PathruleName the job.
Not the steps.
Reusable skills for AI coding agents: named procedures the agent invokes instead of re-deriving the steps, so the fourth step stops going missing.
Claude CodeexampleWithout
Found the event, started the server and posted the payload to the webhook.
Webhook rejected: signature check failed.3 of 5 steps
With the skill
skill replay-stripe-webhook
- Pulled the event by id
- Loaded the local signing secret
- Started the server with webhooks on
- Replayed with a fresh idempotency key
- Checked the handler log
Handler returned 200.5 of 5 steps
Same steps. Every week.
- Week 1you, to claude code
"Bump the version, build both brands, upload, then tag."
- Week 2you, to codex
"Bump first. Then both brands, not just one."
- Week 3you, to claude code
"You tagged before uploading. Again."
- Week 4you, to any agent
::release-mobile
3 explanations1 skill0 steps missed since
The signal is not complexity. It is repeating yourself. Past three steps, or with any required order, it should be a skill. Below that, a memory holds it fine.
The description does the work.
---name: replay-stripe-webhookdescription: Replay a production payment event against the local server.---# Replay a Stripe webhook1. Pull the event by id2. Load the local signing secret3. Replay with a fresh idempotency key
- "Stripe helpers"stripe-helperspassed over
- "Replay a production payment event against the local server"replay-stripe-webhookinvoked
A skill the agent never invokes is usually a description problem. Name the trigger, not the topic, or the agent's own plan wins.
One skill. Every path that needs it.
Written once, at workspace level. Attached wherever the job happens, never copied.
- /services/billingattached
- /services/webhooksattached
- /apps/admin/paymentsattached
- /apps/mobilenot here
- Claude Codethe Pathrule hook, by name
Codexthe hook, when Codex files exist- Cursor, Copilot, Windsurfover MCP
- manual
- Written in Pathrule
- template
- A starter, copied in
- github_ref
- Fetched, then cached
The teammate who joins next month gets the skill without being told it exists. Stale or conflicting skills surface as suggestions, and a person approves the fix.
Questions.
What is an AI agent skill?
A named, reusable procedure an AI coding agent can invoke instead of re-deriving the steps: replay a Stripe webhook locally, regenerate the seed fixtures, run the pre-release checklist. The body is a small markdown file whose frontmatter names the skill and describes what it is for.
When should something be a skill rather than a memory?
When it is a sequence and the order matters. Reach for a skill past three steps, or whenever any part carries a "do this in this order" requirement. One or two lines, or a fact the agent only needs to know rather than perform, is a memory.
Why does my agent not use the skill I wrote?
Most often the description does not say what the skill is for. Skills are selected by description, so a vague one loses to the agent's own default plan: name the trigger rather than the topic. The other common causes are a scope that never matches the paths where the job happens, and a procedure that still has a real decision in the middle. Long read: why Claude Code skills do not activate.
Can a skill be shared across a team?
Yes, and that is the point of storing it outside a prompt. Skills are workspace-level and attached to nodes through a join, so one skill is reused across many paths and every teammate's agent can invoke it. Organization membership and workspace access are enforced server-side. See roles and permissions.
Can I use skills published by someone else?
Yes. A skill can point at an external GitHub URL as its source, and Pathrule fetches and caches the body. The cached copy is the last snapshot served, and the workspace picks up upstream changes on the next refresh. Use it for skills published by an ecosystem you trust.
What is the difference between a skill and a Pathrule Pattern?
A skill is one procedure. A Pattern is a small bundle of memories, rules and skills for one topic, each piece pre-scoped to the path it belongs to, because a real convention is rarely one file. Long read: what a Pathrule Pattern is, and why it is not a skill.
Do skills replace my prompts?
No, they remove the repetition from them. A skill is worth writing when you notice yourself re-explaining the same procedure. The prompt then names the job instead of describing it, and the steps stop drifting between one telling and the next.