GitHub Copilot Skills¶

The Forge repository includes 9 consolidated Agent Skills for GitHub Copilot that provide domain-specific guidance and automation for platform development tasks.

What are Agent Skills?¶

Agent Skills are self-contained folders containing specialized instructions and workflows that GitHub Copilot can use to provide expert assistance for specific tasks. Each skill follows the Agent Skills standard and includes:

YAML frontmatter defining the skill name and description
Detailed instructions and workflows
Code examples and best practices
References subfolder for detailed topic documentation
Troubleshooting guidance

Available Skills¶

Note: Skills are located in the repository at .github/skills/. Links below are repository paths, not documentation paths.

🔨 Core Platform¶

Skill	Description
`forge-standards`	Version compatibility, project structure, emoji conventions
`utils`	Skill creation, Foundry sync, todo tracking

🔀 Git & GitHub¶

Skill	Description
`git-workflows`	Branches, cherry-pick, commit analysis, conventional commits
`github-workflows`	PR creation, issue linking, code review

🚀 Release & Documentation¶

Skill	Description
`release-management`	Version bumps, release notes, announcements
`documentation`	Diátaxis framework, formatting, validation

🛠️ Development¶

Skill	Description
`dotnet-development`	Templates, NuGet packages
`terraform-development`	Module creation, testing
`local-development`	Environment setup, error resolution

How Skills Work¶

Progressive Disclosure¶

Skills use a progressive disclosure pattern:

Description field - Primary trigger for skill discovery (WHEN to use it)
SKILL.md body - Workflow overview and quick reference
references/ folder - Detailed documentation loaded on demand

This minimizes context overhead while providing deep expertise when needed.

Automatic Discovery¶

GitHub Copilot automatically discovers and loads skills from the .github/skills/ directory. Skills are invoked based on:

Task context - Asking for specific tasks (e.g., "Create a PR") triggers relevant skills
Domain keywords - Mentioning "documentation", "release", or "Forge development" activates corresponding skills
File context - Working in specific files may trigger related skills

Manual Invocation¶

You can explicitly request a skill's help:

@copilot Use the documentation skill to validate this file

@copilot Use the git-workflows skill to help me create a feature branch

Skill Structure¶

Each skill follows the Agent Skills standard:

skill-name/
├── SKILL.md              # Required: YAML frontmatter + markdown instructions
└── references/           # Optional: Detailed docs loaded on demand
    ├── topic-a.md
    └── topic-b.md

SKILL.md Format¶

---
name: skill-name
description: >
  What this skill does AND when to use it.
  Include specific triggers and scenarios.
---

# Skill Title

## Workflow

1. Step 1 → See references/topic-a.md
2. Step 2 → See references/topic-b.md

## Quick Reference

[Essential tables/info that applies across all topics]

Key rules:

description is the PRIMARY trigger—include all "when to use" info there
Keep SKILL.md body under 500 lines
Use references/ for detailed documentation

Creating New Skills¶

To add a new skill:

Create a folder with a lowercase, hyphen-separated name
Add SKILL.md with frontmatter (name, description)
Put trigger info in description, not the body
Keep under 500 lines; split to references/ if needed
Test with GitHub Copilot

📖 See .github/skills/utils/references/skill-creation.md in the repository for detailed guidance.

Naming Conventions¶

Pattern	Example	Use Case
`{domain}-{specialty}`	`terraform-development`, `git-workflows`	Domain-specific skills
`{action}-{object}`	`release-management`	Task-oriented skills

Best Practices¶

For Skill Creators¶

Do:

✅ Focus on specific, actionable tasks
✅ Include real code examples
✅ Use progressive disclosure (SKILL.md → references/)
✅ Keep content current with platform versions
✅ Make descriptions specific with clear triggers

Don't:

❌ Create overly broad or vague skills
❌ Duplicate content across skills
❌ Exceed 500 lines in SKILL.md
❌ Put "when to use" in body instead of description

For Skill Users¶