/hermes-agent-skill-authoring

name: hermes-agent-skill-authoring
description: "Author in-repo SKILL.md: frontmatter, validator, structure."
version: 1.0.0
author: Hermes Agent
license: MIT
platforms: [linux, macos, windows]
metadata:
  hermes:
    tags: [skills, authoring, hermes-agent, conventions, skill-md]
    related_skills: [writing-plans, requesting-code-review]

Authoring Hermes-Agent Skills (in-repo)

Overview

There are two places a SKILL.md can live:

1. **User-local:** `~/.hermes/skills/<maybe-category>/<name>/SKILL.md` — personal, not shared. Created via `skill_manage(action='create')`. 2. **In-repo (this skill is about this case):** `/home/bb/hermes-agent/skills/<category>/<name>/SKILL.md` — committed, shipped with the package. Use `write_file` + `git add`. `skill_manage(action='create')` does NOT target this tree.

When to Use

• User asks you to add a skill "in this branch / repo / commit"
• You're committing a reusable workflow that should ship with hermes-agent
• You're editing an existing skill under `/home/bb/hermes-agent/skills/` (use `patch` for small edits, `write_file` for rewrites; `skill_manage` still works for patch on in-repo skills, but not for `create`)

Required Frontmatter

Source of truth: `tools/skill_manager_tool.py::_validate_frontmatter`. Hard requirements:

• Starts with `---` as the first bytes (no leading blank line).
• Closes with `\n---\n` before the body.
• Parses as a YAML mapping.
• `name` field present.
• `description` field present, ≤ **1024 chars** (`MAX_DESCRIPTION_LENGTH`).
• Non-empty body after the closing `---`.

Peer-matched shape used by every skill under `skills/software-development/`:

---
name: my-skill-name               # lowercase, hyphens, ≤64 chars (MAX_NAME_LENGTH)
description: Use when <trigger>. <one-line behavior>.
version: 1.0.0
author: Hermes Agent
license: MIT
metadata:
  hermes:
    tags: [short, descriptive, tags]
    related_skills: [other-skill, another-skill]
---

`version` / `author` / `license` / `metadata` are NOT enforced by the validator, but every peer has them — omit and your skill sticks out.

Size Limits

• Description: ≤ 1024 chars (enforced).
• Full SKILL.md: ≤ 100,000 chars (enforced as `MAX_SKILL_CONTENT_CHARS`, ~36k tokens).
• Peer skills in `software-development/` sit at **8-14k chars**. Aim for that range. If you're pushing past 20k, split into `references/*.md` and reference them from SKILL.md.

Peer-Matched Structure

Every in-repo skill follows roughly:

# <Title>

## Overview
One or two paragraphs: what and why.

## When to Use
- Bulleted triggers
- "Don't use for:" counter-triggers

## <Topic sections specific to the skill>
- Quick-reference tables are common
- Code blocks with exact commands
- Hermes-specific recipes (tests via scripts/run_tests.sh, ui-tui paths, etc.)

## Common Pitfalls
Numbered list of mistakes and their fixes.

## Verification Checklist
- [ ] Checkbox list of post-action verifications

## One-Shot Recipes (optional)
Named scenarios → concrete command sequences.

Not every section is mandatory, but `Overview` + `When to Use` + actionable body + pitfalls are the minimum for the skill to feel like a peer.

Directory Placement

skills/<category>/<skill-name>/SKILL.md

Categories currently in repo (confirm with `ls skills/`): `autonomous-ai-agents`, `creative`, `data-science`, `devops`, `dogfood`, `email`, `gaming`, `github`, `leisure`, `mcp`, `media`, `mlops/*`, `note-taking`, `productivity`, `red-teaming`, `research`, `smart-home`, `social-media`, `software-development`.

Pick the closest existing category. Don't invent new top-level categories casually.

Workflow

1. **Survey peers** in the target category:

   ls skills/<category>/

Read 2-3 peer SKILL.md files to match tone and structure. 2. **Check validator constraints** in `tools/skill_manager_tool.py` if unsure. 3. **Draft** with `write_file` to `skills/<category>/<name>/SKILL.md`. 4. **Validate locally**:

   import yaml, re, pathlib
   content = pathlib.Path("skills/<category>/<name>/SKILL.md").read_text()
   assert content.startswith("---")
   m = re.search(r'\n---\s*\n', content[3:])
   fm = yaml.safe_load(content[3:m.start()+3])
   assert "name" in fm and "description" in fm
   assert len(fm["description"]) <= 1024
   assert len(content) <= 100_000

5. **Git add + commit** on the active branch. 6. **Note:** the CURRENT session's skill loader is cached — `skill_view` / `skills_list` will not see the new skill until a new session. This is expected, not a bug.

Cross-Referencing Other Skills

`metadata.hermes.related_skills` unions both trees (`skills/` in-repo and `~/.hermes/skills/`) at load time. You CAN reference a user-local skill from an in-repo skill, but it won't resolve for other users who clone the repo fresh. Prefer referencing only in-repo skills from in-repo skills. If a frequently-referenced skill lives only in `~/.hermes/skills/`, consider promoting it to the repo.

Editing Existing In-Repo Skills

• **Small fix (typo, added pitfall, tightened trigger):** `skill_manage(action='patch', name=..., old_string=..., new_string=...)` works fine on in-repo skills.
• **Major rewrite:** `write_file` the whole SKILL.md. `skill_manage(action='edit')` also works but requires supplying the full new content.
• **Adding supporting files:** `write_file` to `skills/<category>/<name>/references/<file>.md`, `templates/<file>`, or `scripts/<file>`. `skill_manage(action='write_file')` also works and enforces the references/templates/scripts/assets subdir allowlist.
• **Always commit** the edit — in-repo skills are source, not runtime state.

Common Pitfalls

1. **Using `skill_manage(action='create')` for an in-repo skill.** It writes to `~/.hermes/skills/`, not the repo tree. Use `write_file` for in-repo creation.

2. **Leading whitespace before `---`.** The validator checks `content.startswith("---")`; any leading blank line or BOM fails validation.

3.