[stellalo]

> A skill is a markdown file with frontmatter that gets injected into the agent’s context when the situation calls for it.

When the LLM decides that the situation calls for it

> It is a workflow: a sequence of steps the agent follows, with checkpoints that produce evidence, ending in a defined exit criterion.

A sequence of steps the LLM can decide to follow

[lionkor]

Well, to be fair, in e.g. Codex you can invoke a skill directly, with $my-skill, and this WILL lead to the skill being injected into the context. At that point, the LLM follows the skill as well as it follows any other part of the prompt, instructions, or context.

[sharperguy]

Skills are often invoked imperatively by the user. In cases where they are intended to be used directly by the LLM, it would be included somewhere else in the context. E.g:

``` After implementing the feature, read the testing skill for instructions on how to test. ```

[forlorn_mammoth]

how do you guarantee that the LLM follows an instruction given imperatively by the user? It probably will, but this is not guaranteed behavior. Likewise, _how_ it follows that instruction is non-deterministic.

it's turtles all the way down.

[sharperguy]

Nobody is arguing it's guaranteed. This is why you never give an LLM access to any essential infrastructure. Make sure everything it does can be undone. Double check when guarantees are required.

[xboxnolifes]

You isn't gaurentee it any more than you can guarantee your prompt gives the output you want. Skills are just prompt templates.