# skill-pipeline

> Meta-skill for building and refining elite-level agent skills. Use when creating new skills, iterating on existing skills, or performing skill refinement sweeps. Ensures consistent quality, comprehensive coverage, and ongoing maintenance. Triggers on "create a skill", "build a skill", "refine skills", "update skills", or any skill development task.

- Author: Clawdio
- Repository: clawdioioioioio/skills
- Version: 20260209173157
- Stars: 0
- Forks: 0
- Last Updated: 2026-02-09
- Source: https://github.com/clawdioioioioio/skills
- Web: https://mule.run/skillshub/@@clawdioioioioio/skills~skill-pipeline:20260209173157

---

---
name: skill-pipeline
description: Meta-skill for building and refining elite-level agent skills. Use when creating new skills, iterating on existing skills, or performing skill refinement sweeps. Ensures consistent quality, comprehensive coverage, and ongoing maintenance. Triggers on "create a skill", "build a skill", "refine skills", "update skills", or any skill development task.
---

# Skill Pipeline

The process for building and maintaining elite-level skills.

## Core Philosophy

1. **Elite or nothing** — Don't create mediocre skills
2. **Standards-first** — Check what exists before inventing
3. **Security-focused** — Every skill considers threats
4. **Living documents** — Skills evolve with their domains
5. **Progressive disclosure** — Load only what's needed

## When to Use This Skill

- Creating a new skill from scratch
- Iterating on an existing skill
- Performing a refinement sweep across all skills
- Reviewing a skill for quality

---

## Part 1: Creating New Skills

### Phase 1: Discovery

Before writing anything:

```markdown
1. What domain is this skill for?
2. Who are the authoritative sources?
3. What existing skills/standards exist?
4. What's the "elite" bar for this domain?
5. What would an expert in this field expect?
```

### Phase 2: Discovery & Research

**Run the bootstrap discovery process** (see `references/discovery-bootstrap.md`):

```markdown
1. Find top 10 GitHub repos by stars in domain
2. Clone 3 production projects, extract dependencies
3. Read 3 audits, mine all cited sources
4. Check aggregator lists (awesome-X)
5. Run validation searches
```

**Score all discovered sources** (see `references/source-scoring.md`):
- Only add sources scoring ≥70/100
- Document scoring rationale
- Track rejected sources with reasons

**Research checklist:**
- [ ] Ran bootstrap discovery (5 steps)
- [ ] Scored all candidate sources
- [ ] No foundational sources missed (cross-check top repos)
- [ ] Security sources included
- [ ] Primary/official sources prioritized

### Phase 3: Structure

Use standard skill anatomy:

```
skill-name/
├── SKILL.md                    # Core workflow, quick reference
├── references/
│   ├── [domain]-fundamentals.md  # Core concepts
│   ├── [domain]-index.md         # Standards/patterns index
│   ├── security/
│   │   ├── threat-models.md
│   │   └── audit-checklist.md
│   ├── checklists/
│   │   └── pre-[action].md
│   └── sources.md               # Where to watch for updates
├── scripts/                     # Automation (optional)
└── assets/                      # Templates, examples (optional)
```

### Phase 4: Write

**SKILL.md requirements:**
- [ ] Clear description with trigger words
- [ ] Core workflow/process
- [ ] Quick reference for common tasks
- [ ] Links to references with "when to load"
- [ ] Security considerations

**Reference file requirements:**
- [ ] Actionable, not just informational
- [ ] Examples with code when relevant
- [ ] Security implications noted
- [ ] Sources cited

### Phase 5: Quality Check

Run against quality bar (see `references/quality-bar.md`):

- [ ] Comprehensive but not bloated
- [ ] Standards-first approach documented
- [ ] Security-focused throughout
- [ ] Actionable workflows, not just reference
- [ ] Progressive disclosure (don't load everything)
- [ ] sources.md defines update triggers

### Phase 6: Ship

```bash
cd ~/skills
git add skill-name/
git commit -m "feat: add skill-name skill

[Brief description of what it covers]

Sources: [list primary sources]"
git push

npx skills update  # Get it installed
```

---

## Part 2: Refining Existing Skills

### Refinement Triggers

**Check sources.md** for each skill to find:

1. **New standards** — EIPs, RFCs, specs going final
2. **New threats** — Exploits, vulnerabilities, attack patterns
3. **Tool updates** — Breaking changes, new features
4. **Better patterns** — Improved examples, cleaner code
5. **Corrections** — Errors, outdated info

### Refinement Process

```
For each skill in ~/skills/:

1. Read references/sources.md
2. For each source:
   a. Check for updates since last-checked date
   b. If relevant update found:
      - Fetch and summarize
      - Identify target reference file
      - Integrate (don't duplicate)
      - Update last-checked date
3. Commit changes with source attribution
4. Push to GitHub
```

### Refinement Checklist

- [ ] All sources checked
- [ ] New patterns integrated
- [ ] Outdated info removed
- [ ] Examples still work
- [ ] No duplicate information
- [ ] Last-checked dates updated
- [ ] Commit messages reference sources

---

## Part 3: Bulk Refinement Sweep

When asked to "refine all skills" or "make skills more elite":

```bash
# For each skill directory
for skill in ~/skills/*/; do
  echo "=== Refining: $skill ==="
  
  # 1. Check if sources.md exists
  if [ ! -f "$skill/references/sources.md" ]; then
    echo "WARNING: No sources.md - create one first"
    continue
  fi
  
  # 2. Run refinement process
  # (This is done by the agent, not a script)
done
```

### Sweep Process

1. List all skills in `~/skills/`
2. For each skill:
   - Load its `sources.md`
   - Check high-priority sources first
   - Apply updates
   - Commit per-skill
3. Push all changes
4. Run `npx skills update`

---

## Quality Bar

See `references/quality-bar.md` for the full checklist.

**Summary — An elite skill:**

| Criterion | Description |
|-----------|-------------|
| **Comprehensive** | Covers the domain deeply, not superficially |
| **Authoritative** | Based on primary sources, not hearsay |
| **Actionable** | Provides workflows, not just information |
| **Secure** | Considers threats and mitigations |
| **Current** | Has sources.md and update process |
| **Efficient** | Progressive disclosure, not context-bloat |

---

## Templates

Use `assets/template/` as starting point for new skills.

---

## Maintenance Schedule

| Frequency | Action |
|-----------|--------|
| Per-use | Note gaps/issues while using skills |
| Weekly | Check high-priority sources (exploits, releases) |
| Monthly | Full refinement sweep |
| Quarterly | Review skill structure, consider splits/merges |