bmb-encover-skill-authoring

To create an in-repo SKILL.md file, place it under skills/<category>/<name>/ with required YAML frontmatter fields like name and description, plus a non-empty instruction body. Validate the structure before committing to ensure it loads correctly and remains discoverable.

Required YAML frontmatter fields for Hermes skill conventions include strictly formatted name and description fields. The description must meet specific length and format constraints to pass validation and ensure the skill loads reliably within the agent environment.

Skill authoring validation often fails due to YAML formatting errors like leading whitespace before the opening --- delimiter. Strict formatting constraints require exact frontmatter structure without indentation to ensure validator-compatible loading.

The recommended section layout for in-repo skill documentation includes Overview, When to Use, Pitfalls, and Verification Checklist sections. This peer-matched structure keeps Hermes agent skills usable and consistent across the repository.

Cached sessions do not automatically pick up newly committed SKILL.md files. You must restart or refresh the Hermes agent session to load newly validated skills and ensure they are discoverable in the active environment.

You need to validate an in-repo SKILL.md file before a git workflow commit whenever adding or editing reusable workflows under skills/software-development. Validation ensures the frontmatter meets constraints so the skill loads correctly when the package ships.