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I make skills for «this is how I like to do things in this company / project». Query test database, git branch names, commit message style, which cloud things c
by pletnes 19d ago
I make skills for «this is how I like to do things in this company / project». Query test database, git branch names, commit message style, which cloud things can be inspected like logs etc. I don’t see the point in trying to teach the models things that is in the documentation of git, python, what have you. They already know.
- stanmancan 19d agoIsn’t that what the agents.md in your project is for?
- paool 19d agoI try to keep agents/Claude.md as tiny as possible. With high level "truths" that don't change. Stack used, invariants, file structure, and some scripts. Skills are more for things you do often. I run mutation tests, type check,linting,etc. I _could_ just prompt and copy/paste the same prompt each time I need to, or I can just run /tests. I also have skills for specialized tasks I need every once in a while, like a ux skill, a text skill optimized for xyz, etc.
- jpalomaki 19d agoDepends on how much information and details you have. The agents.md always goes into context. Detailed testing or process information might be excessive, when agent is working on UI. Skills are pulled when needed.
- distances 19d agoI handle the context problem by splitting the details to dozens of small md files. Agents.md acts as a router that directs the llm to correct documentation file/folder according to the task at hand. This documentation is its own git repo, and the agents.md file has an explicit instruction to update the docs when it has learned something general that can be useful in future sessions. I then occasionally review and prune those docs.
- oakesm9 19d agoThat's exactly what skills do. The description in the front-matter (at the top of the skill markdown file) is the only thing in the context and used by the agent to determine when to read in the rest of the skill file.
- jve 19d agoSkills are evaluated by short description whether to read them into context. Skills itself may be lengthy so...
- jbeninger 19d agoIt's possible I invented skills before they were common. I've always had some instructions in agents.md that are something like "when working with typescript, read prompts/conventions.ts.md, when working with our fooBar module, read prompts/foobar.md" I'm not sure if this differs greatly from skills. Maybe my wording makes these "skills" less likely to be read at the correct times, but I haven't seen an issue.
- notatoad 19d agoyes, it is. it's almost exactly the same thing. skills are just an agents.md broken up into chunks so you can manage and share them separately. unfortunately there's no real good workflow for managing or sharing them separately, so most people end up treating them exactly the same way they do agents.md.
- chachachainsaw 17d agoMost guidance I’ve read, and experienced success with, is keeping a lean agents.md file and building out a tree of docs or skills that an agent can navigate via progressive disclosure.