Skill Mastery — Use + Create + Discover

The meta-skill: How to find, use, and create cm-* skills.

Part A: Using Skills

The Rule

Invoke relevant skills BEFORE any response or action. Even 1% chance = check the skill.

Decision Flow

User message received
  → Might any skill apply? (even 1%)
    → YES: Read the skill → Follow it
    → NO: Respond directly

Skill Priority

1. Process skills first (cm-planning, cm-debugging) — determine HOW to approach
2. Implementation skills second (cm-tdd, cm-safe-deploy) — guide execution

Red Flags

Skill Types

• Rigid (cm-tdd, cm-debugging): Follow exactly. Don't adapt away discipline.
• Flexible (cm-planning): Adapt principles to context.

Part B: Creating Skills

When to Create

• Pattern repeated across 3+ projects
• Complex process that needs documentation
• Team convention that should be enforced

Skill Structure

---
name: cm-[skill-name]
description: "One line: when to use this skill"
---

# [Skill Title]

## Overview
What and why. Core principle.

## When to Use
Specific triggers.

## The Process
Step-by-step instructions.

## Red Flags
What NOT to do.

## Integration
How it connects to other cm-* skills.

Rules

✅ DO:
- Keep under 400 lines (token optimization)
- Use tables and code blocks for density
- Include Red Flags section
- Reference other cm-* skills by name
- Test skill with real scenarios before deploying

❌ DON'T:
- Write prose when a table works
- Duplicate content from other skills (reference instead)
- Create skills for one-time tasks
- Exceed 600 lines without good reason

Token Optimization

Part C: Discovering Skills

Adaptive Skills Discovery

When you encounter something you don't have a skill for:

1. DETECT  → "I need to do X but no matching skill"
2. SEARCH  → npx skills find "{keyword}"
3. REVIEW  → Read the SKILL.md — safe? relevant?
4. ASK     → "Found skill '{name}'. Install?"
5. INSTALL → npx skills add {source} --skill {name} -a antigravity
6. USE     → Apply the skill
7. LOG     → Record in .cm-skills-log.json

Safety Rules

• Always show user what you found before installing
• Prefer known repos (vercel-labs/agent-skills)
• Project-level by default, global only if agreed
• Check

  npx skills list

  to avoid duplicates
• Never override existing cm-* skills with external ones

The Cody Master Kit (14 skills)

cm-project-bootstrap

cm-brainstorm-idea

cm-planning

cm-execution

cm-tdd

cm-quality-gate

cm-code-review

cm-safe-deploy

cm-safe-i18n

cm-debugging

cm-terminal

cm-git-worktrees

cm-skill-mastery

cm-identity-guard

The Bottom Line

Skills are discipline, not overhead. Use them. Create them. Never skip them.