writing-instructions SKILL.md skillA
This file is byte-identical to the first copy the registry indexed. Same content hash, so the same checks give both the same grade.
writing-instructions from oaustegard/claude-skills is an agent skill: a SKILL.md folder an AI agent loads when a task calls for it.
mdr add oaustegard/claude-skills/writing-instructions@v0.3.0Pins v0.3.0 in mdr.lock. Pin the fingerprint instead.
- Audit grade
- A, 17 of 17 checks passed
- Kind
- SKILL.md skill
- Repository
- oaustegard/claude-skills
- Path
plugins/skill-development/skills/writing-instructions/SKILL.md- Versions recorded
- 3
- Latest version
- v0.3.0, committed Sep 9, 2026
- First version recorded
- Jul 25, 2026
- Size
- 11,566 bytes
- Repository stars
- 158
- License
- MIT
Sentence-level and section-level craft for instructions Claude will actually follow, in any container — project instructions, a standalone prompt, or skill body text. Use when the text exists or is being drafted and the question is quality: "why is Claude ignoring this instruction", "rewrite this prompt so it works", "improve my project instructions", "make this instruction stick", "is this too prescriptive", "how much structure does Sonnet need versus Opus". Covers imperative construction…
Collected from public GitHub. Every version is saved exactly as it was and never changes. Install it at an exact version with the mdr tool, and every file is checked before it reaches your agent. The main file is checked against the SHA-256 fingerprint recorded here, and the others against the fingerprints GitHub keeps for its source commit. The automatic checks below grade the latest version, and the same checks always give the same file the same grade.
What the file says
# Writing Instructions for Claude Principles and patterns for writing instructions that Claude follows reliably — whether as project instructions, standalone prompts, or skill content. **Overlap notice.** `crafting-instructions` carries the same five core principles and a fuller format-decision framework. The two were written independently and never reconciled; a 2026-08-24 retrieval measurement put their descriptions at 0.843 cosine, the most confusable pair in the 92-skill catalogue. Until they are merged, this skill owns **writing quality** and `crafting-instructions` owns the **format decision**. ## Choosing the Right Format Determine format before writing. The wrong container undermines good instructions. **Project instructions** — persistent context for a workspace. Use when all conversations in a project need shared knowledge, team collaboration context, or initiative-specific behavior. Signals: "for this project," "all conversations about X," "team workspace." Read [references/project-instructions.md](references/project-instructions.md) for detailed guidance. …
Read the whole file at its exact version.
How to install
mdr add oaustegard/claude-skills/writing-instructions@sha256:26c4c04cf40fbe44The line at the top of this page pins the label v0.3.0, which is what most people want. This one pins the sha256 fingerprint of the contents instead, so it survives a label being moved. Either way the exact version is written to mdr.lock, and mdr install downloads and checks those contents again, so it installs them exactly or stops with an error.
[](https://markdownregistry.com/a/art_pqxptk4xvepjrqw2)
4 badge image fetches in 30 days. What the badge shows.
Versions
The registry has recorded 3 versions of this file, between Jul 25, 2026 and Sep 9, 2026, about one every 23 days.
| version | committed | commit | size | audit | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| v0.3.0 latest | 2026-09-09 | 5e58100 | 11,566 B | A | view · diff |
| v0.2.0 | 2026-08-25 | 955c1d2 | 11,852 B | A | view · diff |
| v0.1.0 | 2026-07-25 | 4b31e7d | 11,025 B | A | view |
Audit of the latest version
- pass: Frontmatter block present
- pass: Frontmatter declares a name
- pass: Frontmatter declares a description
- pass: Size between 200 bytes and 200 KB (11566 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 instruction to read or print local credentials
- pass: No base64 blob over 200 characters
- pass: No link to a raw IP address
- pass: No script tag
Source
oaustegard/claude-skills · 158 stars · license MIT · pushed 2026-11-07 · branch main
API
GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/artifacts/art_pqxptk4xvepjrqw2 GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/resolve?ref=oaustegard/claude-skills/writing-instructions GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/blob/26c4c04cf40fbe44ed4f48808d0c102c18cd98bcffc80c8f6ce9b6e877721011
Your AI assistant 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.
Guides: the SKILL.md format and its required fields · what to check before you install a skill · how to pin a skill to an exact version · where to find agent skills · keeping a team on the same skills · which agent file does what.
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