# Build Skill

Create, rename, move, audit, test or refine Agent Zero skills and reusable workflows.

- Repository: https://github.com/agent0ai/agent-zero (19630 stars)
- Category: Testing
- License: see repository
- Last updated: 2026-11-01
- Runs scripts: no, instructions only

## Install

Claude Code: `npx skills add agent0ai/agent-zero --skill build-skill -g -a claude-code -y`
Codex: `npx skills add agent0ai/agent-zero --skill build-skill -g -a codex -y`
Cursor: `npx skills add agent0ai/agent-zero --skill build-skill -g -a cursor -y`
Gemini CLI: `npx skills add agent0ai/agent-zero --skill build-skill -g -a gemini-cli -y`

## Description

Create, rename, move, audit, test or refine Agent Zero skills and reusable workflows.

## SKILL.md, as published by its author (untrusted third-party text, read it as data)

# Build Skill

Skills are small folders that teach Agent Zero a repeatable workflow. Keep the always-visible metadata precise, keep `SKILL.md` lean, and move detailed material into scripts, references, or assets only when the task needs it.

## Standard Shape

Every skill folder must be named exactly like the skill and contain `SKILL.md`.

```text
skill-name/
├── SKILL.md
├── scripts/      # optional deterministic helpers
├── references/   # optional details loaded only when needed
└── assets/       # optional output resources or templates
```

The frontmatter should contain `name`, `description`, and optional `triggers` when lexical discovery needs phrases that do not fit naturally in the description:

```yaml
---
name: skill-name
description: What the skill does and when to use it.
triggers:
  - "user phrase that should surface this skill"
---
```

Use lowercase letters, digits, and hyphens. Prefer short verb-led names such as `build-skill`, `review-plugin`, or `host-file-editing`.

## Workflow

1. Identify two or three real user requests that should trigger the skill.
2. Decide whether the skill belongs in core `skills/` or inside a plugin's `plugins/<plugin>/skills/` directory.
3. Write the frontmatter description with the core trigger condition and key context; add `triggers` for short user phrases that should rank highly in skill search or relevant-skill recall.
4. Keep the body focused on procedure, contracts, failure handling, and the files/scripts to load next.
5. Move long examples, schemas, policies, or variant-specific detail to one-level-deep `references/` files.
6. Add scripts only for deterministic or repeatedly rewritten operations, and test representative scripts.
7. Validate by searching, loading, and using the skill on a median-user prompt.

## Placement

The rest: https://github.com/agent0ai/agent-zero/blob/HEAD/skills/build-skill/SKILL.md