# The skill card and the three-skill split (free sample)

A free sample from Agent Skills Workshop by PaperChaseWebb. Works with Hermes Agent, Claude Code, Codex, Grok Bot or any harness that reads SKILL.md skills.

Skills written once now load in many harnesses. That makes a sloppy skill expensive: it runs everywhere. These two pieces fix most of the early mistakes.

## The skill card

Fill this before you write a single step.

```
---
name: [verb + object, for example "draft weekly client report"]
description: [one line: WHEN to use this, written for the harness deciding whether to load it]
---
# Purpose
[One sentence on the outcome.]

# Inputs
- [What the skill needs before it starts. If missing, stop and ask.]

# Steps
1. [Short, checkable step.]

# Done means
- [The check that proves it finished.]

# May not
- [Actions this skill never takes.]

# Action class
[read / draft / change / outward]
```

The description line does more work than any step. Write it as "Use when..." with the words you actually type.

## The three-skill split for long jobs

| Skill | Job | Why separate |
|---|---|---|
| Reference lock | Freeze the few examples, specs or rules the work must match | Every later step compares to the same few things |
| Plan with timings | Ordered steps with a time or size budget each | Long jobs fail on order and scope |
| Build and critique | Build one piece, then a separate check compares it to the references, with a round limit | A builder reviewing its own work agrees with itself |

## Two rules to paste

```
- Every skill has "Done means" and "May not" filled in, or it does not run.
- Outward actions (send, post, publish, buy, delete, deploy, move money) always wait for the owner. A voice yes does not count.
```

## A check prompt

> Here is a job I have done three times [paste notes]. Draft a SKILL.md from this card. Then tell me whether it should be split into a reference lock, a plan and a build and critique skill, and why.

The full pack adds card rules, a corrections-to-skills loop, an intake check for skills you did not write, four action classes, a SKILLS.md register, an overnight run sheet, tools-behind-skills rules, a failure table, eight skill drills, a rules block and 14 prompts.

Sources the full pack credits by link include Kaan (https://x.com/altemore/status/2113324200454721668) and Charlie Hills (https://www.instagram.com/reel/DeR3K9LAq97/).