Writing Skills
ed3dai/ed3d-plugins
A skill your agent uses when creating new skills, editing existing skills, or verifying skills work before deployment - applies TDD to process documentation by testing with subagents before writing…
TDD for process documentation - test with subagents before writing, iterate until bulletproof.
Install Writing Skills
$ npx skills add sandgardenhq/sgai --skill writing-skills -a claude-codeProject install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.
$ gh skill install sandgardenhq/sgai writing-skills --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/sandgardenhq/sgai.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/cmd/sgai/skel/.sgai/skills/meta/writing-skills .claude/skills/writing-skills && 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-skills" agent skill from https://github.com/sandgardenhq/sgai/tree/main/cmd/sgai/skel/.sgai/skills/meta/writing-skills into .claude/skills/writing-skills/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "writing-skills", 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/sandgardenhq/sgai/tree/main/cmd/sgai/skel/.sgai/skills/meta/writing-skillsType 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 sandgardenhq/sgai --skill writing-skills -a codexProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.codex/skills/.
$ gh skill install sandgardenhq/sgai writing-skills --agent codexProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/sandgardenhq/sgai.git skills-src && mkdir -p .agents/skills && cp -r skills-src/cmd/sgai/skel/.sgai/skills/meta/writing-skills .agents/skills/writing-skills && 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-skills" agent skill from https://github.com/sandgardenhq/sgai/tree/main/cmd/sgai/skel/.sgai/skills/meta/writing-skills into .agents/skills/writing-skills/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "writing-skills", 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 sandgardenhq/sgai --skill writing-skills -a cursorProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.cursor/skills/.
$ gh skill install sandgardenhq/sgai writing-skills --agent cursorProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/sandgardenhq/sgai.git skills-src && mkdir -p .cursor/skills && cp -r skills-src/cmd/sgai/skel/.sgai/skills/meta/writing-skills .cursor/skills/writing-skills && 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-skills" agent skill from https://github.com/sandgardenhq/sgai/tree/main/cmd/sgai/skel/.sgai/skills/meta/writing-skills into .cursor/skills/writing-skills/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "writing-skills", 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/sandgardenhq/sgai.git --path cmd/sgai/skel/.sgai/skills/meta/writing-skills--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 sandgardenhq/sgai --skill writing-skills -a gemini-cliProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.gemini/skills/.
$ gh skill install sandgardenhq/sgai writing-skills --agent gemini-cliProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/sandgardenhq/sgai.git skills-src && mkdir -p .gemini/skills && cp -r skills-src/cmd/sgai/skel/.sgai/skills/meta/writing-skills .gemini/skills/writing-skills && 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-skills" agent skill from https://github.com/sandgardenhq/sgai/tree/main/cmd/sgai/skel/.sgai/skills/meta/writing-skills into .gemini/skills/writing-skills/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "writing-skills", 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 sandgardenhq/sgai writing-skillsInstalls 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 sandgardenhq/sgai --skill writing-skills -a github-copilotProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.copilot/skills/.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/sandgardenhq/sgai.git skills-src && mkdir -p .github/skills && cp -r skills-src/cmd/sgai/skel/.sgai/skills/meta/writing-skills .github/skills/writing-skills && 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-skills" agent skill from https://github.com/sandgardenhq/sgai/tree/main/cmd/sgai/skel/.sgai/skills/meta/writing-skills into .github/skills/writing-skills/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "writing-skills", 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 sandgardenhq/sgai --skill writing-skills -a opencodeOpenCode documents no install command of its own. Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.config/opencode/skills/.
$ gh skill install sandgardenhq/sgai writing-skills --agent opencodeProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/sandgardenhq/sgai.git skills-src && mkdir -p .opencode/skills && cp -r skills-src/cmd/sgai/skel/.sgai/skills/meta/writing-skills .opencode/skills/writing-skills && 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-skills" agent skill from https://github.com/sandgardenhq/sgai/tree/main/cmd/sgai/skel/.sgai/skills/meta/writing-skills into .opencode/skills/writing-skills/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "writing-skills", 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-skills- GitHub stars
- 137
- Token cost
- ~4.9k tokens
- SKILL.md length
- 1,790 words
- Files
- 1
- Skills in repo
- 53
- Repo updated
- First seen
- Licence
- Custom licence
At a glance
TDD for process documentation - test with subagents before writing, iterate until bulletproof.
- Works in 5 steps: Rich descriptions with Symptoms → Keyword Coverage → Descriptive Naming → …
- Tasks that involve Skill authoring
- SKILL.md covers Overview, What is a Skill?, TDD Mapping for Skills and When to Create a Skill, plus 10 more sections
- Instructions only: no scripts, shell commands, URLs or credentials in SKILL.md
What it does
Writing Skills is an agent skill from sandgardenhq/sgai. TDD for process documentation - test with subagents before writing, iterate until bulletproof. When you discover a technique, pattern, or tool worth documenting for reuse. When editing existing skills. When asked to modify skill documentation. When you've written a skill and need to verify it works before deploying. When skills fail to help agents, when documentation is unclear, when new patterns emerge that need standardization.
Its SKILL.md is about 4.9k 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 Skill authoring, Test-driven development and Operations and SOPs. The repository describes itself as: Sandgarden AI Software Factory.
When your agent uses it
- Tasks that involve Skill authoring
- Tasks that involve Test-driven development
- Tasks that involve Operations and SOPs
Example prompts
- “/writing-skills”
Requirements
- Python 3
Workflow steps
5 steps, taken from the step headings in SKILL.md.
- Rich descriptions with Symptoms
- Keyword Coverage
- Descriptive Naming
- Token Efficiency (Critical)
- Content Repetition
What it can do on your machine
Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 9efbb7b. 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
No scripts in the folder and no shell commands in SKILL.md (its code samples are markdown, yaml, bash and dot).
From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.
Network
No URLs in SKILL.md.
From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.
Credentials
Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.
From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.
Context cost
Writing Skills loads about 4.9k tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 112 tokens; SKILL.md has 1,790 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
Its licence (Custom licence) doesn't allow us to republish the file, so here is its outline and opening line. It has 1,790 words (~4,898 tokens).
“Writing skills IS Test-Driven Development applied to process documentation.”
- name
- writing-skills
Files
Just SKILL.md in cmd/sgai/skel/.sgai/skills/meta/writing-skills of sandgardenhq/sgai.
Open the folder on GitHubat commit 9efbb7b
Compare with similar skills
Writing Skills 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 Skills this skillsandgardenhq/sgai | 137 | — | ~4.9k | Automated safety check: Pass | Custom licence | |
| Writing Skillsed3dai/ed3d-plugins | 250 | 1 repos | ~1.3k | Automated safety check: Pass | None | |
| Testing Skills With Subagentsed3dai/ed3d-plugins | 250 | 3 repos | ~3.5k | Automated safety check: Pass | None | |
| Superpowers Writing Skillschristopherarter/superpowers-reasonix | 102 | — | ~2.8k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Create SkillNeoLabHQ/context-engineering-kit | 1.8k | — | ~7.6k | Automated safety check: Pass | GPL-3.0 | |
| Implementing Tasks with Subagent Reviewprime-radiant-inc/iterative-development | 181 | — | ~1.2k | Automated safety check: Pass | Apache-2.0 |
Similar skills
Testing Skills With Subagents
ed3dai/ed3d-plugins
A skill your agent uses when creating or editing skills, before deployment, to verify they work under pressure and resist rationalization - applies RED-GREEN-REFACTOR cycle to process documentation…
Superpowers Writing Skills
christopherarter/superpowers-reasonix
Creating, editing, or testing a Reasonix skill?. An agent skill from christopherarter/superpowers-reasonix.
Create Skill
NeoLabHQ/context-engineering-kit
Guide for creating effective skills. An agent skill from NeoLabHQ/context-engineering-kit.
Implementing Tasks with Subagent Review
prime-radiant-inc/iterative-development
Runs a batch of TDD-sized tasks by dispatching an implementer subagent per task, followed by two-stage parallel adversarial review and fix loops.
Writing Skills
TechDufus/oh-my-claude
Methodology for creating effective skills using TDD principles.
More from sandgardenhq/sgai
All 53 skills in this repoRoot Cause Tracing
sandgardenhq/sgai
A skill your agent uses when errors occur deep in execution and you need to trace back to find the original trigger - systematically traces bugs backward through call stack, adding instrumentation…
Condition Based Waiting
sandgardenhq/sgai
A skill your agent uses when tests have race conditions, timing dependencies, or inconsistent pass/fail behavior - replaces arbitrary timeouts with condition polling to wait for actual state…
Defense In Depth
sandgardenhq/sgai
A skill your agent uses when invalid data causes failures deep in execution, requiring validation at multiple system layers - validates at every layer data passes through to make bugs structurally…
Agent Native Architecture
sandgardenhq/sgai
Build AI agents using prompt-native architecture where features are defined in prompts, not code.
Adhoc
sandgardenhq/sgai
Run and manage ad-hoc AI prompts in sgai workspaces without starting a full agentic session.
Browser Bug Testing Workflow
sandgardenhq/sgai
You must use this skill when debugging web UI bugs or testing interactive components that require multi-step browser interactions.
Related
Categories
Questions about Writing Skills
What does Writing Skills do?
TDD for process documentation - test with subagents before writing, iterate until bulletproof. Writing Skills is an agent skill from sandgardenhq/sgai. TDD for process documentation - test with subagents before writing, iterate until bulletproof.
When should I use Writing Skills?
Writing Skills fits situations like: tasks that involve Skill authoring; tasks that involve Test-driven development; tasks that involve Operations and SOPs.
How do I install Writing Skills in Claude Code?
Run `npx skills add sandgardenhq/sgai --skill writing-skills -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (cmd/sgai/skel/.sgai/skills/meta/writing-skills in sandgardenhq/sgai) into .claude/skills/writing-skills in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.
How do I install Writing Skills in Codex?
Run `npx skills add sandgardenhq/sgai --skill writing-skills -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (cmd/sgai/skel/.sgai/skills/meta/writing-skills in sandgardenhq/sgai) into .agents/skills/writing-skills in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.
Can I use Writing Skills 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 sandgardenhq/sgai --skill writing-skills -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-skills, .gemini/skills/writing-skills, .github/skills/writing-skills and .opencode/skills/writing-skills in your project.
What does Writing Skills need to run?
SKILL.md names no scripts, command-line tools or credentials: Writing Skills is instructions for the agent only. Our summary lists: Python 3.
Does Writing Skills 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 Skills 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 Skills use?
Writing Skills has a licence file (the repository's licence) that doesn't match a standard licence. Read it on GitHub before reusing the skill.
How many tokens does Writing Skills use?
About 4.9k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 20k 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 Skills?
Skills that share tags, products or a category with Writing Skills: Writing Skills (ed3dai/ed3d-plugins, 250 stars), Testing Skills With Subagents (ed3dai/ed3d-plugins, 250 stars), Superpowers Writing Skills (christopherarter/superpowers-reasonix, 102 stars) and Create Skill (NeoLabHQ/context-engineering-kit, 1.8k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.
Who maintains Writing Skills?
sandgardenhq (a GitHub organization) maintains it in sandgardenhq/sgai, which has 137 GitHub stars. The repository holds 53 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on September 21, 2026.
Source: sandgardenhq/sgai on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.