the project root (same level as .skills/). Create it if it doesn't exist:

| <skill-name> | local | <today> | 1 | <description> |

If the project uses the machine-readable registry (.skills-registry.json), update it too — skdd forge handles both formats automatically.

Updating an Existing Skill

When you use a skill and encounter something it doesn't cover:

1. Add the new edge case or step to the existing SKILL.md
2. If the skill is getting too long (>200 lines), split it
3. Update last-used and increment usage-count in the registry

Quality Checklist

Before committing a new skill:

• name is kebab-case, ≤64 chars
• description includes what it does AND when to use it
• Steps are numbered and actionable
• No hardcoded paths, secrets, or environment-specific values
• SKILL.md is under 200 lines (move details to references/)
• Registered in .skills-registry.md