writing-skills

A SKILL.md file requires YAML frontmatter containing a name and description, followed by a Markdown body with actionable workflow knowledge. This format serves as the standard entrypoint for portable AI agent skills.

To ensure AI skills remain portable, use the SKILL.md format with YAML frontmatter and Markdown body, apply defaults-first principles, and use explicit negations to minimize rationalization across different platforms.

Create a SKILL.md file with YAML frontmatter containing name and description, then provide a Markdown body with active workflow knowledge. You can add optional references, scripts, and assets for deeper context loading.

Defaults-first principles minimize rationalization by providing explicit default behaviors the agent should follow. Combined with imperative style and explicit negations, they ensure AI skills execute tasks predictably without unintended interpretations.

Writing portable AI skills requires no external dependencies. The SKILL.md format uses standard YAML frontmatter and Markdown, allowing you to encode load-on-demand workflow knowledge with optional references and assets independently.

The SKILL.md format is limited to encoding actionable, load-on-demand workflow knowledge using progressive disclosure. It does not execute code itself but relies on the host platform's agent to parse the Markdown body and references.