Guide for creating agent-deck watchers conversationally. This skill should be used when users want to set up a new watcher (webhook, ntfy, github, slack, gmail) to route events to a conductor. It walks the user through selecting an adapter type, gathering required settings, generating watcher.toml and clients.json entries, and emits the exact `agent-deck watcher create` command to run.
SkillScore73Maintained
Automatic
◆AI Engineer pack
Last verified 8/18/2026
What it changes
Passed 16 of 22 test cases with the skill, and 6 of 22 without it.
Without skill27%
With skill73%
Checks it passed that the model alone missed
The default port is specified as 18460.
The default TCP port for the GitHub adapter is specified as 18461.
The default directory path uses $HOME/.local/share/agent-deck/watcher.
and 11 more in the full report
11 fixed5 passed either way5 still failing1 broke
Pass-rate lift
+45 pp
Tokens
+103%
Agent turns
0%
Response time
-48%
Model gemini-3.6-flashMeasured 8/18/2026v116 of 22 cases passed with skill
Tokens, turns and time describe resource use, not a dollar price.
See it in action
One of 11 test cases the skill fixed. Same model, same prompt, with and without the skill.
1 of 11
Prompt
Where does agent-deck store watcher configuration files like watcher.toml and clients.json for a newly initialized user account?
What was checked, without and with the skill
Checked
Without skill
With skill
The default directory path uses $HOME/.local/share/agent-deck/watcher.
Missed
Passed
case-11 · gemini-3.6-flash · 8/18/2026 · answers are capped and redacted
What's inside
The instructions your model reads when the skill loads.
SKILL.md258 linessingle file
Watcher Creator
Overview
This skill guides users through setting up a new agent-deck watcher from scratch. A watcher listens for incoming events (webhooks, ntfy notifications, GitHub events, Slack messages, or Gmail messages) and routes them to the appropriate conductor session. The skill asks clarifying questions, collects required settings, and emits the exact CLI command and configuration files to create a working watcher.
When to use
Invoke this skill when a user says things like:
"I want to set up a new watcher"
"How do I connect GitHub webhooks to agent-deck?"
"Help me route Slack messages to a conductor"
"Create a watcher for my Gmail inbox"
"I need agent-deck to listen for ntfy notifications"
Step-by-step conversational flow
Step 1: Choose adapter type
Ask the user which source they want to receive events from. Present the five options:
webhook - Generic HTTP POST webhook (any service that can send HTTP)
slack - Slack messages via a Cloudflare Worker bridge to ntfy
gmail - Gmail inbox via Google Cloud Pub/Sub watch
Step 2: Gather required settings for the chosen type
Once the user picks a type, ask for the settings specific to that adapter (see the per-type sections below). Ask for each required setting one at a time to avoid overwhelming the user.
Also ask:
Watcher name: A short lowercase identifier (e.g., my-webhook, github-alerts). This becomes the directory name under the effective watcher data dir (${XDG_DATA_HOME:-$HOME/.local/share}/agent-deck/watcher for new users; legacy ~/.agent-deck/watcher remains in use when existing watcher state is present).
Conductor: Which conductor session this watcher should route events to by default (the conductor field in clients.json).
Group: Which group the conductor session lives in (the group field in clients.json).
Step 3: Generate a watcher.toml block
Produce a TOML configuration block for the user to save as ${XDG_DATA_HOME:-$HOME/.local/share}/agent-deck/watcher/<name>/watcher.toml, or the legacy ~/.agent-deck/watcher/<name>/watcher.toml if agent-deck is already using legacy watcher state.