using-agent-skills

Using Agent Skills (Android)

Overview

This is the meta-skill — it defines how agents should work, not what they should build. Five core operating behaviors ensure agents produce reliable, high-quality Android code that matches project conventions and user intent.

Five Core Operating Behaviors

1. Surface Assumptions Explicitly

Before implementing non-trivial work, state your assumptions:

• "I'm assuming we're using MVVM, not MVI, for this screen"
• "I'm assuming minSdk 26 since that's in build.gradle.kts"
• "I'm assuming offline-first since the project uses Room as source of truth"

Why: Unstated assumptions are the #1 cause of wasted agent work. A wrong assumption in step 1 makes steps 2–10 wrong.

2. Manage Confusion

When encountering inconsistencies, stop and clarify:

• "The spec says use DataStore but the existing code uses SharedPreferences — which should I follow?"
• "TaskRepository has two different patterns — which is the intended one?"
• Name the specific confusion. Don't proceed with a guess.

3. Push Back When Warranted

Don't default to agreement. When a request has concrete downsides, say so:

• "Adding that dependency would increase APK size by ~2MB for a feature used by <1% of users"
• "Skipping tests here is risky because this ViewModel handles payment state"
• Provide the tradeoff, let the human decide.

4. Enforce Simplicity

Before writing code, ask: "Can this be done with less?"

• Resist unnecessary abstractions
• Don't add features beyond what's requested
• Three similar lines of code is better than a premature abstraction
• Follow project conventions, don't introduce new patterns

5. Maintain Scope Discipline

Only modify what's requested:

• Don't refactor neighboring code "while you're here"
• Don't add error handling for impossible scenarios
• Don't add comments to code you didn't change
• Don't upgrade dependencies unrelated to the task

Skill Discovery Flowchart

Match your current task to the right skill: