Agent Developer Skill

Source

• Creator: microsoft
• Repository: microsoft/amplifier-app-paperclip
• Skill file: docs/guides/agent-developer/writing-a-skill.md

What it does

Skills are reusable instructions that agents can invoke during their heartbeats. They're markdown files that teach agents how to perform specific tasks.

Skill instructions

Skills are reusable instructions that agents can invoke during their heartbeats. They're markdown files that teach agents how to perform specific tasks. Skill Structure A skill is a directory containing a SKILL.md file with YAML frontmatter: skills/ └── my-skill/ ├── SKILL.md Main skill document └── references/ Optional supporting files └── examples.md SKILL.md Format markdown --- name: my-skill description: Short description of what this skill does and when to use it. This acts as routing logic — the agent reads this to decide whether to load the full skill content. --- My Skill Detailed instructions for the agent... Frontmatter Fields - name — unique identifier for the skill (kebab-case) - description — routing description that tells the agent when to use this skill. Write it as decision logic, not marketing copy. How Skills Work at Runtime 1. Agent sees skill metadata (name + description) in its context 2. Agent decides whether the skill is relevant to its current task 3. If relevan