HARD GATE — Do NOT name a skill without a two-word verb-noun pair. Do NOT merge a new skill without running sync-skills.sh. Generated .cursor/rules/ and .gemini/ artifacts MUST match the source SKILL.md.

The YAML description is the Catalog Selection Object — the only field agents see when picking a skill.

Rule	Limit
Max length	1024 characters
Voice	Third person
Content	Capability + Use when … triggers only
Forbidden	Workflow steps, phase chains, numbered lists, → verify:, HARD GATE prose

Move process detail into the SKILL.md body or REFERENCE.md — never into description.

Skill-body instructional prose MUST follow AGENTIC-STE.md.

Rule	Limit
Sentence length	≤20 words per instruction sentence
Voice	Imperative, active
Directive terms	MUST, MUST NOT, NEVER, ALWAYS, DO, DO NOT
Banned modals	should, might, could, may, consider, try, generally, typically
Scope	SKILL.md body only — not YAML description, not terse-mode output

HARD GATE — Do NOT merge a new or edited skill until bash scripts/validate-agentic-ste.sh --strict skills/<name>/SKILL.md exits 0. Fix violations before sync-skills.sh.

1. Gather requirements — ask user about:

   • What task/domain does the skill cover?
   • Which use cases must the skill handle?
   • Does it need executable scripts or just instructions?
   • Any reference materials to include?
   • What specs/ output does it produce (if any)?

2. Verify Principles — Ensure the skill aligns with PRINCIPLES.md:

   • Is it atomic (verb-noun)?
   • Is it “deep” (simple interface, complex internal logic)?
   • Does it include Hard Gates?
   • Is it verifiable with a .feature file?

3. Draft the skill — create:

   • SKILL.md with concise instructions (see REFERENCE.md for template)
   • Additional reference files if content exceeds 100 lines
   • Utility scripts if deterministic operations needed

   Auto-skill from library README: When user provides a library README or API docs URL, extract triggers and HARD GATEs. Draft verify commands and specs/ output into SKILL.md. Do NOT invent APIs not in the source.

4. Add model: frontmatter (haiku | sonnet | opus) per model-profiles.md.

STREAM CONTINUITY — When writing file content, output in continuous chunks of ~200 lines. Do not pause. Continue immediately until complete. If you need time, emit a placeholder comment rather than going silent.

5. Review with user — present draft and ask:

   • Does this cover your use cases?
   • Anything missing or unclear?
   • Does any section need more or less detail?

6. Completion-honesty gate (HARD GATE — e45s02) — Before declaring done:

   • Run bash scripts/validate-skill-description.sh skills/<name>/SKILL.md — must exit 0
   • Run bash scripts/validate-agentic-ste.sh --strict skills/<name>/SKILL.md — must exit 0 (e79s02)
   • Run bash scripts/sync-skills.sh — must complete without error
   • Run bash scripts/run-skill-verify.sh <name> if the skill defines a verify command
   • Show terminal output for each — narration without evidence is rejected

Every skill name must be a two-word verb-noun pair. See REFERENCE.md for full rules, examples, and documented exceptions.

If the skill produces written output, it goes in specs/ at the project root. Document the output file path in the skill body and in CONVENTIONS.md’s output files table.

After drafting, verify:

• Name is a two-word verb-noun pair (or follows grill-me exception)
• Description < 1024 chars, triggers only, no workflow-summary leakage
• Description includes triggers (“Use when…”)
• SKILL.md under 100 lines
• No time-sensitive info
• Consistent terminology with CONVENTIONS.md
• specs/ output documented if applicable
• validate-skill-description.sh exits 0
• validate-agentic-ste.sh --strict exits 0 (e79s02)
• sync-skills.sh run to propagate to Cursor/Gemini
• bash scripts/validate-skill-catalog.sh passes for the new skill (HARD GATE — completion honesty)

HARD GATE — Do NOT declare the skill done until bash scripts/validate-skill-catalog.sh --strict --skill <name> exits 0. Validator enforces verb-noun name, HARD GATE block, description ≤1024 chars, and → verify: command.

→ verify: bash scripts/validate-skill-catalog.sh --strict --skill craft-skill && bash scripts/validate-skill-description.sh skills/craft-skill/SKILL.md