Loading skill
Install any skill in seconds. Free to start, no credit card required.
Get Started Free →haiyangchenbj/skill-design-guide
Design better AI skills with proven architecture patterns. Helps you decide Workflow vs Agent, pick the right pattern (Prompt Chaining, Routing, Parallelization, Orchestrator-Workers, Evaluator-Optimizer), write clean SKILL.md files, and catch common mistakes with a 25-point quality checklist. Based on design principles from Anthropic, OpenAI, and LangChain.
Passed 19 of 23 test cases with the skill, and 11 of 23 without it.
and 7 more in the full report
8 fixed11 passed either way4 still failing0 broke
Tokens, turns and time describe resource use, not a dollar price.
One of 8 test cases the skill fixed. Same model, same prompt, with and without the skill.
We are designing a skill where tasks are completely unpredictable and subtasks must be dynamically generated and assigned to separate worker instances during execution. Which pattern fits this rare scenario, and what caveat applies to its usage?
| Checked | Without skill | With skill |
|---|---|---|
| Selects the Orchestrator-Workers workflow pattern. | Passed | Passed |
| Notes that Orchestrator-Workers should be used sparingly. | Missed | Passed |
The instructions your model reads when the skill loads.
30-Second Test: If you're writing a SKILL.md or your skill "works but feels messy", load this guide.
| Tool | Purpose |
|---|---|
| skill-creator | HOW to structure a SKILL.md file |
| THIS GUIDE | WHY behind design decisions — Workflow vs Agent, which pattern |
This guide answers WHY, not HOW. See references/agent-design-research.md for full industry research background.
| Mode | Trigger | Output |
|---|---|---|
| New Design | "I want to build a [X] skill" | Architecture blueprint (pattern + structure) |
| Skill Review | "Review this skill" / "Check quality" | Report via checklist |
| Pattern Selection | "Should I use X or Y?" | Pattern recommendation with rationale |
These cannot be violated. They override all other considerations.
[Deterministic]/[LLM], Hard Rules, Failure Handling, Output Format.Start simple. Add complexity only when simpler solutions fall short.
Practical checklist:
test cases passed, vs 11 / 23 without
Published skills whose descriptions closely match this one, with their headline benchmark lift.
More skills from the same source and nearby in the registry, with their headline benchmark lift.