hermes-agent-skill-authoring

In-repo skills require a SKILL.md file with a YAML frontmatter block containing the required name and description fields, followed by a structured body that provides actionable instructions for the skill loader.

The recommended directory layout for in-repo skills organizes runtime components into separate directories, specifically using scripts/ for executable logic, references/ for supporting documentation, and assets/ for static files.

You validate in-repo skills by running the repository's skill validator against your SKILL.md files to enforce required YAML frontmatter fields and ensure consistent metadata, structure, and peer discoverability.

The required fields in SKILL.md frontmatter are name and description, which are enforced by the validation front-end to guarantee consistent discovery and loading across teams.

Yes, you can include optional metadata in the YAML frontmatter alongside the required name and description fields to provide additional context that guides tooling and skill discovery.

You need a validation front-end for in-repo skills when maintaining skills under directories like skills/software-development/ to ensure every SKILL.md file meets repository standards for metadata and structure before loading.