singularity-forge/gitbook/features/skills.md
Jeremy edf9d0be6f docs: add GitBook-ready user-facing documentation
33 markdown files organized for GitBook import with SUMMARY.md navigation.
Covers installation, core concepts, auto mode, configuration, all providers,
cost management, skills, parallel orchestration, remote questions, teams,
headless CI, and full command reference. User-facing only — no internal/dev content.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
2026-04-11 10:34:07 -05:00

3.3 KiB

Skills

Skills are specialized instruction sets that GSD loads when the task matches. They provide domain-specific guidance — coding patterns, framework idioms, testing strategies, and tool usage.

Skills follow the open Agent Skills standard and work across multiple AI agents, not just GSD.

Skill Directories

Location Scope Description
~/.agents/skills/ Global Shared across all projects
.agents/skills/ (project root) Project Project-specific, committable to git

Global skills take precedence when names collide.

Installing Skills

Skills are installed via the skills.sh CLI:

# Interactive — choose skills and target agents
npx skills add dpearson2699/swift-ios-skills

# Install specific skills
npx skills add dpearson2699/swift-ios-skills --skill swift-concurrency --skill swiftui-patterns -y

# Install all from a repo
npx skills add dpearson2699/swift-ios-skills --all

# Check for updates
npx skills check

# Update installed skills
npx skills update

Onboarding Catalog

During gsd init, GSD detects your project's tech stack and recommends relevant skill packs:

  • Swift — SwiftUI, Swift Core, concurrency, Charts, Testing
  • iOS — App Intents, Widgets, StoreKit, MapKit, Core ML, Vision, accessibility
  • Web — React, React Native, frontend design, accessibility
  • Languages — Rust, Python, Go patterns and best practices
  • General — Document handling (PDF, DOCX, XLSX)

Skill Discovery

The skill_discovery preference controls how GSD finds skills during auto mode:

Mode Behavior
auto Skills found and applied automatically
suggest Skills identified but require confirmation (default)
off No skill discovery

Skill Preferences

Control which skills are used:

always_use_skills:
  - debug-like-expert
prefer_skills:
  - frontend-design
avoid_skills:
  - security-docker
skill_rules:
  - when: task involves authentication
    use: [clerk]
  - when: frontend styling work
    prefer: [frontend-design]

Creating Custom Skills

Create your own skill by adding a directory with a SKILL.md file:

~/.agents/skills/my-skill/
  SKILL.md           — instructions for the AI
  references/        — optional reference files

The SKILL.md contains instructions the AI follows when the skill is active.

Project-Local Skills

Place skills in your project root for project-specific guidance:

.agents/skills/my-project-skill/
  SKILL.md

Project-local skills can be committed to git so team members share the same skill set.

Skill Health Dashboard

Track skill performance:

/gsd skill-health              # overview table
/gsd skill-health rust-core    # detailed view for one skill
/gsd skill-health --stale 30   # skills unused for 30+ days
/gsd skill-health --declining  # skills with falling success rates

The dashboard flags:

  • Success rate below 70% over the last 10 uses
  • Token usage rising 20%+ compared to previous window
  • Skills unused beyond the configured threshold

Staleness Detection

skill_staleness_days: 60   # flag skills unused for 60+ days (0 to disable)

Stale skills are excluded from automatic matching but remain available for explicit use.