capability-name

To define an engineering capability for compilation, structure your content with a YAML frontmatter containing name and description, followed by a body covering mission, non-negotiable rules, benchmarks, output contract, quality gate, and failure modes. This ensures predictable decision behavior.

An output contract defines required decision fields, evidence, and risks, while a quality gate ensures outputs are verifiable and consistently structured. In skill compilation, these elements prevent unsafe or ambiguous outcomes by enforcing professional engineering rules.

Setting risk escalation thresholds and handoff rules requires specifying professional engineering rules and selection signals within the capability boundary. This prevents unsafe outcomes by defining explicit conditions for escalating risks and directing handoff targets during compilation.

Yes, YAML frontmatter is required to compile a safe engineering judgment skill. It must include the name and description fields to preserve the registry-named boundary, ensuring the compiled skill reference remains narrow, decisionable, and safe.

You should not use a structured capability boundary for skill compilation if your task does not require explicit selection signals, risk escalation thresholds, or handoff rules. This approach is specifically for authoring foundation capabilities that demand predictable decision behavior.

The best way to standardize professional engineering rules across compiled skills is to use a structured template capturing the capability mission, non-negotiable rules, and output contract. This ensures outputs remain verifiable and consistently structured across all skills.