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magnus919_agent-skills/agent-skills
Magnus HedemarkGitHubfactory-droid[bot] <138933559+factory-droid[bot]@users.noreply.github.com>
3eb7bd4096 feat(validation): enforce 60K-char cap on skill reference files (#279)
* feat(validation): enforce 60K-char cap on skill reference files

Implements issue #277:

- validate-references.rb: new oversized_reference_errors check — every
  references/*.md must be <= 60,000 characters; error reports path, size,
  and the split-and-reindex remediation; wired into validate-skills.rb
- test-validate-skills.rb: 5 fixture tests (under-limit passes, over-limit
  fails with path+size, exactly-at-limit passes, remediation message,
  non-.md ignored); the suite now runs in validate.yml after the format
  check (it was previously untested in CI)
- Docs: agent-skills/SKILL.md, agent-skills/references/best-practices.md,
  and the AGENTS.md Format Compliance table document the cap and the
  split-and-reindex procedure
- Compliance: split remote-systems-administration/references/ansible.md
  and programming-principles/references/refactoring-guru.full.md into an
  index + focused parts (content moved verbatim); SKILL.md routing,
  README, and source-index references updated; pre-existing stale
  refactoring-guru-smells.md reference repointed to the index
- Fix pre-existing quality-gate violations in the programming-principles
  and remote-systems-administration descriptions (imperative verb +
  negative boundary) so this PR's CI quality step passes; regenerated
  llms.txt and marketplace artifacts

Co-authored-by: factory-droid[bot] <138933559+factory-droid[bot]@users.noreply.github.com>

* test(evals): add eval manifests to modified skills for ratchet

The eval-coverage ratchet requires schema-valid eval manifests for any
skill modified once coverage is past 50%. This PR modifies
programming-principles and remote-systems-administration (splitting
their oversized references), so add evals/evals.json to both:

- programming-principles: 6 output-quality cases (task-to-book mapping,
  principled code review, refactor-vs-rewrite, no-op detection, rule
  distillation, principle conflicts)
- remote-systems-administration: 6 output-quality cases (discovery
  before change, smallest control plane, rollback planning, platform
  identification, verification evidence, escalation on missing
  authority)

Coverage: 87/145 (60.0%) schema-valid; ratchet clean.

Co-authored-by: factory-droid[bot] <138933559+factory-droid[bot]@users.noreply.github.com>

---------

Co-authored-by: factory-droid[bot] <138933559+factory-droid[bot]@users.noreply.github.com>
2026-08-04 22:39:14 -04:00
..
2026-07-11 09:07:10 -04:00

Agent Skills — The Standard Itself

This skill is the meta-skill: it documents the Agent Skills open format itself. Every other skill in this repository follows the conventions defined here.

Why Install This Skill

When your agent loads this skill, it gains the ability to create, review, and edit valid Agent Skills-format skills. That means:

  • Your agent can build new skills on demand. Describe a workflow you want encoded, and your agent can scaffold a valid SKILL.md with correct frontmatter, progressive disclosure structure, and agent-friendly descriptions.
  • Existing skills stay valid. When your agent edits a skill, it checks against the format standard — no broken frontmatter, no missing required fields.
  • Consistency across your skill library. Every skill in your repository follows the same conventions, making them loadable by any Agent Skills-compatible harness.

What You Get

Directory Purpose
SKILL.md A create-and-review workflow, the core format rules, and a completion checklist
references/specification.md A bundled snapshot of the official format specification
references/best-practices.md Guidance for useful, well-scoped instructions
references/optimizing-descriptions.md How to design and test reliable automatic triggers
references/using-scripts.md How to bundle safe, agent-friendly executable helpers
references/evaluating-skills.md A practical evaluation loop for testing skill quality
references/client-implementation.md Guidance for products that discover and load skills

Quick Start

Ask your agent to create or review a skill, then load this skill first. For a structural check, run:

skills-ref validate path/to/skill

If the reference validator is not installed, your agent should report that clearly and complete the equivalent manual checks.

Triggers

  • You're creating a new skill and need to know the correct format
  • You're reviewing an existing skill for format compliance
  • You want your agent to generate a valid SKILL.md scaffold
  • You're setting up conventions for a shared skill repository

Requirements

The documentation itself has no runtime dependencies. Optional validation uses the skills-ref reference library; install it in an isolated environment when you want to run its CLI.