/common-skill-creator

name: common-skill-creator
description: "Standardizes the creation and evaluation of high-density Agent Skills (Claude, Cursor, Windsurf). Ensures skills achieve high Activation (specificity/completeness) and Implementation (conciseness/actionability) scores. Use when: writing or auditing SKILL.md, improving trigger accuracy, or refactoring skills to reduce redundancy and maximize token ROI."
metadata:
  triggers:
    files:
      - "SKILL.md"
      - "evals/evals.json"
    keywords:
      - create skill
      - audit skill
      - trigger rate
      - optimize description

Agent Skill Creator Standard

**Priority: P0 (CRITICAL)**

Applies to **every skill in this registry**. Maximize **Token ROI**. Every line in SKILL.md must provide specific procedural value. **Activation** (how it triggers) and **Implementation** (how it helps) primary quality metrics.

Three-Level Loading System

• **Level 1** Frontmatter: `name` + `description` (Activation Anchor), ≤100 words.
• **Level 2** SKILL.md body: Core Rules + Workflows (Implementation Core), ≤100 lines.
• **Level 3** references/: Detailed examples, schemas, and "TESTS.md" (On-demand).

Workflow (New or Existing Skill)

**New skill:** 1. **Research** — web-search domain best practices, checklists, and standards; extract key terms → triggers, workflows → guidelines, mistakes → anti-patterns. See [Web Search Research](references/web-search-research.md). 2. **Capture intent** — what it , when it trigger, expected output format? 3. **Draft the SKILL.md** — draft using [TEMPLATE.md](references/TEMPLATE.md) 4. **Test** — spawn parallel subagents: one with-skill, one without-skill (baseline) 5. **Evaluate** — grade assertions, review benchmark (pass rate, tokens, time) 6. **Iterate** — rewrite based on feedback, rerun into next iteration dir, repeat 7. **Optimize description** — run trigger eval queries, target ≥80% accuracy 8. **Pressure-test** — for discipline skills, capture agent excuses, red flags, and stop conditions **Existing skill:** 9. **Audit** — run Quality Checklist below; identify violations 10. **Snapshot** — `cp -r <skill-dir> <workspace>/skill-snapshot/` before any edits 11. **Improve SKILL.md** — fix violations, compress, move oversized content to `references/` 12. **Test** — spawn parallel subagents: one with-new-skill, one with-snapshot (baseline) 13. **Evaluate & iterate** — same as steps 4–5 above 14. **Optimize description** — re-run trigger eval if description changed 15. **Harden** — add rationalization counters where agents still fail under pressure See [Eval Workflow](references/eval-workflow.md) for full testing + iteration details.

Description Quality (Activation)

• **Third-Person Voice**: Use `Standardizes...`, `Audits...`, `Encrypts...`. Avoid "I will" or "This skill helps to".
• **What + When Structure**:
• **What**: Define 5–8 specific capabilities (e.g., "Generates JWT tokens, rotates keys").
• **When**: Explicitly define triggers (e.g., "Use when user says 'rotate keys'").
• **Specificity**: Avoid vague verbs like "manage" or "handle". Use "Validate", "Inject", "Refactor", "Sanitize".
• **Trigger Hint**: Include `(triggers: *.ext, keyword)` suffix for technical skills.

Content Quality (Implementation)

• **No Redundant Knowledge**: **NOT** explain concepts AI already knows (e.g., HTTP status codes, standard library docs, basic SOLID principles). Focus strictly on _project-specific_ rules.
• **Caveman Compression**: Use "Caveman Mode" for rules to save tokens. Drop articles (, , ), remove filler words ("should", "will", "), and use telegraphic snippets.
• _Standard_: "You should ensure that database connection closed after every query to prevent leaks." (15 tokens)
• _Caveman_: "Close DB connection after query. Prevent leaks." (7 tokens)
• **Actionability**: Examples must copy-paste ready and executable.
• **Workflow Clarity**: Use sequential ordered lists for multi-step processes.
• **Progressive Disclosure**: Move code blocks >10 lines to `references/`.
• **Pressure Hardening**: Discipline skills must name red flags, common excuses, and exact stop/restart conditions.

Behavior Guardrails

• **Use pressure tests for discipline skills**: TDD, debugging, verification, review, protocol, and workflow skills need baseline failure evidence.
• **Capture rationalizations**: Save the exact excuses agents use when they skip the rule.
• **Add red flags**: Short phrases that tell the agent to stop and restart the protocol.
• **Encode behavior in evals**: Add `pressure_scenarios`, `rationalizations`, `red_flags`, and `behavior_assertions` when the skill is guardrail-oriented.
• **Keep it local**: Put behavior details in evals or `references/`; keep `SKILL.md` compact.

Anti-Patterns

• **No "AI-splaining"**: not explain why pattern good unless it's unique project constraint.
• **No Vague Triggers**: Never use `src/**` or `**/*`. surgical.
• **No Description Bloat**: If description exceeds 100 words, some capabilities belong in body.
• **No long code blocks**: >10 lines → extract to `references/`
• **No redundancy**: don't repeat frontmatter content in body
• **No untested guardrails**: Rules that were never pressure-tested are speculation.

Quality Checklist (Tessl-Aligned)

• [ ] **Activation ≥ 90%**: Description covers both capabilities ("What") and triggers ("When").
• [ ] **Implementation ≥ 90%**: No general-purpose explanations; all examples executable.
• [ ] **Structural Compliance**: SKILL.md ≤ 100 lines; code blocks moved to `references/`.
• [ ] Trigger rate ≥80% on should-trigger queries.
• [ ] Guardrail skills include rationalizations, red flags, behavior eval fields, and `should_trigger`/`should_not_trigger` cases.

References

• [Skill Template](references/TEMPLATE.md) — load when starting new skill from scratch
• [Anti-Patterns Detail](references/anti-patterns.md) — load when fixing or reviewing anti-pattern format
• [Size & Limits](references/size-limits.md) — load when S