# mad skills

How I like code written, reviewed, and committed — written down so the
bots I pair with can pick it up without me repeating myself.

These are [Agent Skills](https://agentskills.io/specification). Each
`description` front-loads the words that should trigger it — the things
I actually say, like "retcon", "watch me", or "citation needed".

I keep this repo checked out at `.agents/skills/` in a workspace and
symlink `.claude/skills` and `.opencode/skills` to it, so [Claude
Code](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/skills) and
[opencode](https://opencode.ai/docs/skills/) see the same set.

## writing code

- [no-ambient-authority](no-ambient-authority/SKILL.md) — clocks,
  RNGs, `fetch`, and the filesystem come in as parameters.
- [io-between-turns](io-between-turns/SKILL.md) — sync I/O is a pointy
  instrument.
- [silent-failures-are-evil](silent-failures-are-evil/SKILL.md) — every
  failure path leaves a trace in the logs.
- [lazy-tdd](lazy-tdd/SKILL.md) — works the first time? fine. Goofed?
  You owe a test.
- [docs-files-api](docs-files-api/SKILL.md) — exported API docs over
  file docs. Avoid chit-chat.

## commits and PRs

- [disclose-gen-ai](disclose-gen-ai/SKILL.md) — `Generated-by:`
  trailers, per the ASF generative tooling guidance.
- [retcon](retcon/SKILL.md) — regroup a PR's net diff into clean
  per-package commits; the merge result doesn't change.
- [yarn-lock-separate-commit](yarn-lock-separate-commit/SKILL.md) —
  `yarn.lock` changes ship alone.

## writing prose

- [grice-maxims](grice-maxims/SKILL.md) — say what's needed and no
  more, only what you can back up, in an order easy to follow.
- [hypertext-links](hypertext-links/SKILL.md) — link text says where
  the link goes; no bare URLs, no "click here".
- [citation-needed](citation-needed/SKILL.md) — back a challenged claim
  with live links, quoted and dated.
- [ibis-design](ibis-design/SKILL.md) — search a design space:
  issues, positions, and arguments.

## at the terminal

- [watchme](watchme/SKILL.md) — I record the session with `script -f`;
  read the typescript instead of asking me what happened.
- [run-confined](run-confined/SKILL.md) — run an untrusted installer in
  a throwaway systemd user unit that can't see `~/.ssh` and friends.
- [what-was-i-doing](what-was-i-doing/SKILL.md) — where did this file
  come from? Correlate mtimes with git history across every repo.
- [notify-me](notify-me/SKILL.md) — desktop notification at the end
  of a long turn, sticky if I'm stepping away; not every reply.

## adding one

Name the directory for the trigger, not the topic. Write the
`description` for the matcher: what I'd say, what I'd be doing, and
what it's *not* for. Cite the source; quote the key line; explain the
rest.