What does this skill do?

Writing Skills helps an agent create, edit, and verify reusable skills — the reference guides that teach techniques, patterns, and tools. It applies test-driven development to skill documentation.

Its core principle: if you didn't watch an agent fail without the skill, you don't know whether the skill teaches the right thing. It maps the RED-GREEN-REFACTOR cycle onto documentation — baseline the failure, write the minimal skill, then close loopholes.

It covers SKILL.md structure and frontmatter rules, Skill Discovery Optimization (triggering-condition descriptions and keyword coverage), token efficiency, and bulletproofing discipline skills against rationalization.

  • Applies TDD (RED-GREEN-REFACTOR) to writing skills

  • Specifies SKILL.md frontmatter and body structure

  • Optimizes skills for discovery and token efficiency

  • Closes rationalization loopholes in discipline skills

How it works

1

Baseline the failure (RED)

The agent runs a pressure scenario without the skill and documents the exact failing behavior and rationalizations verbatim.

2

Write the minimal skill (GREEN)

It writes a minimal skill addressing those specific failures, with valid frontmatter and a triggering-condition description, then verifies compliance.

3

Close loopholes (REFACTOR)

It identifies new rationalizations, adds explicit counters, and re-tests until the skill is bulletproof.

4

Optimize for discovery

It tunes naming, keyword coverage, and token efficiency so future agents can find and load the skill correctly.

Best use cases for this skill

  • New skills: Create a reusable skill with a failing test first.

  • Editing skills: Revise an existing skill without breaking its intent.

  • Discovery tuning: Improve a skill's description and keywords so agents find it.

  • Discipline skills: Bulletproof a rule-enforcing skill against rationalization.

Frequently asked questions

What does the Writing Skills skill do?

It helps an agent create, edit, and verify reusable agent skills, applying test-driven development to skill documentation so a skill demonstrably changes behavior before deployment.

When should an agent use it?

Use it when creating new skills, editing existing skills, or verifying that skills work before deployment.

What is its core rule?

No skill without a failing test first — if you didn't watch an agent fail without the skill, you don't know if the skill teaches the right thing.

Does it cover skill discovery?

Yes. It covers Skill Discovery Optimization — triggering-condition descriptions, keyword coverage, verb-first naming, and token efficiency.

Use from source

Ask your Buda agent to install this community skill.

Copy this prompt into your own Buda agent. It includes the source repository and install command so the agent can complete the setup in natural language.

Prompt to send to your Buda agent
Please install the "Writing Skills (Skill Authoring)" skill into this Buda agent.

Source repository: https://github.com/obra/superpowers
Install command: npx skills add obra/superpowers --skill writing-skills -y -a universal

Please run the install command, verify the skill is available, and tell me any setup notes or follow-up steps from the source repository.
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Install workflow

  1. 1Copy the prompt
  2. 2Send it to your Buda agent
  3. 3Done