Built-in Skills Index¶

specsmith ships with 131 built-in skills across 16 domains. Each skill is a curated SKILL.md injected into the agent context with specsmith skill activate <slug> or auto-matched by project type.

Using skills

specsmith skills list                  # list all skills
specsmith skills list --domain docs    # filter by domain
specsmith skill activate mkdocs        # inject into .agents/skills/
specsmith skills search "vivado"       # search by keyword

In the REPL: /skill mkdocs to load a skill mid-session.

Governance (14)¶

Skills for project governance workflows, verification, release management, ESDB, CI polling, IP prosecution, and AI code review.

Slug	Name	Key tags
`chronomemory-esdb`	ChronoMemory ESDB — epistemic state database (v0.1.1)	esdb, chronomemory, wal, query, context-pack
`codity-ai-review`	Codity.ai AI Review — staged-diff code review, security scan, test-gen	codity, ai-review, code-review, security, pre-commit
`diff-reviewer`	Diff Reviewer — surface changes for approval	git, review, pr
`gh-ci-polling`	GitHub Actions CI polling — smart wait (no sleep)	ci, gh, polling, github-actions
`issue-triage`	Issue Triage — classify and prioritise GitHub issues	github, issues, labels
`onboarding-coach`	Onboarding Coach — guided first session	onboarding, first-run
`patent-prosecution-workflow`	Patent Prosecution Workflow — prior-art, USPTO MCP, PAR	patent, uspto, ppubs, claim-themes, ip
`planner`	Planner — propose-then-execute	planning, aee, governance
`release-pilot`	Release Pilot — gitflow release cut	git, semver, release, gitflow
`specsmith`	Specsmith — master governance CLI reference	specsmith, aee, session, audit, phase
`specsmith-audit`	Specsmith Audit — drift detection and governance health	specsmith, audit, drift, health, aee
`specsmith-save`	Specsmith Save — governance-aware save workflow	specsmith, save, commit, esdb, backup
`specsmith-session-governance`	Specsmith Session Governance — drift prevention, heartbeat, preflight gate	governance, session, drift, checkpoint, anchor
`verifier`	Verifier — five-gate verification	audit, tests, verification

Documentation (10) — H23/H24¶

Documentation systems covered by governance rules H23 and H24. Default recommendations by language/stack:

Stack	Recommended skill
Python	`mkdocs` (narrative docs) + `sphinx` (API docs)
Rust library	`rustdoc`
Rust app	`mdbook`
C/C++	`doxygen`
JavaScript	`jsdoc`
TypeScript	`typedoc`
Java / Kotlin	`javadoc`
REST API	`openapi`
Any project (bare minimum)	`user-manual-md`

Slug	Name	Key tags
`doxygen`	Doxygen — C/C++ API docs, Doxyfile, HTML + LaTeX	c, cpp, api-docs, graphviz
`javadoc`	Javadoc / Dokka — Java and Kotlin API docs	java, kotlin, gradle
`jsdoc`	JSDoc — JavaScript API docs, @param/@returns	javascript, nodejs
`mdbook`	mdBook — Rust book-format docs, GitHub Pages	rust, markdown, github-pages
`mkdocs`	MkDocs — Material theme, RTD deploy, nav	python, readthedocs, material
`openapi`	OpenAPI / Swagger — REST API specs, validation	rest, swagger, codegen
`rustdoc`	rustdoc — cargo doc, docs.rs, doctests	rust, api-docs, docs-rs
`sphinx`	Sphinx — RST/MyST, autodoc, RTD, intersphinx	python, sphinx, autodoc
`typedoc`	TypeDoc — TypeScript API docs, reflection	typescript, tsdoc
`user-manual-md`	User Manual — MANUAL.md bare-minimum docs	manual, minimal, markdown

Hardware / EDA (9)¶

FPGA, PCB, and embedded hardware design skills.

Slug	Name	Key tags
`altium-designer`	Altium Designer — schematics, PCB, BOM, ODB++, Vault	altium, pcb, eda
`gtkwave`	GTKWave — VCD/FST waveform analysis	gtkwave, vcd, simulation, verilog, vhdl
`jtag-debug`	JTAG/SWD Debug — adapters, boundary scan, GDB, J-Link	jtag, swd, gdb, debug
`kicad`	KiCad — schematic, PCB layout, DRC/ERC, Gerber	kicad, pcb, gerber
`openocd`	OpenOCD — flash, GDB debug, JTAG/SWD	openocd, flash, stm32
`pynq`	PYNQ — PYNQ-Z1/Z2, Overlay, MMIO, GPIO, DMA	pynq, zynq, overlay, python
`quartus-prime`	Intel/Altera Quartus Prime — TimeQuest, SignalTap	quartus, intel, fpga, verilog, vhdl
`vivado`	AMD/Xilinx Vivado — project flow, IP, timing	vivado, fpga, verilog, systemverilog, vhdl
`vivado-zynq-ps-pl`	Vivado — Zynq PS+PL deployment (Kria, PYNQ-Z2)	zynq, kria, axi, fpgautil

Verilog vs VHDL

Vivado and Quartus skills cover both HDLs. Most teams pick one primary HDL (Verilog/SV or VHDL) for their own RTL; the other appears when vendor IP or legacy modules require it. See the vivado skill's HDL — Verilog vs VHDL section for add_files patterns and mixed-language builds.

Embedded / RTOS (10)¶

RTOS and embedded Linux skills.

Slug	Name	Key tags
`azure-rtos`	Azure RTOS — ThreadX, FileX, USBX, NetX Duo	azure-rtos, threadx, iot
`buildroot`	Buildroot — menuconfig, BR2_EXTERNAL, packages	buildroot, rootfs, board
`embedded-linux`	Embedded Linux — cross-compile, rootfs, systemd	cross-compile, sysroot
`freertos`	FreeRTOS — tasks, queues, heap schemes, CMake	freertos, rtos, cmake
`mbed-os`	Mbed OS 6 — Mbed CLI 2, Greentea testing	mbed, arm, cortex-m
`nuttx-rtos`	NuttX — menuconfig, NSH, apps	nuttx, rtos, posix
`rt-thread`	RT-Thread — scons, packages, Studio IDE	rt-thread, rtos
`rtems`	RTEMS — RSB toolchain, BSPs, testing	rtems, bsp
`yocto-bsp`	Yocto/OpenEmbedded — kas, bitbake, layers, devtool	yocto, bitbake, recipe
`zephyr-rtos`	Zephyr RTOS — west, KConfig, DTS, Twister	zephyr, west, devicetree

Cloud (4)¶

Cloud CLI and infrastructure skills.

Slug	Name	Key tags
`aws-cli`	AWS CLI v2 — profiles, SSO, S3, EC2, Lambda, CDK	aws, s3, lambda, cdk
`azure-cli`	Azure CLI — resource groups, AKS, App Service, Bicep	azure, aks, bicep
`gcp-cli`	GCP — gcloud CLI, GKE, Cloud Run, GCS, IAM	gcp, gke, cloud-run
`gh-cli`	GitHub CLI (gh) — PRs, issues, Actions, releases	github, gh, actions

DevOps (6)¶

Container, orchestration, CI/CD, and GitHub health skills.

Slug	Name	Key tags
`ci-cd-github-actions`	GitHub Actions — workflows, matrix, secrets, caching	github-actions, ci, yaml
`docker-workflow`	Docker — multi-stage builds, Compose, registries	docker, compose, dockerfile
`github-actions-ci`	GitHub Actions CI — Layer1Labs pattern (zero-trust, parallel)	ci, permissions, zero-trust, matrix
`github-health-check`	GitHub Health Check — CI/PR/security/code-quality triage	ci, codeql, dependabot, pr, triage
`kubernetes`	Kubernetes — kubectl, Helm, namespaces, GitOps	kubernetes, helm, gitops
`terraform`	Terraform — init/plan/apply, state, modules	terraform, iac, hcl

Mobile (4)¶

iOS, Android, Flutter, and React Native skills.

Slug	Name	Key tags
`android-dev`	Android — Gradle, ADB, emulator, Play Store	android, gradle, adb
`flutter-mobile`	Flutter — Dart, platform channels, Pub	flutter, dart, pub
`ios-dev`	iOS — Xcode, Swift, SPM, TestFlight, fastlane	ios, xcode, swift, testflight
`react-native`	React Native — Expo, Metro, EAS Build	react-native, expo, eas

Cross-Platform (3)¶

Cross-platform build, package manager, and shell awareness skills.

Slug	Name	Key tags
`cmake-cross-platform`	CMake — cross-platform builds, vcpkg, conan, presets	cmake, vcpkg, conan
`package-managers`	Package Managers — brew, winget, scoop, apt, nix	brew, winget, apt, nix
`terminal-awareness`	Terminal Awareness — PowerShell 5/7, cmd.exe, bash/zsh/fish, PID	powershell, pwsh, cmd, bash, pid, subprocess

SSH (3)¶

Remote development and WSL2 skills.

Slug	Name	Key tags
`remote-dev`	Remote Development — VS Code tunnels, rsync, tmux, mosh	vscode, rsync, tmux
`ssh-workflow`	SSH — key management, config, tunnels, ProxyJump	ssh, keys, agent
`wsl2-dev`	WSL2 — Windows Subsystem for Linux 2, interop	wsl2, windows, linux

Productivity (3)¶

Office, email, and presentation skills.

Slug	Name	Key tags
`email-workflow`	Email — professional writing, templates, inbox zero	email, templates
`office-productivity`	MS Office/LibreOffice — Excel, Word, macros	excel, word, macros
`presentations`	Presentations — storytelling, Gamma.ai, PowerPoint	slides, gamma, storytelling

Corporate (7)¶

Business operations, fundraising, and legal skills.

Slug	Name	Key tags
`budget-tracking`	Budget Tracking — P&L, cash flow, Excel models	budget, finance, excel
`fundraising-vc`	Fundraising — VC/Angel pitch, deck, due diligence	vc, pitch, term-sheet
`hr-onboarding`	HR & Onboarding — job descriptions, interviews	hr, hiring, onboarding
`legal-contracts`	Legal — contracts, NDAs, SaaS agreements, IP	legal, nda, contracts
`marketing-gtm`	Marketing GTM — positioning, ICP, content, demand gen	marketing, gtm, icp
`project-management`	Project Management — scope, milestones, RACI, risk	pm, raci, milestones
`sales-crm`	Sales CRM — pipeline, outreach, discovery, closing	sales, crm, pipeline

AI / LLM / Agents (14)¶

Skills for building and governing AI-powered systems — LLM apps, MCP servers, agent orchestration, RAG pipelines, and MLOps.

Slug	Name	Key tags
`llm-app-development`	LLM App Development — production LLM apps with LangChain/SDK	llm, langchain, openai, anthropic, streaming, tool-use
`mcp-server-development`	MCP Server Development — Model Context Protocol servers	mcp, fastmcp, tools, resources, stdio
`agent-orchestration`	Agent Orchestration — multi-agent with LangGraph/AutoGen/CrewAI	agents, multi-agent, langgraph, autogen, crewai, dag
`prompt-engineering`	Prompt Engineering — design, caching, and optimising prompts	prompt, system-prompt, caching, anthropic, token-cost
`rag-development`	RAG Development — retrieval-augmented generation pipelines	rag, embeddings, vector-database, chunking, reranking
`context-engineering`	Context Engineering — managing LLM context windows	context, tokens, summarization, sliding-window
`ai-safety-review`	AI Safety Review — safety, alignment, and bias review	ai-safety, prompt-injection, bias, pii, red-teaming
`langchain-development`	LangChain Development — LCEL chains, agents, and tools	langchain, lcel, runnable, langsmith, structured-output
`langgraph-development`	LangGraph Development — stateful agent workflows	langgraph, state-machine, tool-loop, human-in-the-loop
`vector-database`	Vector Database — choosing, configuring, and querying vector stores	chromadb, pgvector, qdrant, faiss, hybrid-search, ann
`model-evaluation`	Model Evaluation — LLM quality measurement and benchmarking	evals, llm-as-judge, faithfulness, ragas, deepeval
`fine-tuning-workflow`	Fine-Tuning Workflow — PEFT / LoRA / SFT fine-tuning	fine-tuning, lora, peft, qlora, huggingface, trl
`computer-vision-pipeline`	Computer Vision Pipeline — CV model training and deployment	yolo, pytorch, object-detection, segmentation, roboflow
`mlops-workflow`	MLOps Workflow — pipeline orchestration, tracking, and serving	mlflow, prefect, bentoml, ray-serve, model-registry, drift

Software Engineering (12)¶

Workflow skills for software engineering best practices — code review, TDD, debugging, security, and architecture.

Slug	Name	Key tags
`code-review`	Code Review — systematic pull request review workflow	code-review, pull-request, correctness, security, design
`test-driven-development`	Test-Driven Development — red-green-refactor workflow	tdd, test-first, red-green-refactor, pytest, jest
`debugging`	Debugging — systematic error diagnosis and recovery	debugging, error, root-cause, pdb, traceback
`refactoring`	Refactoring — improving code structure without changing behaviour	refactoring, clean-code, extract, simplify, duplication
`security-hardening`	Security Hardening — OWASP-aligned application security review	owasp, injection, xss, auth, secrets, hardening
`performance-optimization`	Performance Optimization — profiling and resolving bottlenecks	profiling, n+1, caching, latency, benchmark
`api-design`	API Design — REST, GraphQL, and gRPC API design principles	rest, graphql, grpc, openapi, versioning, pagination
`database-design`	Database Design — schema design, migrations, and query optimisation	postgresql, schema, migration, index, normalisation
`dependency-management`	Dependency Management — keeping dependencies secure and up to date	pip, npm, cargo, dependabot, lockfile, supply-chain
`git-workflow`	Git Workflow — branching strategy and commit conventions	git, gitflow, conventional-commits, rebase, squash
`pr-workflow`	PR Workflow — creating, reviewing, and merging pull requests	pull-request, review, merge, github, ci
`architecture-decision-records`	Architecture Decision Records — documenting architectural decisions	adr, architecture, madr, decision, documentation

Web / Backend (11)¶

Frontend engineering, web performance, and backend patterns for modern web apps.

Slug	Name	Key tags
`frontend-ui-engineering`	Frontend UI Engineering — component architecture and state management	react, vue, components, state, zustand, storybook
`web-performance`	Web Performance — Core Web Vitals and bundle optimisation	lcp, cls, inp, bundle, lighthouse, lazy-loading
`accessibility`	Accessibility — WCAG 2.1 AA implementation	a11y, wcag, aria, keyboard, screen-reader, axe
`testing-e2e`	End-to-End Testing — Playwright workflow for web apps	playwright, e2e, page-object, flaky-tests, ci
`nextjs-development`	Next.js Development — App Router, Server Components, Server Actions	nextjs, rsc, app-router, server-actions, hydration
`rest-api-development`	REST API Development — production-grade REST APIs with FastAPI	fastapi, rest, authentication, jwt, rate-limiting
`graphql-development`	GraphQL Development — schema design, resolvers, and N+1 prevention	graphql, strawberry, dataloader, n+1, subscription
`database-postgresql`	PostgreSQL — production setup, queries, and maintenance	postgresql, pgbouncer, vacuum, replication, pgvector
`caching-redis`	Caching with Redis — patterns, pitfalls, and eviction strategies	redis, cache-aside, ttl, stampede, pub-sub
`message-queue`	Message Queues — async task processing with Celery/RabbitMQ	celery, redis, rabbitmq, background-jobs, dead-letter
`websocket-realtime`	WebSocket & Real-Time — building real-time features	websocket, sse, pub-sub, reconnection, collaboration

Data Engineering (8)¶

Data pipeline design, transformation, quality, and stream processing.

Slug	Name	Key tags
`data-pipeline-etl`	Data Pipeline — ETL/ELT design with Airflow, Prefect, or dbt	etl, elt, pipeline, airflow, prefect, idempotent
`dbt-development`	dbt Development — data modelling, testing, and documentation	dbt, data-modelling, staging, marts, incremental
`data-quality`	Data Quality — validation and monitoring with Great Expectations	great-expectations, schema-validation, profiling, soda
`stream-processing`	Stream Processing — real-time data with Kafka and Flink	kafka, flink, spark-streaming, exactly-once, cdc
`ml-experiment-tracking`	ML Experiment Tracking — MLflow, W&B, and reproducible experiments	mlflow, wandb, model-registry, reproducibility
`feature-engineering`	Feature Engineering — feature stores, transformations, versioning	feature-store, feast, sklearn, training-serving-skew
`data-lakehouse`	Data Lakehouse — Delta Lake, Iceberg, and open table formats	delta-lake, iceberg, acid, time-travel, schema-evolution
`spark-pipeline`	Apache Spark — distributed data processing with PySpark	spark, pyspark, partitioning, broadcast-join, databricks

Platform Engineering (10)¶

Kubernetes, observability, GitOps, security, and resilience engineering.

Slug	Name	Key tags
`helm-chart`	Helm Chart — packaging K8s applications with Helm	helm, kubernetes, chart, values, upgrade, hooks
`monitoring-observability`	Monitoring & Observability — OpenTelemetry, Prometheus, Grafana	opentelemetry, prometheus, grafana, tracing, slo, alerting
`incident-response`	Incident Response — production incident handling and post-mortems	incident, on-call, post-mortem, runbook, blameless
`secret-management`	Secret Management — Vault, SOPS, and Kubernetes secrets	vault, sops, external-secrets, rotation, gitops
`gitops`	GitOps — declarative infrastructure with ArgoCD and Flux	argocd, flux, kustomize, promotion, sync
`serverless-functions`	Serverless Functions — AWS Lambda, GCP Functions, Cloudflare Workers	lambda, cold-start, sam, faas, cloudflare-workers
`oauth2-auth`	OAuth2 & Authentication — OAuth2/OIDC implementation	oauth2, oidc, jwt, pkce, keycloak, auth0
`api-gateway`	API Gateway — Kong, AWS API Gateway, rate limiting	kong, nginx, rate-limiting, cors, circuit-breaker
`chaos-engineering`	Chaos Engineering — controlled failure injection with Litmus	litmus, chaos-monkey, resilience, game-day, steady-state
`service-mesh`	Service Mesh — Istio and Linkerd for microservices communication	istio, linkerd, mtls, canary, zero-trust, envoy

Adding a new skill¶

When contributing a new skill (H24):

Add a SkillEntry to the appropriate domain module in src/specsmith/skills/.
Update this page (docs/site/skills-index.md) in the same commit.
Run python -m pytest tests/ -k skill to verify the catalog loads correctly.
The validate-strict CI step checks that the index is not stale.

See Contributing for the full PR process.