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
- Explore First: Look at existing skills before creating. Match their structure and style.
- Job to Be Done: Every skill should clearly state what job it helps accomplish.
- References for Details: Keep SKILL.md focused on the workflow. Move deep content to
references/. - 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.
- 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
- 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
- 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:
- 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>/
- 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?
- 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
- Create the directory.
skills/<category>/<skill-name>/ - 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
- Add references.
- Create references/ directory - Add reference files for implementation details, API patterns, decision guides - Link from SKILL.md
- Add supporting files (optional).
- README.md — short description, link to SKILL.md - marketplace.json — if publishing to a marketplace (see existing skills for format)
- 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.pyThis updates skills.json. Commit the updated file with your new skill.
Step 5: Verify
Confirm the skill is valid and complete:
- Run validation:
python3 scripts/validate_skills.pyFix any reported errors (frontmatter, naming, length limits). - Run tests (if present):
python3 -m unittest discover -s tests - 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
- 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.pybefore 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