Contribute Skills via PR
Purpose
This skill encodes the complete workflow for contributing a new skill to the NeuroAIHub/awesome_cognitive_and_neuroscience_skills repository via GitHub Pull Request. It covers SKILL.md format requirements, quality rules enforced by maintainers, the PR submission process, and the no-Git alternative.
When to Use This Skill
Activate when the user:
- Wants to contribute a skill to the NeuroAIHub community repository
- Asks how to submit a PR to
awesome_cognitive_and_neuroscience_skills - Wants to know the SKILL.md format or quality requirements for this repository
- Asks about the review process or PR checklist for this repo
Research Planning Protocol
- State the contribution goal — What domain knowledge does the new skill encode? Is it a new skill, an improvement, or a verification?
- Check for overlap — Confirm the skill does not duplicate an existing one (see overlap checklist below).
- Declare the skill structure — Outline the sections and key parameters before writing.
- Note quality constraints — All numerical parameters need citations; no page numbers; under 500 lines.
- Present the plan and WAIT for user confirmation before writing the SKILL.md.
Verification Notice
This skill was generated by AI from direct inspection of the NeuroAIHub/awesome_cognitive_and_neuroscience_skills repository (April 2026). Repository requirements may change — always check the current CONTRIBUTING.md before submitting. If you find errors, please open an issue.
Step 1: Check for Overlap
Before writing, verify your skill does not duplicate an existing one. Current skills include (41 total):
eeg-preprocessing-pipeline-guide, erp-analysis, mne-python-guide, fmri-preprocessing-pipeline-guide, fmri-glm-analysis-guide, fmri-task-design-guide, brain-connectivity-modeler, neural-decoding-analysis, neural-population-analysis-guide, calcium-imaging-analysis-guide, lesion-symptom-mapping-guide, optogenetics-protocol-designer, spiking-network-model-builder, drift-diffusion-model, bayesian-cognitive-model-builder, act-r-model-builder, evidence-accumulation-selector, parameter-recovery-checker, signal-detection-analysis, cogsci-statistics, cogsci-power-analysis, cogsci-visualization, neuroimaging-power-guide, neuroimaging-sample-size-calculator, cognitive-paradigm-design, eeg-paradigm-designer, divergent-thinking-scoring, alternative-uses-task-designer, creativity-self-efficacy-mediation, reading-time-analysis, self-paced-reading-designer, sentence-stimulus-norming, infant-looking-time-designer, tom-task-selector, neuropsych-battery-selector, visual-search-array-generator, research-literacy, paper-to-skill, contribute-skill, verify-skill, share-case
Step 2: Write the SKILL.md
Required YAML Frontmatter
Skill name may only contain lowercase letters, numbers, and hyphens. The name must match the folder name.
yaml--- name: "my-skill-name" description: "One-sentence summary of the domain knowledge encoded" domain: "your-domain" version: "1.0.0" authors: - "Your Name" papers: - "Author et al., Year" dependencies: required: - research-literacy review_status: "ai-generated" ---
Mandatory fields: name, description, review_status. All others are recommended.
Required Sections (in this order)
- Purpose — What domain knowledge this skill encodes and why it is useful
- When to Use — Trigger conditions that activate this skill
- Research Planning Protocol — The standard 5-step preamble (copy template below)
- Verification Notice — The standard AI disclaimer (copy template below)
- Domain-specific content — The actual skill logic with cited parameters
Research Planning Protocol Template
markdown## Research Planning Protocol 1. **State the research question** — ... 2. **Justify the method choice** — ... 3. **Declare expected outcomes** — ... 4. **Note assumptions and limitations** — ... 5. **Present the plan to the user and WAIT for confirmation** before proceeding.
Verification Notice Template
markdown## Verification Notice > This skill was generated by AI from academic literature. All parameters, > thresholds, and citations require independent verification before use in > research. If you find errors, please open an issue at > https://github.com/NeuroAIHub/awesome_cognitive_and_neuroscience_skills/issues.
Quality Rules
| Rule | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Skill name | Lowercase letters, numbers, and hyphens only. Must match the folder name. e.g., my-new-skill |
| Citations | All numerical parameters must have (Author, Year) |
| No page numbers | Use (Luck, 2014) NOT (Luck, 2014, p. 187) |
| Line limit | SKILL.md must be under 500 lines |
| Directory name | kebab-case, must match the name field in YAML frontmatter |
| Commit prefix | feat:, fix:, docs:, or refactor: |
Step 3: Submit via Git PR
bash# 1. Fork on GitHub, then clone your fork git clone https://github.com/<your-username>/awesome_cognitive_and_neuroscience_skills.git cd awesome_cognitive_and_neuroscience_skills # 2. Create a feature branch git checkout -b feat/<skill-name> # 3. Create skill directory and add files mkdir -p skills/<skill-name> # copy your SKILL.md into skills/<skill-name>/SKILL.md # optionally: mkdir skills/<skill-name>/references # 4. Commit and push git add skills/<skill-name>/ git commit -m "feat: add <skill-name> skill for <one-line description>" git push origin feat/<skill-name> # 5. Open PR on GitHub against the master branch
PR Template Checklist
When opening the PR, all items must be checked:
- SKILL.md has required YAML frontmatter (
name,description,review_status) - Includes Research Planning Protocol section
- Includes Verification Notice section
- All numerical parameters have
(Author, Year)citations - Citations do not contain specific page numbers
- SKILL.md is under 500 lines
- Directory name uses kebab-case
- Commit messages use conventional prefixes (
feat:,fix:,docs:, etc.)
Alternative: No-Git Contribution
If you prefer not to use Git, use the contribute-skill meta-skill inside Claude Code:
- Say "contribute a skill" in Claude Code
- The meta-skill generates a SKILL.md interactively
- It submits the skill as a GitHub Issue with the
community-skilllabel - Maintainers review and merge on your behalf
After Submission
Maintainers may request changes such as:
- Adding missing
(Author, Year)citations - Removing page numbers from citations
- Reducing line count if over 500
- Clarifying the Research Planning Protocol or Verification Notice
Use the verify-skill meta-skill to self-review your SKILL.md before submitting to catch common issues early.


