Create Settings Model Skill

Creates a complete settings model package with proper directory structure, dependencies, and SettingsModel trait implementation.

Roles

You (reading this file) are the orchestrator.

Role	Reads	Does
Orchestrator (you)	SKILL.md, next-step.py output	Runs state machine, spawns subagents, writes outputs
State machine	progress.json, workspace files	Decides next action, validates gates
Subagent	Phase file (e.g., SCAFFOLD.md)	Executes phase instructions

⚠️ You do NOT read files in

phases/

— pass them to subagents via context_files. Subagents read their phase file and execute it.

Orchestrator Loop

workspace = f"planning/{model_name}-settings"
bash(f"mkdir -p {workspace}", on_error="raise")
write("create", f"{workspace}/input.txt", file_text=f"Model name: {model_name}
Description: {description}")

while True:
  action = bash(f"python3 skills/create-settings-model/next-step.py {workspace}", on_error="raise")
  a = json.loads(action)
  
  if a["type"] == "done":
    final = fs_read("Line", f"{workspace}/FINAL.md", 1, 1000)
    break
  
  if a["type"] == "gate_failed":
    log(f"Gate failed: {a['reason']}")
    break
  
  if a["type"] == "spawn":
    r = spawn(
      a["prompt"],
      context_files=a["context_files"],
      context_data=a.get("context_data"),
      allow_tools=True
    )
    write("create", f"{workspace}/{a['output_file']}", file_text=r.response)

Handling Exceptions

The state machine handles the happy path. When things go wrong, exercise judgment:

Exception	Response
Spawn times out	Assess: retry with longer timeout? Report partial progress?
Spawn returns error	Report failure to state machine, let it track retries
Empty/invalid response	Treat as failure, report to state machine

Don't silently advance past failures. Either retry, fail explicitly, or document gaps.

Anti-Patterns

❌ Don't	✅ Do
Read phase files yourself	Pass phase files via context_files to subagents
Decide what phase is next	State machine decides via next-step.py
Skip gates "because it looks done"	Always validate gates
Store state in your memory	State lives in progress.json
Silently advance past failures	Retry, fail, or document gaps

Phases

1. SCAFFOLD: Create directory structure and basic files (Cargo.toml, lib.rs, main.rs)
2. IMPLEMENT: Implement SettingsModel trait methods (get_version, set, generate, validate)
3. VALIDATE: Verify with cargo check

Inputs

Gather before starting:

• Model name (e.g., "myapp")
• Description of what settings this model manages
• Settings fields and their types

Outputs

Complete settings model package at:

kits/bottlerocket-core-kit/packages/<name>-settings/
├── Cargo.toml
├── lib.rs
└── main.rs