ag-cortex 0.1.0

package/.agent/skills/create-agent-skills/references/best-practices.md

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+# Skill Authoring Best Practices
+
+Source: [platform.agent.com/docs/en/agents-and-tools/agent-skills/best-practices](https://platform.agent.com/docs/en/agents-and-tools/agent-skills/best-practices)
+
+## Core Principles
+
+### Concise is Key
+
+The context window is a public good. Your Skill shares the context window with everything else Antigravity needs to know.
+
+**Default assumption**: Antigravity is already very smart. Only add context Antigravity doesn't already have.
+
+Challenge each piece of information:
+- "Does Antigravity really need this explanation?"
+- "Can I assume Antigravity knows this?"
+- "Does this paragraph justify its token cost?"
+
+**Good example (concise, ~50 tokens):**
+```markdown
+## Extract PDF text
+
+Use pdfplumber for text extraction:
+
+```python
+import pdfplumber
+with pdfplumber.open("file.pdf") as pdf:
+    text = pdf.pages[0].extract_text()
+```
+```
+
+**Bad example (too verbose, ~150 tokens):**
+```markdown
+## Extract PDF text
+
+PDF (Portable Document Format) files are a common file format that contains
+text, images, and other content. To extract text from a PDF, you'll need to
+use a library. There are many libraries available...
+```
+
+### Set Appropriate Degrees of Freedom
+
+Match specificity to task fragility and variability.
+
+**High freedom** (multiple valid approaches):
+```markdown
+## Code review process
+
+1. Analyze the code structure and organization
+2. Check for potential bugs or edge cases
+3. Suggest improvements for readability
+4. Verify adherence to project conventions
+```
+
+**Medium freedom** (preferred pattern with variation):
+```markdown
+## Generate report
+
+Use this template and customize as needed:
+
+```python
+def generate_report(data, format="markdown"):
+    # Process data
+    # Generate output in specified format
+```
+```
+
+**Low freedom** (fragile, exact sequence required):
+```markdown
+## Database migration
+
+Run exactly this script:
+
+```bash
+python scripts/migrate.py --verify --backup
+```
+
+Do not modify the command or add flags.
+```
+
+### Test With All Models
+
+Skills act as additions to models. Test with Haiku, Sonnet, and Opus.
+
+- **Haiku**: Does the Skill provide enough guidance?
+- **Sonnet**: Is the Skill clear and efficient?
+- **Opus**: Does the Skill avoid over-explaining?
+
+## Naming Conventions
+
+Use **gerund form** (verb + -ing) for Skill names:
+
+**Good:**
+- `processing-pdfs`
+- `analyzing-spreadsheets`
+- `managing-databases`
+- `testing-code`
+- `writing-documentation`
+
+**Acceptable alternatives:**
+- Noun phrases: `pdf-processing`, `spreadsheet-analysis`
+- Action-oriented: `process-pdfs`, `analyze-spreadsheets`
+
+**Avoid:**
+- Vague: `helper`, `utils`, `tools`
+- Generic: `documents`, `data`, `files`
+- Reserved: `antigravity-*`, `agent-*`
+
+## Writing Effective Descriptions
+
+**Always write in third person.** The description is injected into the system prompt.
+
+**Be specific and include key terms:**
+
+```yaml
+# PDF Processing skill
+description: Extract text and tables from PDF files, fill forms, merge documents. Use when working with PDF files or when the user mentions PDFs, forms, or document extraction.
+
+# Excel Analysis skill
+description: Analyze Excel spreadsheets, create pivot tables, generate charts. Use when analyzing Excel files, spreadsheets, tabular data, or .xlsx files.
+
+# Git Commit Helper skill
+description: Generate descriptive commit messages by analyzing git diffs. Use when the user asks for help writing commit messages or reviewing staged changes.
+```
+
+**Avoid vague descriptions:**
+```yaml
+description: Helps with documents  # Too vague!
+description: Processes data       # Too generic!
+description: Does stuff with files # Useless!
+```
+
+## Progressive Disclosure Patterns
+
+### Pattern 1: High-level guide with references
+
+```markdown
+---
+name: pdf-processing
+description: Extracts text and tables from PDF files, fills forms, merges documents.
+---
+
+# PDF Processing
+
+## Quick start
+
+```python
+import pdfplumber
+with pdfplumber.open("file.pdf") as pdf:
+    text = pdf.pages[0].extract_text()
+```
+
+## Advanced features
+
+**Form filling**: See [FORMS.md](FORMS.md)
+**API reference**: See [REFERENCE.md](REFERENCE.md)
+**Examples**: See [EXAMPLES.md](EXAMPLES.md)
+```
+
+### Pattern 2: Domain-specific organization
+
+```
+bigquery-skill/
+├── SKILL.md (overview and navigation)
+└── reference/
+    ├── finance.md (revenue, billing)
+    ├── sales.md (opportunities, pipeline)
+    ├── product.md (API usage, features)
+    └── marketing.md (campaigns, attribution)
+```
+
+### Pattern 3: Conditional details
+
+```markdown
+# DOCX Processing
+
+## Creating documents
+
+Use docx-js for new documents. See [DOCX-JS.md](DOCX-JS.md).
+
+## Editing documents
+
+For simple edits, modify the XML directly.
+
+**For tracked changes**: See [REDLINING.md](REDLINING.md)
+**For OOXML details**: See [OOXML.md](OOXML.md)
+```
+
+## Keep References One Level Deep
+
+Antigravity may partially read files when they're referenced from other referenced files.
+
+**Bad (too deep):**
+```markdown
+# SKILL.md
+See [advanced.md](advanced.md)...
+
+# advanced.md
+See [details.md](details.md)...
+
+# details.md
+Here's the actual information...
+```
+
+**Good (one level deep):**
+```markdown
+# SKILL.md
+
+**Basic usage**: [in SKILL.md]
+**Advanced features**: See [advanced.md](advanced.md)
+**API reference**: See [reference.md](reference.md)
+**Examples**: See [examples.md](examples.md)
+```
+
+## Workflows and Feedback Loops
+
+### Workflow with Checklist
+
+```markdown
+## Research synthesis workflow
+
+Copy this checklist:
+
+```
+- [ ] Step 1: Read all source documents
+- [ ] Step 2: Identify key themes
+- [ ] Step 3: Cross-reference claims
+- [ ] Step 4: Create structured summary
+- [ ] Step 5: Verify citations
+```
+
+**Step 1: Read all source documents**
+
+Review each document in `sources/`. Note main arguments.
+...
+```
+
+### Feedback Loop Pattern
+
+```markdown
+## Document editing process
+
+1. Make your edits to `word/document.xml`
+2. **Validate immediately**: `python scripts/validate.py unpacked_dir/`
+3. If validation fails:
+   - Review the error message
+   - Fix the issues
+   - Run validation again
+4. **Only proceed when validation passes**
+5. Rebuild: `python scripts/pack.py unpacked_dir/ output.docx`
+```
+
+## Common Patterns
+
+### Template Pattern
+
+```markdown
+## Report structure
+
+Use this template:
+
+```markdown
+# [Analysis Title]
+
+## Executive summary
+[One-paragraph overview]
+
+## Key findings
+- Finding 1 with supporting data
+- Finding 2 with supporting data
+
+## Recommendations
+1. Specific actionable recommendation
+2. Specific actionable recommendation
+```
+```
+
+### Examples Pattern
+
+```markdown
+## Commit message format
+
+**Example 1:**
+Input: Added user authentication with JWT tokens
+Output:
+```
+feat(auth): implement JWT-based authentication
+
+Add login endpoint and token validation middleware
+```
+
+**Example 2:**
+Input: Fixed bug where dates displayed incorrectly
+Output:
+```
+fix(reports): correct date formatting in timezone conversion
+```
+```
+
+### Conditional Workflow Pattern
+
+```markdown
+## Document modification
+
+1. Determine the modification type:
+
+   **Creating new content?** → Follow "Creation workflow"
+   **Editing existing?** → Follow "Editing workflow"
+
+2. Creation workflow:
+   - Use docx-js library
+   - Build document from scratch
+
+3. Editing workflow:
+   - Unpack existing document
+   - Modify XML directly
+   - Validate after each change
+```
+
+## Content Guidelines
+
+### Avoid Time-Sensitive Information
+
+**Bad:**
+```markdown
+If you're doing this before August 2025, use the old API.
+```
+
+**Good:**
+```markdown
+## Current method
+
+Use the v2 API endpoint: `api.example.com/v2/messages`
+
+## Old patterns
+
+<details>
+<summary>Legacy v1 API (deprecated 2025-08)</summary>
+The v1 API used: `api.example.com/v1/messages`
+</details>
+```
+
+### Use Consistent Terminology
+
+**Good - Consistent:**
+- Always "API endpoint"
+- Always "field"
+- Always "extract"
+
+**Bad - Inconsistent:**
+- Mix "API endpoint", "URL", "API route", "path"
+- Mix "field", "box", "element", "control"
+
+## Anti-Patterns to Avoid
+
+### Windows-Style Paths
+
+- **Good**: `scripts/helper.py`, `reference/guide.md`
+- **Avoid**: `scripts\helper.py`, `reference\guide.md`
+
+### Too Many Options
+
+**Bad:**
+```markdown
+You can use pypdf, or pdfplumber, or PyMuPDF, or pdf2image, or...
+```
+
+**Good:**
+```markdown
+Use pdfplumber for text extraction:
+```python
+import pdfplumber
+```
+
+For scanned PDFs requiring OCR, use pdf2image with pytesseract instead.
+```
+
+## Checklist for Effective Skills
+
+### Core Quality
+- [ ] Description is specific and includes key terms
+- [ ] Description includes both what and when
+- [ ] SKILL.md body under 500 lines
+- [ ] Additional details in separate files
+- [ ] No time-sensitive information
+- [ ] Consistent terminology
+- [ ] Examples are concrete
+- [ ] References one level deep
+- [ ] Progressive disclosure used appropriately
+- [ ] Workflows have clear steps
+
+### Code and Scripts
+- [ ] Scripts handle errors explicitly
+- [ ] No "voodoo constants" (all values justified)
+- [ ] Required packages listed
+- [ ] Scripts have clear documentation
+- [ ] No Windows-style paths
+- [ ] Validation steps for critical operations
+- [ ] Feedback loops for quality-critical tasks
+
+### Testing
+- [ ] At least three test scenarios
+- [ ] Tested with Haiku, Sonnet, and Opus
+- [ ] Tested with real usage scenarios
+- [ ] Team feedback incorporated