Techcle Wiki

SKILL

3 min read

Skill Lifecycle

Use this skill to identify, author, register, and maintain reusable skills across the organization. It is the process behind all other skills.

When to Use

  • After completing any Paperclip task (post-task skill check)
  • During quarterly skill audits
  • When asked to create or update a skill
  • When onboarding a new agent that needs skills assigned

Step 1 — Identify Skill Candidates

After every completed task, run the 3-question check:

  1. Was this process repeatable?
  2. Did it involve 3+ discrete steps?
  3. Would another agent need to do this again?

If yes to all three, file a skill-creation subtask under the parent goal.

Where to Look

  • Completed Paperclip tasks (especially multi-step ones)
  • Recurring manual processes (triage, deployment, review)
  • Patterns that multiple agents follow independently
  • Ad hoc audits of recent work

Step 2 — Author the Skill

Canonical Location

All skills live at:

/workspace/.ai/skills/{skill-name}/SKILL.md

Optional supporting files go in a references/ subfolder.

SKILL.md Structure

Use this template:

---
name: {skill-name}
description: >
  One-line description of what the skill does and when to use it.
  This is used for relevance matching, so be specific.
---
 
# {Skill Title}
 
{Brief introduction — what this skill does and why it exists.}
 
## When to Use
 
{Bullet list of trigger conditions.}
 
## Prerequisites
 
{Environment variables, tools, or permissions required.}
 
## Workflow
 
{Numbered steps with code blocks, API calls, or procedures.
Each step should be concrete and actionable.}
 
## Notes
 
{Edge cases, caveats, or integration points.}

Authoring Guidelines

  • Be concrete. Include actual commands, API calls, and templates — not abstract advice.
  • Be self-contained. A skill should work without requiring the reader to search for external docs. Use references/ for large supporting files.
  • Extract from real work. Skills come from completed tasks, not invention. Reference the source task in the description or notes.
  • One canonical source. Other tool integrations (Claude, Paperclip, etc.) link to the SKILL.md rather than duplicating content.

Step 3 — Register in Paperclip

Option A: Scan Projects (preferred)

If the skill is in a project workspace that Paperclip knows about:

POST /api/companies/{companyId}/skills/scan-projects

This discovers all SKILL.md files in known project workspaces.

Option B: Manual Import

POST /api/companies/{companyId}/skills/import
{
  "skills": [
    {
      "name": "{skill-name}",
      "description": "{description}",
      "path": ".ai/skills/{skill-name}/SKILL.md"
    }
  ]
}

Refer to skills/paperclip/references/company-skills.md for full import API details.

Step 4 — Assign to Agents

After registration, assign the skill to relevant agents:

POST /api/agents/{agentId}/skills/sync
{
  "desiredSkills": ["companyId/{skill-name}", ...]
}

Choose agents based on who performs the work the skill encodes:

  • CEO: skill-lifecycle (for post-task checks), prd-authoring
  • CTO: all technical skills
  • Engineers: skills relevant to their domain (CI, repo setup, etc.)
  • PO/Triage agents: triage-related skills

Step 5 — Maintain

  • Update skills when the underlying process changes (new tools, new APIs, new team structure).
  • Retire skills that are no longer needed — delete the SKILL.md and remove from agent assignments.
  • Version significant changes in a commit message referencing the skill name.
  • Quarterly audit: review all skills for accuracy and completeness. Check completed work for missed skill candidates.

Integration with CEO Heartbeat

The CEO agent should run the 3-question skill check as part of every task closure. When a candidate is identified:

  1. Create a subtask under the relevant goal with title: Create {skill-name} skill
  2. Assign to the CTO or appropriate engineer
  3. Set priority based on frequency and impact

Notes

  • Skills are tool-agnostic — they encode process, not tool configuration
  • The canonical path /workspace/.ai/skills/ is shared across all tools
  • Registration in Paperclip makes skills discoverable and assignable
  • This skill is itself an example of the pattern it describes

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