writing-skills

To write SKILL.md documentation using test-driven development, you apply a disciplined workflow that validates triggering conditions, scope of use, and safety guidelines before finalizing the skill narrative.

Test-driven skill writing is a methodology that codifies documentation creation into a proven, maintainable format rather than ad hoc narratives, ensuring skills are validated against strict quality control standards.

Required YAML frontmatter fields for skill discovery include name and description, alongside metadata fields like keywords, dependencies, components, and toxicity assessments to govern proper indexing.

You validate SKILL.md quality and safety by enforcing a structured description with defined sections and using optional tooling to check YAML frontmatter format, triggering conditions, and toxicity assessments.

Yes, test-driven documentation supports creating, editing, and verifying SKILL.md-based skills by applying progressive disclosure and validating that frontmatter still governs discovery correctly after modifications.

Avoid test-driven writing for skill documentation when your project requires ad hoc narratives without strict quality control, or when you cannot enforce the required YAML frontmatter and structured description sections.