skill-creationlisted

# Skill Creation ## What is a skill? Injected procedural knowledge -- the "how" for agents. The agent brings identity and domain knowledge. The skill brings process and protocol. They never duplicate each other. ## Step 1: Choose the type Type determines structure. Choose before writing anything. | Type | Purpose | When it applies | |------|---------|-----------------| | **Discipline** | Enforces rules the agent will rationalize around under pressure | command-execution, execution | | **Technique** | How to think about or approach a class of problem | investigation, approval | | **Reference** | Lookup tables, classifications, format specifications | security-tiers, fast-queries, git-conventions | | **Domain** | Project-specific patterns for a technical area | gaia-patterns | | **Protocol** | System operating contract -- state machines, mandatory formats | agent-protocol | ## Step 1.5: Situate the skill in its flow With the type chosen, place the skill before you structure it: where it lives in a flow, and what it can affect. Treat these as one gate with two coupled facets -- position is what sets blast radius. - **Position.** Is the skill *standalone* (a self-contained process run from a clean start), or does it run *mid-flow* -- sometimes after many skills have already executed -- with an upstream that hands it state and a downstream that consumes what it emits? - **Blast radius.** What does the skill's output touch or trigger? A standalone technique's reach ends at