How to write a Skill
When to write skills:
- Repeated task that need to be done the same every time.
- Domain specific information, such as terminology, runbooks and style guides.
- Specifications, schemas and configurations
- Failure cases and their resolutions.
When not to write skills:
- One-off tasks: Use Chat Messages and describe to an AI Agent what you want instead.
- Instructions for every conversation: Use channel instructions instead.
How to write a Skill:
- Choose a unique name
- Write a short description (one or two sentences) of what this skill does and when it should be used
- Write the skill content using short sentences and a limited amount of lines
- Test your skill repeatedly
- Move what should be put in a separate skill
- Remove what can be cut
Tips
- Moderate detail: Not too comprehensive, but also not too exhaustive. Border cases can be put in separate skills.
- Stepwise guidance, preferable with working example.
- Keep instructions under 500 lines or 5000 tokens.
- Tell when to perform an action