When should I avoid creating a skill?

Do not create skills for one-off solutions, project-specific conventions, or standard practices that are already well-documented elsewhere.

Why do I need a failing test first?

Without a baseline failure, you cannot verify if the skill actually improves agent performance or if the agent is simply rationalizing its behavior.

How do I test a skill with subagents?

Create pressure scenarios where the agent is likely to fail, document the baseline error, then introduce the skill to verify it consistently fixes the issue.

What is TDD for skills?

It is the application of Test-Driven Development principles to documentation, requiring you to witness an agent failure before writing the instruction to fix it.

Skill Authoring TDD

Name: Skill Authoring TDD
Author: NickCrew

byNickCrew

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Learning & Documentation

Standardizes the creation of robust AI skills through a Test-Driven Development approach to ensure agent compliance.

The Writing Skills plugin implements a rigorous 'RED-GREEN-REFACTOR' workflow specifically designed for creating AI process documentation and agent instructions. By requiring developers to witness agent failure in pressure scenarios before writing any documentation, it ensures that every skill addresses a specific, observed failure mode. This methodology eliminates agent rationalization, closes logical loopholes, and results in bulletproof, high-performance skills for Claude Code and other agentic systems.

Key Features

01Structured organization for technique and pattern skills

02Mandatory verification and deployment checklists

03Anti-rationalization loophole closing

047 GitHub stars

05RED-GREEN-REFACTOR documentation workflow

06Baseline behavior testing using subagents

Use Cases

01Creating new domain-specific AI skills for Claude Code

02Fixing inconsistent agent behavior in complex technical workflows

03Verifying documentation efficacy through pressure testing before deployment

What are Skills?·How to Install

Install with 🐟 Skill.Fish

npx skillfish add nickcrew/claude-cortex writing-skills

For use in Claude.ai and ChatGPT

Download Skill