create-skill

${var} — A natural-language description of the skill to create. Required. Example: "monitor Hacker News for AI papers and send a summary" or "track gas prices on Ethereum and alert when below 10 gwei".

<!-- autoresearch: variation B — sharper output via PR-first workflow + quality enforcement + exit taxonomy + new-secret guard -->

If ${var} is empty, exit CREATE_SKILL_NO_VAR:

./notify "create-skill aborted: var empty — pass a description e.g. \"monitor X for Y\""

Then stop.

Today is ${today}. Your task is to generate a complete, production-ready skill from ${var}, score it against a quality bar, and ship it as a PR — never commit directly to main.

Steps

1. Parse the request. Extract from ${var}:

   • Core action verb (monitor, fetch, generate, analyze, alert, track, scan, etc.)
   • Data source(s) — APIs, websites, RSS, on-chain, GitHub, etc.
   • Output format — notification, article, file, PR, dashboard, etc.
   • Configurable parameter(s) the new skill will accept via its own ${var}
   • Suggested cadence (daily, hourly, weekly, on-demand)

   Save a one-paragraph structured request summary; you'll use it in the PR body.

2. Duplicate detection (deep — not just ls). Find functional overlap, not just name collision.

   keywords=$(echo "${var}" | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]' | grep -oE '[a-z]{4,}' \
     | grep -vE '^(send|with|from|that|this|when|each|into|over|some|like|just|than|then|also|will|have|been|using|monitor|track|fetch|alert)$' \
     | sort -u)
   for kw in $keywords; do
     grep -liE "$kw" skills/*/SKILL.md | head -5
   done
   

   Read the top 3 candidates fully. For each, judge: does it already do this? Could the request be solved by running an existing skill with a different var=?

   • Near-duplicate exists → exit CREATE_SKILL_DUPLICATE. Notify with the existing skill name and a one-line suggestion ("use existing {skill} with var={...} instead"). Stop.
   • Functionally adjacent → design the new skill to complement (different angle/cadence/output). Document the boundary in the PR body.

3. Research the data sources. For every API or data source the new skill needs:

   • WebSearch for the current API documentation. Cross-check against a secondary source when feasible (a recent GitHub repo using it, an official changelog, or a Stack Overflow answer dated ≥2026) to confirm the endpoint isn't deprecated.
   • WebFetch the canonical docs URL — record it as a comment in the SKILL.md and in the PR body's "Sources researched" section.
   • Identify exact endpoints, required headers, auth scheme, response schema, and rate limits.
   • Note every required environment variable / API key.
   • Determine fallback strategy when an optional API key isn't set (WebSearch / WebFetch / cached data / public endpoint).

   Research bar (soft): at least one confirmed source URL or exemplar (a working docs page or a public repo using the API). If none, do not hard-abort — log CREATE_SKILL_INSUFFICIENT_RESEARCH, ask the operator via ./notify with what was tried and why each source failed, and stop. The operator can re-dispatch with a clearer prompt or a source hint.

4. New-secret guard. Secrets values are never inspectable from the workflow — only names are listed. Use gh api repos/:owner/:repo/actions/secrets --jq '.secrets[].name' to read the names of secrets already configured (this endpoint returns names only, never values). Cross-reference with env-var usage in aeon.yml and existing workflows. For each env var the new skill needs:

   • Name present → continue.
   • Name missing → record as NEW_SECRET_REQUIRED. The generated skill must gracefully degrade or skip when the secret is absent (no hard crash). Add a ### Required secrets section to the PR body listing what the operator must add to GitHub Actions secrets before enabling.

   If the secret has no graceful fallback, the generated skill's step 1 must do:

   if [ -z "$VAR" ]; then ./notify "{skill} skipped: VAR not set"; exit 0; fi
   

5. Design the skill. Decide:

   • Skill name — lowercase, hyphenated, 2-3 words max (e.g., gas-alert, hn-papers). Must not collide with any existing entry under skills/.
   • Description — one sentence, starts with a verb, ≤90 chars.
   • Tags — pick from: content, crypto, dev, meta, news, research, social. Max 3.
   • Variable behavior — what ${var} controls; what happens when empty (sane default OR clean abort with notify).
   • Steps — 4-8 numbered, following the standard pattern: read context → fetch/search → process/analyze → write output → log → notify.
   • Schedule suggestion — choose a cron slot. Read existing schedules in aeon.yml; avoid co-scheduling at the same minute as heavy skills (article, repo-scanner, deep-research, telegram-digest) unless the new skill is lightweight (<30s expected). Prefer a :30 minute offset if the natural hour is already crowded.
   • Model - default claude-sonnet-5-5. Pick claude-haiku-5-5 if the skill is high-frequency aggregation/digestion (cost optimization), or claude-opus-5-5 if it needs the strongest reasoning. Document the choice in the PR body.
   • Category - the pack the skill joins. Pick exactly one of core evolution basics dev crypto productivity (the set scripts/check-skill-categories.sh enforces; anything else, or a missing category, fails CI). For a new user-facing skill that is usually basics, dev, crypto, or productivity. See docs/skill-packs.md.

6. Write the SKILL.md draft at skills/{skill-name}/SKILL.md with this exact structure:

   ---
   name: {skill-name}
   description: {One-sentence description starting with a verb}
   metadata:
     title: {Display Name}
     category: {category}
     var: ""
     tags:
       - {tag}
   ---
   > **${var}** — {What the variable controls}. {If-empty behavior}.
   
   Today is ${today}. {One sentence describing the task.}
   
   ## Steps
   
   1. **{Step title}.** {Specific instructions — endpoints, commands, formats.}
   
   2. **{Step title}.** {More instructions. Code blocks for curl/bash when relevant.}
   
   ...
   
   N-1. **Log.** Append to `memory/logs/${today}.md`:
   - Skill: {skill-name}
   - What was done and key outputs
   
   N. **Notify.** Send via `./notify`:
   {Output format template — specify ≤4000 chars, clickable URLs}
   
   ## Network note
   
   {How this skill reaches the network — ./secretcurl with an {ENV_NAME} placeholder for auth'd APIs, gh api for GitHub, curl + WebFetch fallback for public}
   

   Hard rules for the generated content:

   • Complete curl commands with proper headers and URL encoding (no pseudo-code).
   • jq parsing for JSON APIs.
   • Notification character limit explicitly stated (under 4000 chars total).
   • Every link clickable (full URLs, not placeholders).
   • Fallback behavior defined for every optional secret.
   • Use only ${var} and ${today} template variables — no other invented variables.
   • No TODOs, no placeholders, no "fill in later".
   • Mandatory ## Network note section (accurate model — see the ## Network note in this skill for the canonical wording; there is no network sandbox).

7. Quality enforcement (self-edit pass). Score the draft 1-5 across:

   Criterion	What to check
   Frontmatter complete	name, category, description, var, tags present and well-formed
   Var doc	Single > block-quote line; if-empty behavior defined
   API calls complete	Curl + headers + jq, not pseudo-code
   Fallback behavior	Graceful degradation for every optional secret
   Output spec	Char limits, clickable URLs, format template explicit
   Network note	Present and matches the auth pattern of the API used (./secretcurl for auth'd, gh api for GitHub, WebFetch fallback for public)

   Any criterion <4 → rewrite that section once. Still <4 after one rewrite → exit CREATE_SKILL_VALIDATION_FAILED with a notify listing failed criteria. Do not ship a low-quality skill.

8. Post-write validation. Re-read the SKILL.md from disk and verify:

   • Frontmatter YAML is parseable; required keys present.
   • No literal substring matches: TODO, FIXME, XXX, placeholder, fill in, lorem, <your-, your_api_key_here, example.com.
   • Every ${...} template variable resolves to ${var} or ${today}.
   • At least one ./notify invocation appears in the body.
   • At least one memory/logs/${today}.md write appears.
   • ## Network note section exists.

   Any failure → delete the partial file and any other writes, exit CREATE_SKILL_VALIDATION_FAILED with a notify listing the failed checks. No partial state.

9. Register in aeon.yml. Insert the new skill in the appropriate time-slot section:

   • Format: {skill-name}: { enabled: false, schedule: "{suggested_cron}" }
   • Add model: "claude-haiku-5-5" (or "claude-opus-5-5") if chosen in step 5.
   • Add var: "" if the skill takes a default var.
   • Add a brief trailing comment if the name doesn't make purpose obvious.
   • Place near related skills (crypto with crypto, content with content, etc.).
   • Always enabled: false. Operator decides when to turn it on.

   Verify YAML still parses after the edit. If parsing fails, revert the change and exit CREATE_SKILL_VALIDATION_FAILED.

9b. Dry-run gate (blocks a broken generated skill from auto-merge). Before opening the PR, execute the new skill once with synthetic secrets, so a generated skill never reaches production having only ever run with real credentials: bash DRYRUN_VERDICT="output/.dry-run/$name.json" bash scripts/dry-run.sh run "$name" || true - The script self-checks the SKILL_DRYRUN repo variable (default on) and returns a skipped verdict when it is 0. - Read output/.dry-run/$name.json. passed: true (or skipped: true) means continue. passed: false means delete skills/$name/, revert the aeon.yml edit, and exit CREATE_SKILL_DRYRUN_FAILED with a notify listing the verdict reasons[]. Do not open the PR. - Put the verdict JSON in the PR body under a ## Dry-run section either way, so a reviewer sees the gate ran. The gate is structural (exit 0, non-empty output, no write outside the declared mode, no secret outside requires:), and no real credential is ever placed in the run's environment. It does not re-score content; the Haiku scorer already does that.

9c. Registration checklist (a new skill trips four CI gates; a red one blocks the merge). The PR must also carry: - bash scripts/check-skill-categories.sh passing (category from step 5). - catalog/skills.json + catalog/packs.json regenerated with bin/generate-skills-json and bin/generate-packs-json, in a separate commit after the SKILL.md commit (the catalog's sha/updated come from git history). - An eyebrowlock.json entry for the new skill: ci-skill-integrity hard-fails any skill without one. Run eyebrow scan with the version pinned in .github/workflows/ci-skill-integrity.yml and splice only the new skill's artifact into the committed lockfile. - node scripts/validate-readme-catalog.mjs passing (README and docs skill counts include the new skill). - The disabled aeon.yml entry from step 9. If this run can't execute a step (e.g. no eyebrow binary), list the missing steps under a ## Before merge heading in the PR body instead of skipping them silently.

10. Open as a PR (never commit to main).

    name="{skill-name}"
    git checkout -b create-skill/$name
    git add skills/$name/SKILL.md aeon.yml
    git commit -m "create skill: $name
    
    {one-sentence description}
    
    Generated by create-skill from var: \"{request summary, ≤80 chars}\""
    git push -u origin create-skill/$name
    gh pr create --title "create skill: $name" --body "$(cat <<'EOF'
    ## Skill
    **Name**: `{skill-name}`
    **Description**: {description}
    **Tags**: {tags}
    **Schedule**: `{cron}` (disabled by default)
    **Model**: {model}
    **Var**: {var-doc}
    
    ## Request
    

    ${var}

    
    ## Sources researched
    - {URL 1}
    - {URL 2}
    - {URL 3}
    
    ## Required secrets
    {list of NEW_SECRET_REQUIRED env vars OR "None — uses existing secrets"}
    
    ## Quality scores
    | Criterion | Score |
    |-----------|-------|
    | Frontmatter | X/5 |
    | Var doc | X/5 |
    | API calls | X/5 |
    | Fallback behavior | X/5 |
    | Output spec | X/5 |
    | Network note | X/5 |
    
    ## Trigger manually
    Workflow dispatch with `skill={skill-name}` and `var={example-var}`.
    EOF
    )"
    

    Capture the PR URL.

11. Log. Append to memory/logs/${today}.md:

    ### create-skill
    - Request: {var, ≤80 chars}
    - Created: skills/{skill-name}/SKILL.md
    - Registered in aeon.yml: schedule={cron}, model={model}
    - Required secrets: {list or "none"}
    - Quality scores: F/V/A/Fb/O/N = X/X/X/X/X/X
    - PR: {url}
    - Exit: CREATE_SKILL_OK (or CREATE_SKILL_NEW_SECRET_REQUIRED)
    

12. Notify. Send via ./notify:

    *create-skill — {skill-name}*
    {one-line description}
    Schedule: `{cron}` (disabled by default)
    {Required secrets line if any}
    PR: {url}
    Trigger: dispatch skill=`{skill-name}` var=`{example}`
    

Exit taxonomy

Code	When	Action
CREATE_SKILL_OK	New skill created, validated, PR opened	Notify with PR link
CREATE_SKILL_NEW_SECRET_REQUIRED	Same as OK plus operator must add a new secret before enabling	Notify with PR link + secret call-out
CREATE_SKILL_NO_VAR	${var} empty	Notify abort reason; stop
CREATE_SKILL_DUPLICATE	Existing skill covers the request	Notify with existing-skill suggestion; stop
CREATE_SKILL_INSUFFICIENT_RESEARCH	Couldn't confirm ≥1 working data source after WebSearch + WebFetch	Notify with what was tried; stop
CREATE_SKILL_VALIDATION_FAILED	Quality enforcement or post-write checks failed	Delete partial files; revert aeon.yml; notify with failed criteria; stop
CREATE_SKILL_DRYRUN_FAILED	The dry-run gate (step 9b) returned passed: false	Delete partial files; revert aeon.yml; notify with verdict reasons; do NOT open the PR; stop

Network note

There is no network sandbox — curl works, with WebFetch as the fallback for a flaky public GET during research. For an auth'd API the new skill will call, route it through ./secretcurl with a {ENV_NAME} placeholder (the key injected via the skill's requires:), and gh api for GitHub. Irreversible side-effects (email, spend, on-chain writes, deploys) run in-run via ./secretcurl as the skill's final, fail-closed action — there is no deferred/postprocess step, and never defer a read (see CLAUDE.md).

Constraints

• Never commit a generated skill directly to main. Always open a PR.
• Never enable a generated skill in aeon.yml (enabled: false always — operator decides).
• Never add an API key/secret to the workflow that isn't already there. Surface as NEW_SECRET_REQUIRED and document in the PR body.
• Never ship a skill that fails validation. Aborting cleanly is always better than shipping broken.
• Never overwrite an existing skills/{name}/SKILL.md — name collisions are blocking errors.