Skillshub Workflow Writing Standard
Rules for writing concise, token-efficient workflow and skill files. Prevents over-building that requires costly optimization passes.
install
source · Clone the upstream repo
git clone https://github.com/ComeOnOliver/skillshub
Claude Code · Install into ~/.claude/skills/
T=$(mktemp -d) && git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/ComeOnOliver/skillshub "$T" && mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && cp -r "$T/skills/HoangNguyen0403/agent-skills-standard/workflow-writing" ~/.claude/skills/comeonoliver-skillshub-workflow-writing-standard && rm -rf "$T"
manifest:
skills/HoangNguyen0403/agent-skills-standard/workflow-writing/SKILL.mdsource content
Workflow Writing Standard
Priority: P0 (CRITICAL)
Core Rules
- Templates, not examples: Workflows define structure, not pre-filled data. The agent generates data at runtime.
- No example rows in tables: Include headers + 1 skeleton row only. Never populate with fake data.
- No prose explanations: If a bullet or command achieves the same result, delete the paragraph.
- No pre-answered questions: Don't document what the agent will output — let it output it.
- Merge sequential steps: If two steps always happen together, they are one step.
Size Limits
| File type | Limit | If exceeded |
|---|---|---|
Workflow | 80 lines | Extract detail to |
| SKILL.md | 100 lines | Extract examples to |
| Table rows | 8 | Extract to |
| Inline code block | 10 lines | Extract to |
Workflow Structure (Required order)
1. Goal (1 sentence) 2. Steps (imperative verb → command or checklist) 3. Output template (headers only, no pre-filled rows)
Anti-Patterns
- No verbose step preambles:
→ Delete"Before we start, it's important to understand..." - No pre-filled report rows:
→ Delete| Security | P0 | ✅ PASS | CLIENT_ID moved to env | - No repeated examples: Same concept shown twice in different formats → Keep one
- No "How to do X" sections: The step IS the instruction
- No caution blocks for obvious rules: Reserve
for genuinely non-obvious risks> ⚠️
Quick Self-Check Before Saving
- Can the agent reconstruct any removed content at runtime from context? If yes → remove it
- Is every table row real structure, not example data?
- Are there any paragraphs a bullet list could replace?
- Would cutting this in half still give the agent enough to act on?