Skills Quick Start Guide¶

Time to Complete: 5 minutes Prerequisites: None Version: 1.0.0

What Are Skills?¶

Skills are modular, bite-sized standards that load progressively. Instead of reading 50,000+ token documents, you load exactly what you need—in 5 minutes or less.

3-Step Quick Start¶

Step 1: Load Your First Skill (30 seconds)¶

Note: The @load directive is planned for v2.0. Current implementation uses the skill-loader script.

Current (v1.x):

python3 scripts/skill-loader.py load skill:coding-standards

Planned (v2.0):

@load skill:coding-standards

What you get:

• ✅ Core principles
• ✅ Quick reference
• ✅ Essential checklist
• ✅ Common pitfalls

Token cost: 327 tokens (~5 min read)

Step 2: Try Product Type Loading (30 seconds)¶

Current (v1.x):

# For API projects
python3 scripts/skill-loader.py load product:api

# For frontend projects
python3 scripts/skill-loader.py load product:frontend-web

# For mobile apps
python3 scripts/skill-loader.py load product:mobile

Planned (v2.0):

# For API projects
@load product:api

# For frontend projects
@load product:frontend-web

# For mobile apps
@load product:mobile

Auto-loads relevant skills based on your project type.

Step 3: Get Recommendations (1 minute)¶

python3 scripts/skill-loader.py recommend ./

# Output:
# 🔍 Detected: REST API (Python/FastAPI)
# 📚 Recommended: coding-standards, security-practices, testing, nist-compliance
# 💡 Load with (v1.x): python3 scripts/skill-loader.py load product:api
# 💡 Load with (v2.0 - planned): @load product:api

Common Use Cases¶

Starting a New Project¶

Current (v1.x):

python3 scripts/skill-loader.py load product:api --language python
# Loads: coding-standards, security-practices, testing, nist-compliance
# Token cost: ~1,755 (Level 1)

Planned (v2.0):

@load product:api --language python

Code Review¶

Current (v1.x):

python3 scripts/skill-loader.py load "skill:coding-standards + skill:testing"
# Quick checklists for review

Planned (v2.0):

@load [skill:coding-standards + skill:testing] --level 1

Security Audit¶

Current (v1.x):

python3 scripts/skill-loader.py load "skill:security-practices + skill:nist-compliance" --level 2
# Comprehensive security coverage

Planned (v2.0):

@load [skill:security-practices + skill:nist-compliance] --level 2

Progressive Levels¶

Level 1: Quick Start (5 min, <2,000 tokens)¶

Current (v1.x):

python3 scripts/skill-loader.py load skill:testing --level 1

Planned (v2.0):

@load skill:testing --level 1

Perfect for:

• Quick reference
• Onboarding
• Code review checklists

Level 2: Implementation (30 min, <5,000 tokens)¶

Current (v1.x):

python3 scripts/skill-loader.py load skill:testing --level 2

Planned (v2.0):

@load skill:testing --level 2

Perfect for:

• Implementing features
• Deep problem-solving
• System design

Level 3: Mastery (Extended)¶

Current (v1.x):

python3 scripts/skill-loader.py load skill:testing --level 3

Planned (v2.0):

@load skill:testing --level 3

Perfect for:

• Advanced topics
• Tool selection
• Architecture decisions

Available Skills¶

Total (all Level 1): ~2,083 tokens

CLI Commands¶

Load Skills¶

# Single skill
python3 scripts/skill-loader.py load skill:coding-standards

# Multiple skills
python3 scripts/skill-loader.py load "skill:coding-standards + skill:testing"

# Product type
python3 scripts/skill-loader.py load product:api --language python

Get Recommendations¶

python3 scripts/skill-loader.py recommend ./

List Skills¶

python3 scripts/skill-loader.py list

Validate Skills¶

python3 scripts/validate-skills.py skills/

Token Efficiency¶

Before Skills¶

Full standards: ~150,000 tokens (loading all documents)
Load time: Minutes
Cost: High

After Skills (Level 1)¶

All skills: ~2,083 tokens
Load time: Seconds
Cost: 98% reduction compared to loading all standards documents

Example: Loading product:api with skills uses ~1,755 tokens vs ~150K tokens for all docs (98.8% reduction)

Next Steps¶

1. Try it now (v1.x): python3 scripts/skill-loader.py load skill:coding-standards --level 1
2. Get recommendations: python3 scripts/skill-loader.py recommend ./
3. Read full guide: SKILLS_USER_GUIDE.md
4. Explore catalog: SKILLS_CATALOG.md

Need Help?¶

• User Guide: SKILLS_USER_GUIDE.md
• Migration Guide: MIGRATION_GUIDE.md
• API Docs: SKILLS_API.md
• GitHub Issues: Report issues

That's it! Start loading skills and experience 98% token reduction (compared to loading all standards documents) with better context. 🚀

Last Updated: 2025-10-16 | Version: 1.0.0