Creating Skills

import { FileTree } from “@astrojs/starlight/components”;

When to Create a Skill

Create a skill when you find yourself giving the same multi-step instructions repeatedly. Skills are the cheapest way to extend GHOST — no code changes, no recompilation. Just a markdown file.

Examples of good skill candidates:

• A code review checklist you always follow
• A specific research methodology for your domain
• A report format you want GHOST to produce consistently

Skill Format

Each skill lives in $WORKSPACE/skills/<name>/skill.md with YAML frontmatter:

skills/my-skill/skill.md

---
name: my-skill
description: >
  One-line description that helps the GHOST decide when to use this skill. Must be
  specific enough to trigger on relevant queries.
---

# Skill Instructions

Step-by-step workflow for the GHOST to follow.

1. First, do this
2. Then check that
3. Finally, produce this output

Caution

The description field is critical — it appears in the system prompt and determines when the GHOST reads the full skill. A weak description means the skill never triggers.

Directory Structure

Skills can include supporting files:

• skills/my-skill/
  • skill.md Main skill definition
  • scripts/ Optional helper scripts
  • references/ Optional reference material
  • assets/ Optional static assets

How Discovery Works

Skills are scanned at startup. Their names and descriptions are listed in the system prompt. When a conversation matches a skill’s triggers, the GHOST reads the full skill file before responding.

Let GHOST Create Skills

Your GHOST can create skills for itself using the skill-creator skill. If it notices a repeating pattern in your interactions, it can formalize it — or you can ask it to:

“Create a skill for the way we do weekly planning”