66 lines
4.4 KiB
Markdown
66 lines
4.4 KiB
Markdown
# Quality Dimensions — Quick Reference
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Seven dimensions to keep in mind when building agent skills. The quality scanners check these automatically during quality analysis — this is a mental checklist for the build phase.
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## 1. Outcome-Driven Design
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Describe what each capability achieves, not how to do it step by step. The agent's persona context (identity, communication style, principles) informs HOW — capability prompts just need the WHAT.
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- **The test:** Would removing this instruction cause the agent to produce a worse outcome? If the agent would do it anyway given its persona and the desired outcome, the instruction is noise.
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- **Pruning:** If a capability prompt teaches the LLM something it already knows — or repeats guidance already in the agent's identity/style — cut it.
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- **When procedure IS value:** Exact script invocations, specific file paths, API calls, security-critical operations. These need low freedom.
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## 2. Informed Autonomy
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The executing agent needs enough context to make judgment calls when situations don't match the script. The Overview section establishes this: domain framing, theory of mind, design rationale.
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- Simple agents with 1-2 capabilities need minimal context
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- Agents with memory, autonomous mode, or complex capabilities need domain understanding, user perspective, and rationale for non-obvious choices
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- When in doubt, explain _why_ — an agent that understands the mission improvises better than one following blind steps
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## 3. Intelligence Placement
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Scripts handle plumbing (fetch, transform, validate). Prompts handle judgment (interpret, classify, decide).
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**Test:** If a script contains an `if` that decides what content _means_, intelligence has leaked.
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**Reverse test:** If a prompt validates structure, counts items, parses known formats, compares against schemas, or checks file existence — determinism has leaked into the LLM. That work belongs in a script.
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## 4. Progressive Disclosure
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SKILL.md stays focused. Detail goes where it belongs.
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- Capability instructions → `./references/`
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- Reference data, schemas, large tables → `./references/`
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- Templates, starter files → `./assets/`
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- Memory discipline → `./references/memory-system.md`
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- Multi-capability SKILL.md under ~250 lines: fine as-is
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- Single-purpose up to ~500 lines: acceptable if focused
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## 5. Description Format
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Two parts: `[5-8 word summary]. [Use when user says 'X' or 'Y'.]`
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Default to conservative triggering. See `./references/standard-fields.md` for full format.
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## 6. Path Construction
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Use `{project-root}` for any project-scope path. Use `./` for skill-internal paths. Config variables used directly — they already contain `{project-root}`.
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See `./references/standard-fields.md` for correct/incorrect patterns.
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## 7. Token Efficiency
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Remove genuine waste (repetition, defensive padding, meta-explanation). Preserve context that enables judgment (persona voice, domain framing, theory of mind, design rationale). These are different things — never trade effectiveness for efficiency. A capability that works correctly but uses extra tokens is always better than one that's lean but fails edge cases.
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## 8. Sanctum Architecture (memory agents only)
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Memory agents have additional quality dimensions beyond the general seven:
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- **Bootloader weight:** SKILL.md should be ~30 lines of content. If it's heavier, content belongs in sanctum templates instead.
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- **Template seed quality:** All 6 standard sanctum templates (INDEX, PERSONA, CREED, BOND, MEMORY, CAPABILITIES) must exist. CREED, BOND, and PERSONA should have meaningful seed values, not empty placeholders. MEMORY starts empty (correct).
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- **First Breath completeness:** first-breath.md must exist with all universal mechanics (for calibration: pacing, mirroring, hypotheses, silence-as-signal, save-as-you-go; for configuration: discovery questions, urgency detection). Must have domain-specific territories beyond universal ones. Birthday ceremony must be present.
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- **Standing orders:** CREED template must include surprise-and-delight and self-improvement, domain-adapted with concrete examples.
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- **Init script validity:** init-sanctum.py must exist, SKILL_NAME must match the skill name, TEMPLATE_FILES must match actual templates in ./assets/.
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- **Self-containment:** After init script runs, the sanctum must be fully self-contained. The agent should not depend on the skill bundle for normal operation (only for First Breath and init).
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