Skill Writer

Skill Writer

Write well-structured, effective SKILL.md files for the ClawdHub registry. Covers the skill format specification, frontmatter schema, content patterns, example quality, and common anti-patterns.

When to Use

• Creating a new skill from scratch
• Structuring technical content as an agent skill
• Writing frontmatter that the registry indexes correctly
• Choosing section organization for different skill types
• Reviewing your own skill before publishing

The SKILL.md Format

A skill is a single Markdown file with YAML frontmatter. The agent loads it on demand and follows its instructions.

---
name: my-skill-slug
description: One-sentence description of when to use this skill.
metadata: {"clawdbot":{"emoji":"🔧","requires":{"anyBins":["tool1","tool2"]},"os":["linux","darwin","win32"]}}
---

# Skill Title

One-paragraph summary of what this skill covers.

## When to Use

- Bullet list of trigger scenarios

## Main Content Sections

### Subsection with examples

Code blocks, commands, patterns...

## Tips

- Practical advice bullets

Frontmatter Schema

name (required)

The skill's slug identifier. Must match what you publish with.

name: my-skill

Rules:

• Lowercase, hyphenated: csv-pipeline, git-workflows
• No spaces, no underscores
• Keep it short and descriptive (1-3 words)
• Check for slug collisions before publishing: npx molthub@latest search "your-slug"

description (required)

The single most important field. This is what:

1. The registry indexes for semantic search (vector embeddings)
2. The agent reads to decide whether to activate the skill
3. Users see when browsing search results

# GOOD: Specific triggers and scope
description: Write Makefiles for any project type. Use when setting up build automation, defining multi-target builds, managing dependencies between tasks, creating project task runners, or using Make for non-C projects (Go, Python, Docker, Node.js). Also covers Just and Task as modern alternatives.

# BAD: Vague, no triggers
description: A skill about Makefiles.

# BAD: Too long (gets truncated in search results)
description: This skill covers everything you need to know about Makefiles including variables, targets, prerequisites, pattern rules, automatic variables, phony targets, conditional logic, multi-directory builds, includes, silent execution, and also covers Just and Task as modern alternatives to Make for projects that use Go, Python, Docker, or Node.js...

Pattern for effective descriptions:

[What it does]. Use when [trigger 1], [trigger 2], [trigger 3]. Also covers [related topic].

metadata (required)

JSON object with the clawdbot schema:

metadata: {"clawdbot":{"emoji":"🔧","requires":{"anyBins":["make","just"]},"os":["linux","darwin","win32"]}}

Fields:

• emoji: Single emoji displayed in registry listings
• requires.anyBins: Array of CLI tools the skill needs (at least one must be available)
• os: Array of supported platforms: "linux", "darwin" (macOS), "win32" (Windows)

Choose requires.anyBins carefully:

# Good: lists the actual tools the skill's commands use
"requires": {"anyBins": ["docker", "docker-compose"]}

# Bad: lists generic tools every system has
"requires": {"anyBins": ["bash", "echo"]}

# Good for skills that work via multiple tools
"requires": {"anyBins": ["make", "just", "task"]}

Content Structure

The "When to Use" Section

Always include this immediately after the title paragraph. It tells the agent (and the user) the specific scenarios where this skill applies.

## When to Use

- Automating build, test, lint, deploy commands
- Defining dependencies between tasks (build before test)
- Creating a project-level task runner
- Replacing long CLI commands with short targets

Rules:

• 4-8 bullet points
• Each bullet is a concrete scenario, not an abstract concept
• Start with a verb or gerund: "Automating...", "Debugging...", "Converting..."
• Don't repeat the description field verbatim

Main Content Sections

Organize by task, not by concept. The agent needs to find the right command for a specific situation.

## GOOD: Organized by task
## Encode and Decode
### Base64
### URL Encoding
### Hex

## BAD: Organized by abstraction
## Theory of Encoding
## Encoding Types
## Advanced Topics

Code Blocks

Every section should have at least one code block. Skills without code blocks are opinions, not tools.

## GOOD: Concrete, runnable example
```bash
# Encode a string to Base64
echo -n "Hello, World!" | base64
# SGVsbG8sIFdvcmxkIQ==
```

## BAD: Abstract description
Base64 encoding converts binary data to ASCII text using a 64-character alphabet...

Code block best practices:

• Always specify the language (bash, python, javascript, yaml, sql, etc.)
• Show the output in a comment below the command
• Use realistic values, not foo/bar (use myapp, api-server, real IP formats)
• Include the most common case first, then variations
• Add inline comments for non-obvious flags or arguments

Multi-Language Coverage

If a skill applies across languages, use consistent section structure:

## Hashing

### Bash
```bash
echo -n "Hello" | sha256sum

JavaScript

const crypto = require('crypto');
crypto.createHash('sha256').update('Hello').digest('hex');

Python

import hashlib
hashlib.sha256(b"Hello").hexdigest()

Order: Bash first (most universal), then by popularity for the topic.

### The "Tips" Section

End every skill with a Tips section. These are the distilled wisdom — the things that save hours of debugging.

```markdown
## Tips

- The number one Makefile bug: using spaces instead of tabs for indentation.
- SHA-256 is the standard for integrity checks. MD5 is fine for dedup but broken for cryptographic use.
- Never schedule critical cron jobs between 1:00-3:00 AM if DST applies.

Rules:

• 5-10 bullets
• Each tip is a standalone insight (no dependencies on other tips)
• Prioritize gotchas and non-obvious behavior over basic advice
• No "always use best practices" platitudes

Skill Types and Templates

CLI Tool Reference

For skills about a specific tool or command family.

---
name: tool-name
description: [What tool does]. Use when [scenario 1], [scenario 2].
metadata: {"clawdbot":{"emoji":"🔧","requires":{"anyBins":["tool-name"]}}}
---

# Tool Name

[One paragraph: what it does and why you'd use it.]

## When to Use
- [4-6 scenarios]

## Quick Reference
[Most common commands with examples]

## Common Operations
### [Operation 1]
### [Operation 2]

## Advanced Patterns
### [Pattern 1]

## Troubleshooting
### [Common error and fix]

## Tips

Language/Framework Reference

For skills about patterns in a specific language or framework.

---
name: pattern-name
description: [Pattern] in [language/framework]. Use when [scenario 1], [scenario 2].
metadata: {"clawdbot":{"emoji":"📐","requires":{"anyBins":["runtime"]}}}
---

# Pattern Name

## When to Use

## Quick Reference
[Cheat sheet / syntax summary]

## Patterns
### [Pattern 1 — with full example]
### [Pattern 2 — with full example]

## Cross-Language Comparison (if applicable)

## Anti-Patterns
[What NOT to do, with explanation]

## Tips

Workflow/Process Guide

For skills about multi-step processes.

---
name: workflow-name
description: [Workflow description]. Use when [scenario 1], [scenario 2].
metadata: {"clawdbot":{"emoji":"🔄","requires":{"anyBins":["tool1","tool2"]}}}
---

# Workflow Name

## When to Use

## Prerequisites
[What needs to be set up first]

## Step-by-Step
### Step 1: [Action]
### Step 2: [Action]
### Step 3: [Action]

## Variations
### [Variation for different context]

## Troubleshooting

## Tips

Anti-Patterns

Too abstract

# BAD
## Error Handling
Error handling is important for robust applications. You should always
handle errors properly to prevent unexpected crashes...

# GOOD
## Error Handling
```bash
# Bash: exit on any error
set -euo pipefail

# Trap for cleanup on exit
trap 'rm -f "$TMPFILE"' EXIT

### Too narrow

```markdown
# BAD: Only useful for one specific case
---
name: react-useeffect-cleanup
description: How to clean up useEffect hooks in React
---

# GOOD: Broad enough to be a real reference
---
name: react-hooks
description: React hooks patterns. Use when working with useState, useEffect, useCallback, useMemo, custom hooks, or debugging hook-related issues.
---

Wall of text without examples

If any section goes more than 10 lines without a code block, it's too text-heavy. Break it up with examples.

Missing cross-references

If your skill mentions another tool or concept that has its own skill, note it:

# For Docker networking issues, see the `container-debug` skill.
# For regex syntax details, see the `regex-patterns` skill.

Outdated commands

Verify every command works on current tool versions. Common traps:

• Docker Compose: docker-compose (v1) vs. docker compose (v2)
• Python: pip vs. pip3, python vs. python3
• Node.js: CommonJS (require) vs. ESM (import)

Size Guidelines

A skill under 150 lines probably lacks examples. A skill over 700 lines should be split into two skills.

Publishing Checklist

Before publishing, verify:

1. Frontmatter is valid YAML — test by pasting into a YAML validator
2. Description starts with what the skill does — not "This skill..." or "A skill for..."
3. Every section has at least one code block — no text-only sections in the main content
4. Commands actually work — test in a clean environment
5. No placeholder values left — search for TODO, FIXME, example.com used as real URLs
6. Slug is available — npx molthub@latest search "your-slug" returns no exact match
7. requires.anyBins lists real dependencies — tools the skill's commands actually invoke
8. Tips section exists — with 5+ actionable, non-obvious bullets

Publishing

# Publish a new skill
npx molthub@latest publish ./skills/my-skill \
  --slug my-skill \
  --name "My Skill" \
  --version 1.0.0 \
  --changelog "Initial release"

# Update an existing skill
npx molthub@latest publish ./skills/my-skill \
  --slug my-skill \
  --name "My Skill" \
  --version 1.1.0 \
  --changelog "Added new section on X"

# Verify it's published
npx molthub@latest search "my-skill"

Tips

• The description field is your skill's search ranking. Spend more time on it than any single content section. Include the specific verbs and nouns users would search for.
• Lead with the most common use case. If 80% of users need "how to encode Base64", put that before "how to convert between MessagePack and CBOR."
• Every code example should be copy-pasteable. If it needs setup that isn't shown, add the setup.
• Write for the agent, not the human. The agent needs unambiguous instructions it can follow step by step. Avoid "you might want to consider" — say "do X when Y."
• Test your skill by asking an agent to use it on a real task. If the agent can't follow the instructions to produce a correct result, the skill needs work.
• Prefer bash code blocks for commands, even in language-specific skills. The agent often operates via shell, and bash blocks signal "run this."
• Don't duplicate what --help already provides. Focus on patterns, combinations, and the non-obvious things that --help doesn't teach.
• Version your skills semantically: patch for typo fixes, minor for new sections, major for restructures. The registry tracks version history.