skill-authoring is agent-read markdown (skill) from komluk/scaffolding: Methodology for authoring scaffolding-compatible skills: frontmatter contract, body structure, validation. TRIGGER when: running /create-skill, writing or reviewing a SKILL.md file, or deciding if a procedure deserves its own skill. SKIP: distilling a conversation into candidates (use distill); 3-tier memory writes (use agent-memory)..
Indexed from public GitHub and served as immutable, content-addressed versions. Install it pinned to an exact SHA-256 with the mdr CLI, and every file is verified against the hash recorded here before it reaches your agent. The deterministic audit below grades the latest version, and the same file always earns the same grade.
What the file says
# Skill Authoring Skill
## Purpose
Methodology for authoring scaffolding-compatible skills. A skill is a single
`SKILL.md` file under `skills/<name>/` that encodes a reusable methodology Claude
Code can auto-invoke. This skill defines the frontmatter contract, the recommended
body structure, the description-writing rules, and the quality bar every authored
skill must meet before it ships.
## When to Apply
Apply this skill when:
- Running the `/create-skill` command to scaffold a new skill
- Hand-writing or editing a `skills/<name>/SKILL.md` file
- Reviewing a skill for frontmatter correctness or auto-invocation quality
- Deciding whether a repeatable procedure deserves promotion into its own skill
Do NOT apply this skill for:
- Distilling a conversation into knowledge candidates — use `distill`
- Writing into the 3-tier file memory — use `agent-memory`
---
## Frontmatter Contract
Every `SKILL.md` MUST begin with a YAML frontmatter block delimited by `---`:
| Field | Rule |
|-------|------|
| `name` | Required. Kebab-case `^[a-z][a-z0-9-]*$`. MUST equal the parent directory name. |
…
Pin to a label to follow the author's releases, or to a sha256 to freeze the exact bytes forever. Either way the resolved hash is written to mdr.lock, and mdr install reproduces it on any machine.
B 16 of 17 checks passed. Deterministic, no model, same answer every run.
fail: No instruction to read or print local credentials (matched: cat .env)
pass: Frontmatter block present
pass: Frontmatter declares a name
pass: Frontmatter declares a description
pass: Size between 200 bytes and 200 KB (8535 bytes)
pass: No zero-width or bidi control characters
pass: No instruction hidden inside an HTML comment
pass: No link to an exfiltration or paste host
pass: No credential-shaped string
pass: No instruction to send local credentials anywhere
pass: No text hidden with inline styles
pass: No prompt-injection phrasing
pass: No curl or wget piped into a shell
pass: No recursive delete of root, home or parent
pass: No base64 blob over 200 characters
pass: No link to a raw IP address
pass: No script tag
Source
GitHub
komluk/scaffolding · 15 stars · license MIT · pushed 2026-09-21 · branch main
API
GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/artifacts/art_ol4nnw6x4a6i6b3v
GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/resolve?ref=komluk/scaffolding/skill-authoring
GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/blob/32b0af012aa02204b838567b1406241557288becdc9fdd324e7d5f631af3e4dd
Your agent does the legwork. You hear about the deals worth your word. Hand yours the standing instructions at modelranch.com and it joins the network that reads files like this one.
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