hive.writing-hive-skills
Author a new Agent Skill for a Hive agent that conforms to the Agent Skills specification (SKILL.md with YAML frontmatter, optional scripts/references/assets directories). Use when the user asks to create, scaffold, add, or package a new skill for a Hive agent.
npx skills add aden-hive/hive --skill writing-hive-skills --agent claude-code
Same command for any agent — swap --agent for codex, cursor, copilot.
Weekly change comes from our own snapshots, not the repository page — it measures attention, not adoption.
## Operational Protocol: Writing Hive Skills Hive agents discover skills by scanning several roots, in precedence order: 1. `<project>/.hive/skills/` — project, Hive-specific 2. `<project>/.agents/skills/` — project, cross-client 3. `~/.hive/skills/` — user, Hive-specific 4. `~/.agents/skills/` — user, cross-client 5. Framework defaults shipped in `core/framework/skills/_default_skills/` Each skill is a directory containing a `SKILL.md`. At startup, only the frontmatter `name` + `description` of every skill is loaded; the body is loaded only when the agent activates the skill. Design for that. ### Choosing where to put a new skill - **Colony-scoped (via `create_colony`)**: when the skill is the operational protocol a single colony needs — its API auth, DOM selectors, DB schema, task-queue conventions — do NOT place it under `~/.hive/skills/` or `<project>/.hive/skills/` yourself. Those roots are SHARED and every colony on the machine will see it. Instead, pass the skill content INLINE to the `create_colony` tool (`skill_name`, `skill_description`, `skill_body`, optional `skill_files`). The tool materializes the folder under `~/.hive/colonies/<colony_name>/.hive/skills/<skill-name>/
- Operational Protocol: Writing Hive Skills
- Choosing where to put a new skill
- Colony-scoped skills via createcolony
- Directory layout
- SKILL.md frontmatter
- Writing a good description
- Writing the body
- Progressive disclosure
- Scripts
- Creating a new skill — workflow
- Registering as a framework default
- What NOT to put in a skill
uv run hive skill validate <path-to-skill-dir> uv run hive skill doctor
What does the hive.writing-hive-skills skill do?
Author a new Agent Skill for a Hive agent that conforms to the Agent Skills specification (SKILL.md with YAML frontmatter, optional scripts/references/assets directories). Use when the user asks to create, scaffold, add, or package a new skill for a Hive agent.
How do I install it?
Run `npx skills add aden-hive/hive --skill writing-hive-skills --agent claude-code` — it drops the skill into your project so the agent can pick it up. Swap the --agent value for codex, cursor or copilot if you use one of those.
Where does this skill come from?
From aden-hive/hive, a repository with 10,850 stars. We read it straight from the repository tree rather than a submitted listing, so what you see here is what is actually published.
Is a popular skill a good skill?
Not necessarily. Stars measure attention, not adoption — a repository can trend for a week and be abandoned. That is why we show the weekly change from our own snapshots next to the total, instead of a single flattering number.