Create a LaunchDarkly Skill

You're using a skill that will guide you through adding a new skill to the LaunchDarkly agent-skills repository. Your job is to explore existing skills to understand the patterns, assess what the new skill needs, create it following conventions, and verify it validates correctly.

Prerequisites

• Access to the LaunchDarkly agent-skills repo (or a fork)
• Understanding of the workflow you want to encode
• Python 3.x (for validation scripts)

Core Principles

1. Explore First: Look at existing skills before creating. Match their structure and style.
2. Job to Be Done: Every skill should clearly state what job it helps accomplish.
3. References for Details: Keep SKILL.md focused on the workflow. Move deep content to references/.
4. Validate Before Commit: Run validation scripts to catch issues.

Workflow

Step 1: Explore Existing Skills

Before creating anything, understand how skills are structured in this repo.

1. Browse the skills directory.

   • Look at skills/feature-flags/ and other categories
   • Note the directory layout: skills/<category>/<skill-name>/
   • Each skill has SKILL.md and optionally references/, README.md, marketplace.json

2. Read 1–2 similar skills.

   • If adding a feature-flag skill, read launchdarkly-flag-create or launchdarkly-flag-cleanup
   • If adding an AI-config skill, read those under ai-configs/ if present
   • Observe: job-to-be-done intro, workflow steps, Core Principles, Edge Cases, What NOT to Do, References

3. Check the template.

   • Read template/SKILL.md.template for the expected structure
   • The template reflects the workflow-based pattern used across skills

See Skill Structure for the full structure guide.

Step 2: Assess What's Needed

Based on the user's request and your exploration:

1. Choose category and name.

   • Category: feature-flags, ai-configs, skill-authoring, or new category
   • Name: lowercase, hyphens only, under 64 chars (e.g., my-new-skill)
   • Directory: skills/<category>/<skill-name>/

2. Identify the job to be done.

   • What does the user want to accomplish?
   • What should the agent explore, assess, and verify?
   • What references will the skill need?

3. Plan the workflow.

   • Step 1: Explore (what to look for)
   • Step 2: Assess (decision table or logic)
   • Step 3: Execute (with references)
   • Step 4: Verify (what the agent actually does)

See Frontmatter & Metadata for required fields.

Step 3: Create the Skill

1. Create the directory.

   skills/<category>/<skill-name>/
   

2. Create SKILL.md.

   • Copy template/SKILL.md.template into the new directory
   • Fill in frontmatter: name (must match folder name), description, compatibility, metadata
   • Write the job-to-be-done intro and workflow steps
   • Link to references for detailed content
   • Keep SKILL.md under 500 lines

3. Add references.

   • Create references/ directory
   • Add reference files for implementation details, API patterns, decision guides
   • Link from SKILL.md

4. Add supporting files (optional).

   • README.md — short description, link to SKILL.md
   • marketplace.json — if publishing to a marketplace (see existing skills for format)

5. Update repo docs.

   • Add the skill to the table in README.md
   • If the skill requires specific tools, document them in the skill

See Skill Structure for file layout and content guidelines.

Step 4: Update the Catalog

Regenerate the skills catalog so the new skill is discoverable:

python3 scripts/generate_catalog.py

This updates skills.json. Commit the updated file with your new skill.

Step 5: Verify

Confirm the skill is valid and complete:

1. Run validation:

   python3 scripts/validate_skills.py
   

   Fix any reported errors (frontmatter, naming, length limits).

2. Run tests (if present):

   python3 -m unittest discover -s tests
   

3. Check structure:

   • SKILL.md exists and has valid frontmatter
   • name in frontmatter matches directory name
   • References are linked and exist
   • README.md table includes the new skill

4. Report results:

   • ✓ Skill created and validates
   • ✓ Catalog updated
   • ⚠️ Flag any validation issues or missing pieces

Edge Cases

Situation	Action
name doesn't match folder name	Fix folder name or frontmatter so they match exactly
SKILL.md over 500 lines	Move detailed content into references/
Category doesn't exist	Create skills/<new-category>/ and add the skill
Marketplace.json needed	Copy format from launchdarkly-flag-create/marketplace.json
Validation fails	Fix the specific error (often frontmatter or naming)
Catalog not regenerated	Run python3 scripts/generate_catalog.py before commit

What NOT to Do

• Don't create a skill without exploring existing ones first
• Don't put long implementation details in SKILL.md — use references
• Don't forget to run validate_skills.py before committing
• Don't skip updating README.md and the catalog
• Don't use internal-only links or tools unless the skill is internal-only

References

• Skill Structure — File layout, workflow pattern, content guidelines
• Frontmatter & Metadata — Required fields, naming rules, versioning