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Skill

Plain-Language Definition

A skill is a reusable recipe that an agent can follow step-by-step to accomplish a specific task. Unlike a template (which is a file blueprint), a skill is a procedure — “do step 1, then check X, then do step 2.” Skills make agents more capable by codifying expertise into repeatable instructions.

Technical Definition

A reusable agent procedure stored at how/skills/skill_{name}.md. Sections: purpose, prerequisites, steps, verification, rollback, notes. Skills are agent-executable (precise steps, verification checks); processes are human-readable (guidelines, decision trees). Skills are distinct from templates: templates define file structure, skills define task procedures. Skills can be promoted to lattice registry as lattice_type: skill. (aDNA Standard §19.3)

Usage Examples

  • This vault has 15 skills (13 base + 2 project-specific). skill_dual_audience_review is a quality gate skill: it walks the agent through checking whether a content file is legible to both developers and non-developers.
  • skill_onboarding fires automatically on first-run detection — when the vault has no session history and MANIFEST.md still shows last_edited_by: agent_init.

See Also