Skill Factory — Agent Skill Creator

Version: 1.1.0 | Author: Shadows Company | License: MIT

WHEN TO TRIGGER

• - User wants to create a new skill for their agent
• User says "create a skill", "make a skill", "new skill for..."
• Formalizing a recurring workflow into a reusable skill
• Publishing to ClawHub or any skill registry

WHEN NOT TO TRIGGER

• - User wants to use an existing skill
• One-time task that won't be repeated

PREREQUISITES

No binaries required. This skill generates SKILL.md files — pure text output. No external tools, runtimes, or dependencies needed to run the skill-factory itself.

SKILL ANATOMY

Every skill MUST have this structure:

CODEBLOCK0

CREATION PROCESS

Step 1 — Interview

Ask the user (exactly these 5 questions):

1. 1. What does the skill do? (core purpose in one sentence)
2. When should it trigger? (keywords, contexts, conditions)
3. What's the process? (steps the agent should follow)
4. What tools does it need? (binaries, APIs, environment variables)
5. What should it NEVER do? (constraints, safety rules)

Step 2 — Generate Frontmatter

CODEBLOCK1

Rules for frontmatter:

• - name: lowercase kebab-case, unique, descriptive
• INLINECODE1: must include trigger phrases for the agent to match
• INLINECODE2: single-line JSON (OpenClaw parser requirement)
• INLINECODE3: only include if external tools are strictly needed
• INLINECODE4: only include if API keys are needed
• INLINECODE5: include all three unless the skill is platform-specific

Step 3 — Write the Body

Structure the skill body following the anatomy above.

Quality checklist:

• - [ ] Clear trigger conditions (WHEN TO TRIGGER)
• [ ] Explicit exclusions (WHEN NOT TO TRIGGER)
• [ ] Prerequisites section listing all required and optional tools
• [ ] Step-by-step process (numbered phases)
• [ ] Concrete examples (code blocks, templates)
• [ ] Security considerations (commands, data access, network, credentials)
• [ ] Prioritized rules (numbered, most important first)
• [ ] Output format template
• [ ] No vague instructions ("do the right thing" = bad, "run pytest on all test files" = good)

Step 4 — Validate

Check the generated skill:

1. 1. Frontmatter parses as valid YAML
2. Metadata is valid single-line JSON
3. Description is under 200 characters
4. All mandatory sections are present (WHEN TO TRIGGER, WHEN NOT TO TRIGGER, PREREQUISITES, SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS, RULES)
5. Every instruction is concrete and unambiguous

Step 5 — Save and Test

CODEBLOCK2

SKILL QUALITY TIERS

COMMON PATTERNS

Pattern: Gate-based (sequential checks)

Pattern: Technique Selection (choose one approach)

Pattern: Multi-Round (iterative refinement)

Pattern: Interview-then-Execute

Phase 1: Ask 3-5 clarifying questions
Phase 2: Generate options
Phase 3: User selects
Phase 4: Execute selection

SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS

This skill generates text files (SKILL.md) only. It does not execute commands, read sensitive data, make network calls, or modify existing files. The generated skills should be reviewed by the user before publishing, as they may include shell commands in their instructions section. Zero risk from the skill-factory itself; standard review practices apply to generated output.

OUTPUT FORMAT

The output is a complete SKILL.md file written to skills/[skill-name]/SKILL.md, following the anatomy structure defined above.

RULES

1. 1. Unambiguous instructions — the agent must know exactly what to do at each step
2. Trigger phrases in description — this is how the agent matches skills to user requests
3. Single-line metadata JSON — OpenClaw parser requires metadata on one line
4. WHEN NOT TO TRIGGER is mandatory — prevents false activations
5. Test before publishing — try the skill in a real session before distributing