Agent Skills: What They Are & How to Use Them

If you've ever watched your AI coding assistant confidently write code that completely misses the point of your project, you've experienced the context gap problem. The AI doesn't know your project's conventions, constraints, or goals—so it hallucinates.

Agent Skills solve this by teaching your AI how to work within your specific project.

What Are Agent Skills?

Agent Skills are structured instruction files that teach AI coding agents (like Claude Code, Cursor, or Windsurf) how to perform specific tasks within your project context.

Unlike generic prompts, skills are:

• Project-aware: They know your tech stack, coding conventions, and architectural patterns
• Task-specific: Each skill handles one job (planning, testing, deploying, etc.)
• Reusable: Load the same skills across all your coding sessions

Think of skills as a training manual for your AI assistant—customized to your codebase.

Why Skills Matter

The Problem: Context Loss

Every time you start a new AI coding session:

1. The AI has no memory of your project
2. It guesses your conventions (often wrong)
3. It writes code that "works" but breaks your patterns
4. You spend time fixing hallucinations

The Solution: Skills

With a skill pack installed, your AI:

1. Knows your project's goals from day one
2. Follows your established patterns
3. Writes code that fits your architecture
4. Reduces hallucinations by 60-80%

The 6 Foundation Skills

Every project needs these core capabilities:

Skill	What It Does
Planning Projects	Breaks work into phases, milestones, and dependencies
Exploring Repos	Navigates codebases and understands architecture
Writing Documentation	Generates READMEs, API docs, and inline comments
Testing Code	Writes unit, integration, and E2E tests
Reviewing Changes	Audits PRs for bugs, security, and best practices
Deploying Apps	Ships to production with proper CI/CD practices

How to Generate Skills for Your Project

1. Go to the Agent Skills Generator
2. Enter your project name and tech stack
3. Select your target platforms (Claude Code, Cursor, etc.)
4. Download your custom skill pack

The generator creates project-specific skills based on your stack and goals. A Next.js + Supabase project gets different skills than a Python FastAPI project.

Using Skills with Claude Code

1. Unzip your skill pack into your project's .agent/skills/ folder
2. The skills automatically load when Claude Code starts
3. Reference skills in your prompts: "Use the testing-code skill to write tests for this component"

Using Skills with Cursor

1. Copy skill files into your .cursor/rules/ folder
2. Skills become part of Cursor's context
3. The AI automatically applies skills when relevant

Best Practices

1. Start with Foundation Skills: Use the 6 core skills before creating custom ones
2. Update Skills When Patterns Change: If you refactor, update your skills
3. Share Skills Across Team: Everyone on your team should use the same skill pack
4. Combine with PRD: Skills work best when paired with a clear PRD

What's Next?

Ready to give your AI agent project-aware skills?

Generate Your Free Skill Pack →

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FAQ

Do skills work with all AI coding tools?

Skills work with Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, and VS Code Copilot (with configuration). We're adding support for more tools.

How are skills different from .cursorrules?

Skills are more granular and task-specific. A .cursorrules file sets global behavior; skills teach specific capabilities. Use both together for best results.

Can I create custom skills?

Yes! Start with Foundation Skills, then create custom skills for your specific workflows (like "deploying to AWS" or "writing GraphQL resolvers").