Authoring Skills

OrganizationPopular

vercel

authoring-skills

How to create and maintain agent skills in .agents/skills/. Use when creating a new SKILL.md, writing skill descriptions, choosing frontmatter fields, or deciding what content belongs in a skill vs AGENTS.md. Covers the supported spec fields, description writing, naming conventions, and the relationship between always-loaded AGENTS.md and on-demand skills.

Overview

Publisher	vercel
Repository	`next.js`
Skill name	`authoring-skills`
Stars	143.1K
Forks	34.7K
Bundled files	Instructions only
License	MIT
Links	Skill source Repository Homepage

Markdown instructions
A SKILL.md file the model loads on demand, so it only costs tokens when a request actually matches.
Works with any LLM
AI skills are plain Markdown, not provider-specific code, so this works with GPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, or a local model.
Self-contained
Everything the model needs lives in the instructions — no extra files to sync.
Open source
Published by vercel on GitHub. Read the source before you install it.

Installation

Install the Authoring Skills AI skill in TypingMind to use it with any LLM, or drop it into another agent that reads SKILL.md.

Install in TypingMind

TypingMind installs a skill straight from its GitHub folder — it reads SKILL.md, bundles the resource files, and stores the result locally.

Open the app and go to Plugins → Skills.
Choose "Install from GitHub".
Paste the skill folder URL below and confirm.
https://github.com/vercel/next.js/tree/canary/.agents/skills/authoring-skills
Enable the skill in any chat where you want it available.

Plugins → Skills → Add skill → From GitHub URL, then paste the folder URL and press Continue.

Install in another agent

Any agent that reads the Agent Skills format can use this skill — copy the folder into that agent's skills directory.

Claude Code — .claude/skills

git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/vercel/next.js.git /tmp/next.js
mkdir -p .claude/skills
cp -r /tmp/next.js/.agents/skills/authoring-skills .claude/skills/authoring-skills

Restart Claude Code after copying so it picks up the new skill.

Use it in TypingMind

Enable Authoring Skills in any TypingMind chat and the model takes it from there. Its name and description sit in the system prompt, and the moment a request matches, the model loads the full instructions itself — you never invoke it by hand, and it costs no tokens until it is actually used.

The model loads Authoring Skills on its own as soon as a request matches it.

Works with any AI model

AI skills are plain Markdown instructions rather than provider-specific code, so Authoring Skills is not tied to the model it was written for. Install it once in TypingMind and use it with GPT-5, Claude, Gemini, Grok, DeepSeek, Mistral, Llama, or a local model you run yourself — all on your own API keys.

Loaded only when it is needed
The system prompt carries just the name and description. The instructions are fetched on the first matching request, so an idle skill costs nothing.
Switch models mid-chat
Because the skill is instructions rather than code, changing model does not break it — the next model reads the same SKILL.md.

Skill instructions

This is the SKILL.md content the model loads. Read it before installing — a skill is instructions your model will follow.

Authoring Skills

Use this skill when creating or modifying agent skills in .agents/skills/.

When to Create a Skill

Create a skill when content is:

Too detailed for AGENTS.md (code templates, multi-step workflows, diagnostic procedures)
Only relevant for specific tasks (not needed every session)
Self-contained enough to load independently

Keep in AGENTS.md instead when:

It's a one-liner rule or guardrail every session needs
It's a general-purpose gotcha any agent could hit

File Structure


.agents/skills/
└── my-skill/
    ├── SKILL.md          # Required: frontmatter + content
    ├── workflow.md        # Optional: supplementary detail
    └── examples.md        # Optional: referenced from SKILL.md

Supported Frontmatter Fields

yaml
---
name: my-skill # Required. Used for $name references and /name commands.
description: > # Required. How Claude decides to auto-load the skill.
  What this covers and when to use it. Include file names and keywords.
argument-hint: '<pr-number>' # Optional. Hint for expected arguments.
user-invocable: false # Optional. Set false to hide from / menu.
disable-model-invocation: true # Optional. Set true to prevent auto-triggering.
allowed-tools: [Bash, Read] # Optional. Tools allowed without permission.
model: opus # Optional. Model override.
context: fork # Optional. Isolated subagent execution.
agent: Explore # Optional. Subagent type (with context: fork).
---

Only use fields from this list. Unknown fields are silently ignored.

Writing Descriptions

The description is the primary matching surface for auto-activation. Include:

What the skill covers (topic)
When to use it (trigger scenario)
Key file names the skill references (e.g. config-shared.ts)
Keywords a user or agent might mention (e.g. "feature flag", "DCE")

yaml
# Too vague - won't auto-trigger reliably
description: Helps with flags.

# Good - specific files and concepts for matching
description: >
  How to add or modify Next.js experimental feature flags end-to-end.
  Use when editing config-shared.ts, config-schema.ts, define-env-plugin.ts.

Content Conventions

Structure for Action

Skills should tell the agent what to do, not just what to know:

Lead with "Use this skill when..."
Include step-by-step procedures
Add code templates ready to adapt
End with verification commands
Cross-reference related skills in a "Related Skills" section

Relationship to AGENTS.md

AGENTS.md (always loaded)	Skills (on demand)
One-liner guardrails	Step-by-step workflows
"Keep require() behind if/else for DCE"	Full DCE pattern with code examples, verification commands, edge cases
Points to skills via `$name`	Expands on AGENTS.md rules

When adding a skill, also add a one-liner summary to the relevant AGENTS.md section with a $skill-name reference.

Naming

Short, descriptive, topic-scoped: flags, dce-edge, react-vendoring
No repo prefix (already scoped by .agents/skills/)
Hyphens for multi-word names

Supplementary Files

For complex skills, use a hub + detail pattern:


pr-status-triage/
├── SKILL.md         # Overview, quick commands, links to details
├── workflow.md      # Prioritization and patterns
└── local-repro.md   # CI env matching

Frequently asked questions

What does the Authoring Skills AI skill do?

Why use Authoring Skills on TypingMind?

Because you install it once and use it with any model. Authoring Skills is plain Markdown rather than provider-specific code, so the same skill runs on GPT-5, Claude, Gemini, Grok, or a local model — and you can switch model mid-chat without it breaking. TypingMind runs on your own API keys, so you pay providers directly instead of a per-seat subscription, and your skills and chats stay in your own storage.

How do I install Authoring Skills in TypingMind?

Open Plugins → Skills → Install from GitHub in TypingMind and paste https://github.com/vercel/next.js/tree/canary/.agents/skills/authoring-skills. TypingMind reads its SKILL.md and installs it as a skill you can enable per chat.

Which AI models can use Authoring Skills?

Any model you connect in TypingMind. AI skills are plain Markdown instructions rather than provider-specific code, so GPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, and local models can all load this skill when a request matches it.

How many AI models can I use with Authoring Skills?

As many as you like. As long as a model supports skills, you can use Authoring Skills with it — GPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, DeepSeek, Mistral, Llama and more — all on TypingMind with your own API keys.

Is the Authoring Skills AI skill free?

Yes. It is published on GitHub by vercel under the MIT license. You only pay your own AI provider for the tokens you use.

What are AI skills?

An AI skill is a reusable instruction bundle that teaches an AI model how to do one specific task. It follows the open Agent Skills format: a SKILL.md file with a name and description, plus any scripts, templates or reference files the model may need. The model reads the instructions only when your request matches the skill, so an installed skill costs nothing until it is used.

How are AI skills different from plugins or MCP servers?

A plugin or MCP server gives a model new tools to call — code that runs somewhere and returns a result. An AI skill gives the model knowledge and process instead: how to approach a task, which steps to follow, what good output looks like. Skills are plain Markdown, so they need no server, no API key and no runtime, and they work with any model.

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Overview

Installation

Install in TypingMind

Install in another agent

Use it in TypingMind

Works with any AI model

Skill instructions

Authoring Skills

When to Create a Skill

File Structure

Supported Frontmatter Fields

Writing Descriptions

Content Conventions

Structure for Action

Relationship to AGENTS.md

Naming

Supplementary Files

Frequently asked questions

Related AI Skills

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