Using Agent Skills
addyosmani/agent-skills
Meta-skill for choosing which workflow skill fits the task at hand, plus always-on habits: surface assumptions, stop on confusion, push back, keep it simple and stay in scope.
How to write great agent instructions for an agent-native app or template: AGENTS.md, skills, and tool/action descriptions.
Install Writing Agent Instructions
$ npx skills add BuilderIO/agent-native --skill writing-agent-instructions -a claude-codeProject install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.
$ gh skill install BuilderIO/agent-native writing-agent-instructions --agent claude-codeProject scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/BuilderIO/agent-native.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/.agents/skills/writing-agent-instructions .claude/skills/writing-agent-instructions && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.
Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/
Install the "writing-agent-instructions" agent skill from https://github.com/BuilderIO/agent-native/tree/main/.agents/skills/writing-agent-instructions into .claude/skills/writing-agent-instructions/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "writing-agent-instructions", then confirm the skill loads.Claude Code copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$skill-installer install https://github.com/BuilderIO/agent-native/tree/main/.agents/skills/writing-agent-instructionsType this inside Codex. $skill-installer <name> installs a curated skill from openai/skills. The installer writes to $CODEX_HOME/skills (default ~/.codex/skills). Restart Codex if the skill does not show up.
$ npx skills add BuilderIO/agent-native --skill writing-agent-instructions -a codexProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.codex/skills/.
$ gh skill install BuilderIO/agent-native writing-agent-instructions --agent codexProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/BuilderIO/agent-native.git skills-src && mkdir -p .agents/skills && cp -r skills-src/.agents/skills/writing-agent-instructions .agents/skills/writing-agent-instructions && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.agents/skills/ instead of .agents/skills for a personal install.
Codex skills documentation · loads skills from .agents/skills/
Install the "writing-agent-instructions" agent skill from https://github.com/BuilderIO/agent-native/tree/main/.agents/skills/writing-agent-instructions into .agents/skills/writing-agent-instructions/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "writing-agent-instructions", then confirm the skill loads.Codex copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ npx skills add BuilderIO/agent-native --skill writing-agent-instructions -a cursorProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.cursor/skills/.
$ gh skill install BuilderIO/agent-native writing-agent-instructions --agent cursorProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/BuilderIO/agent-native.git skills-src && mkdir -p .cursor/skills && cp -r skills-src/.agents/skills/writing-agent-instructions .cursor/skills/writing-agent-instructions && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.cursor/skills/ instead of .cursor/skills for a personal install.
Cursor skills documentation · loads skills from .cursor/skills/, .agents/skills/, .claude/skills/, .codex/skills/
Install the "writing-agent-instructions" agent skill from https://github.com/BuilderIO/agent-native/tree/main/.agents/skills/writing-agent-instructions into .cursor/skills/writing-agent-instructions/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "writing-agent-instructions", then confirm the skill loads.Cursor copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ gemini skills install https://github.com/BuilderIO/agent-native.git --path .agents/skills/writing-agent-instructions--scope user (default) or --scope workspace; --path is the subfolder of the repo that holds the skill; --consent skips the security confirmation prompt.
$ npx skills add BuilderIO/agent-native --skill writing-agent-instructions -a gemini-cliProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.gemini/skills/.
$ gh skill install BuilderIO/agent-native writing-agent-instructions --agent gemini-cliProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/BuilderIO/agent-native.git skills-src && mkdir -p .gemini/skills && cp -r skills-src/.agents/skills/writing-agent-instructions .gemini/skills/writing-agent-instructions && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.gemini/skills/ instead of .gemini/skills for a personal install, then run /skills reload.
Gemini CLI skills documentation · loads skills from .gemini/skills/, .agents/skills/
Install the "writing-agent-instructions" agent skill from https://github.com/BuilderIO/agent-native/tree/main/.agents/skills/writing-agent-instructions into .gemini/skills/writing-agent-instructions/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "writing-agent-instructions", then confirm the skill loads.Gemini CLI copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ gh skill install BuilderIO/agent-native writing-agent-instructionsInstalls for Copilot at project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Preview a skill first with gh skill preview. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).
$ npx skills add BuilderIO/agent-native --skill writing-agent-instructions -a github-copilotProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.copilot/skills/.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/BuilderIO/agent-native.git skills-src && mkdir -p .github/skills && cp -r skills-src/.agents/skills/writing-agent-instructions .github/skills/writing-agent-instructions && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.copilot/skills/ instead of .github/skills for a personal install. Commit .github/skills so cloud agent and code review can use it.
GitHub Copilot skills documentation · loads skills from .github/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/
Install the "writing-agent-instructions" agent skill from https://github.com/BuilderIO/agent-native/tree/main/.agents/skills/writing-agent-instructions into .github/skills/writing-agent-instructions/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "writing-agent-instructions", then confirm the skill loads.GitHub Copilot copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ npx skills add BuilderIO/agent-native --skill writing-agent-instructions -a opencodeOpenCode documents no install command of its own. Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.config/opencode/skills/.
$ gh skill install BuilderIO/agent-native writing-agent-instructions --agent opencodeProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/BuilderIO/agent-native.git skills-src && mkdir -p .opencode/skills && cp -r skills-src/.agents/skills/writing-agent-instructions .opencode/skills/writing-agent-instructions && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.config/opencode/skills/ instead of .opencode/skills for a personal install.
OpenCode skills documentation · loads skills from .opencode/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/
Install the "writing-agent-instructions" agent skill from https://github.com/BuilderIO/agent-native/tree/main/.agents/skills/writing-agent-instructions into .opencode/skills/writing-agent-instructions/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "writing-agent-instructions", then confirm the skill loads.OpenCode copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
Facts
- Skill name
writing-agent-instructions- GitHub stars
- 7.1k
- Token cost
- ~4.4k tokens
- SKILL.md length
- 2,239 words
- Files
- 1
- Skills in repo
- 102
- Repo updated
- First seen
- Licence
- None found
At a glance
How to write great agent instructions for an agent-native app or template: AGENTS.md, skills, and tool/action descriptions.
- Reviewing AGENTS.md
- SKILL.md covers Keep AGENTS.md small and…, Single-source AGENTS.md…, Keep generated guidance in sync and Budget the first model request, plus 12 more sections
- Calls pnpm; needs OPENAI_API_KEY
- Writing a SKILL.md
What it does
Writing Agent Instructions is an agent skill from BuilderIO/agent-native. How to write great agent instructions for an agent-native app or template: AGENTS.md, skills, and tool/action descriptions. Use when authoring or reviewing AGENTS.md, writing a SKILL.md, wording action descriptions, or deciding what belongs in instructions vs skills vs memory.
Its SKILL.md is about 4.4k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. It is a single SKILL.md file with no bundled scripts.
It sits in Agent Workflows, covering Agent instruction files. The repository describes itself as: A framework for building agentic apps.
When your agent uses it
- Reviewing AGENTS.md
- Writing a SKILL.md
- Wording action descriptions
- Deciding what belongs in instructions vs skills vs memory
Example prompts
- “/writing-agent-instructions”
What it can do on your machine
Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit e16da0c. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.
Tool permissions
Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.
From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.
Runs code
Shell commands in SKILL.md call:
pnpm
From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.
Network
No URLs in SKILL.md. Its commands use pnpm, which can reach the network depending on how they are called.
From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.
Credentials
Names these keys or tokens, usually read from environment variables:
OPENAI_API_KEY
From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.
Context cost
Writing Agent Instructions loads about 4.4k tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 76 tokens; SKILL.md has 2,239 words of instructions outside code blocks.
Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.
Safety
Auto-check passed
The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.
Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.
SKILL.md
Without a licence we can't republish the file, so here is its outline and opening line. It has 2,239 words (~4,375 tokens).
“This is a creator-facing guide. When you build an agent-native app or template, the agent's behavior is only as good as the instructions you give it. Three surfaces carry that guidance: AGENTS.md (the map), skills (the deep dives), and action/tool…”
- name
- writing-agent-instructions
- scope
- dev
- metadata.internal
- true
Files
Just SKILL.md in .agents/skills/writing-agent-instructions of BuilderIO/agent-native.
Open the folder on GitHubat commit e16da0c
Compare with similar skills
Writing Agent Instructions next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.
| Skill | Stars | Used in | Tokens | Auto-check | Licence | Repo updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Writing Agent Instructions this skillBuilderIO/agent-native | 7.1k | — | ~4.4k | Automated safety check: Pass | None | |
| Using Agent Skillsaddyosmani/agent-skills | 103k | 4 repos | ~2.4k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Claude ReflectBayramAnnakov/claude-reflect | 1.7k | 2 repos | ~627 | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Writing For Agentsbestofjs/bestofjs | 3.1k | 19 repos | ~2.7k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Neat-Freak Knowledge CloseoutKKKKhazix/khazix-skills | 21k | — | ~1.9k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Task Observerrebelytics/one-skill-to-rule-them-all | 3.2k | 1 repos | ~12k | Automated safety check: Pass | CC-BY-4.0 |
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BayramAnnakov/claude-reflect
Self-learning system that captures corrections during sessions and reminds users to run /reflect to update CLAUDE.md.
Writing For Agents
bestofjs/bestofjs
Writing documents for agents. An agent skill from bestofjs/bestofjs.
Neat-Freak Knowledge Closeout
KKKKhazix/khazix-skills
Brings project docs, agent rule files, authorized memory and leftover workspace files back in line with what the code and runtime actually do at the end of a work session.
Task Observer
rebelytics/one-skill-to-rule-them-all
Monitors task execution for skill improvement opportunities.
- Official
SkillOpt Sleep Cycle
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Runs an on-demand or nightly sleep cycle that reviews past Claude Code sessions and proposes validated updates to CLAUDE.md and skills.
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Related
Categories
Questions about Writing Agent Instructions
What does Writing Agent Instructions do?
How to write great agent instructions for an agent-native app or template: AGENTS.md, skills, and tool/action descriptions. Writing Agent Instructions is an agent skill from BuilderIO/agent-native.md, skills, and tool/action descriptions.
When should I use Writing Agent Instructions?
Writing Agent Instructions fits situations like: reviewing AGENTS.md; writing a SKILL.md; wording action descriptions; deciding what belongs in instructions vs skills vs memory.
How do I install Writing Agent Instructions in Claude Code?
Run `npx skills add BuilderIO/agent-native --skill writing-agent-instructions -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (.agents/skills/writing-agent-instructions in BuilderIO/agent-native) into .claude/skills/writing-agent-instructions in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.
How do I install Writing Agent Instructions in Codex?
Run `npx skills add BuilderIO/agent-native --skill writing-agent-instructions -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (.agents/skills/writing-agent-instructions in BuilderIO/agent-native) into .agents/skills/writing-agent-instructions in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.
Can I use Writing Agent Instructions in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?
Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add BuilderIO/agent-native --skill writing-agent-instructions -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/writing-agent-instructions, .gemini/skills/writing-agent-instructions, .github/skills/writing-agent-instructions and .opencode/skills/writing-agent-instructions in your project.
What does Writing Agent Instructions need to run?
Going by SKILL.md and its folder, Writing Agent Instructions needs the command-line tools its instructions call (pnpm) and credentials named OPENAI_API_KEY.
Does Writing Agent Instructions access the network?
SKILL.md contains no URLs. Any network use would come from the scripts or tools the agent runs. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.
Is Writing Agent Instructions safe to install?
Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.
What licence does Writing Agent Instructions use?
No licence was found for Writing Agent Instructions or its repository. Without one, default copyright applies: ask the author before reusing or redistributing it.
How many tokens does Writing Agent Instructions use?
About 4.4k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 18k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full.
What are the alternatives to Writing Agent Instructions?
Skills that share tags, products or a category with Writing Agent Instructions: Using Agent Skills (addyosmani/agent-skills, 103k stars), Claude Reflect (BayramAnnakov/claude-reflect, 1.7k stars), Writing For Agents (bestofjs/bestofjs, 3.1k stars) and Neat-Freak Knowledge Closeout (KKKKhazix/khazix-skills, 21k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.
Who maintains Writing Agent Instructions?
BuilderIO (a GitHub organization) maintains it in BuilderIO/agent-native, which has 7,087 GitHub stars. The repository holds 102 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on October 8, 2026.
Source: BuilderIO/agent-native on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.