using-skills

Using Skills

Overview

Skills are not optional reading — they are mandatory workflows when their activation conditions are met.

Core principle: If a skill exists for your situation, you MUST use it. Not using it is a process violation.

The Iron Law

IF A SKILL EXISTS FOR YOUR SITUATION, YOU MUST USE IT. NO EXCEPTIONS.

When to Use

• Before starting any task (check if a skill applies)
• When composing multiple skills for complex work
• When unsure which skill applies

When NOT to Use

This is a meta-skill. It's always relevant. Check it before every task.

Anti-Shortcut Rules

YOU CANNOT:
- Skip checking for applicable skills — check before EVERY task
- Cherry-pick parts of a skill — follow it completely or not at all
- Say "I know the gist" and skip reading SKILL.md — read it fully every time
- Override Iron Laws with rationalizations — Iron Laws are absolute
- Skip a skill because "this task is simple" — simple tasks have applicable skills too
- Use a skill partially and claim you followed it — partial compliance ≠ compliance
- Deviate from a skill without documenting why and getting approval

How Skills Work

Automatic Activation

Skills activate when their description field matches the current situation:

# In each SKILL.md:
description: "Use when debugging any technical issue..."

Before every task, check: Does a skill exist for this?

Skill Composition

Skills compose naturally. A typical feature implementation activates:

brainstorming          → Understand requirements
    ↓
writing-plans          → Create implementation plan
    ↓
executing-plans        → Execute task by task
    ├── test-driven-development  → Per-task TDD cycle
    ├── verification-before-completion → After each task
    └── git-workflow             → Atomic commits
    ↓
code-review            → Review all changes
    ↓
verification-before-completion → Final verification

Common Compositions

Scenario	Skill Chain
New feature	brainstorming → writing-plans → executing-plans
Bug fix	systematic-debugging → test-driven-development → verification-before-completion
Full audit	codebase-mapping → architecture-audit + security-audit + performance-audit + database-audit
Refactoring	codebase-mapping → architecture-audit → refactoring-safely
Production incident	incident-response → systematic-debugging → test-driven-development
New API endpoint	brainstorming → api-design-audit → writing-plans → executing-plans
Frontend feature	brainstorming → frontend-audit → writing-plans → executing-plans
Deep quality check	product-completeness-audit → brutal-exhaustive-audit
API integration	full-stack-api-integration → verification-before-completion
Documentation	writing-documentation → code-review
Multi-role task	agent-team-coordination → (skills per role)