SKILL.md

Lesson content

SKILL.md Learn SKILL.md as part of AI Project Structure, Context Engineering & Configuration Files, including its purpose, practical setup, common development workflow, limitations, and production considerations. Learning objectives Explain SKILL.md in clear language. Recognize when it helps and when it does not. Apply it in a small, reviewable development workflow. Validate AI-generated output before accepting it. Practical developer workflow State the desired outcome and acceptance criteria. Provide only the relevant repository context. Ask Copilot for a plan or a small change. Review every suggestion and generated file. Run tests, linting, builds, and security checks appropriate to the change. Easy example Begin with a narrow request that explains one concept or proposes one small change. Design the smallest configuration for this repository. Explain the scope of every file, show a safe example, and identify secrets or machine-specific values that must not be committed. Easy-example verification Check that the response addresses the exact request. Compare technical claims with the repository or trusted documentation. Do not apply a suggestion until you understand it. Advanced example Use SKILL.md in a production task with explicit scope, constraints, review gates, and recovery requirements. Plan and implement a production use of SKILL.md. Limit changes to the named files and preserve public behavior. Include normal, edge, and failure tests. Run the relevant lint, test, build, and security checks. Report assumptions, evidence, tradeoffs, and rollback steps. Real-world example A development team uses SKILL.md while working on a customer-facing application. The team supplies repository rules and acceptance criteria, keeps changes small, reviews the generated diff, and verifies behavior with automated checks and manual inspection. Common mistakes Using a vague request without constraints or success criteria. Providing too much irrelevant context or omitting the files that define behavior. Accepting generated code, commands, or claims without verification. Including secrets, personal data, or restricted source material in prompts. Allowing a large change to proceed without checkpoints and rollback. Production perspective Separate human guidance from machine configuration, validate schemas, avoid secrets, document precedence, and provide a portable fallback. Review checklist Is the intended outcome explicit? Is the supplied context relevant and safe? Does the result follow repository architecture and standards? Were edge cases, security, and accessibility considered? Is there test evidence and a safe recovery path?