About

skill issue is a free, info-only library of prompt and spec patterns for people who build with AI agents. It is non-commercial: nothing is for sale, there are no ads, no sponsored content and no affiliate links.

The idea

When an agent goes off track, it is tempting to blame the model. In practice, many failures trace back to the setup: a vague task, no definition of done, no check that the result actually works, too much or too little context, and no stop before risky actions. Those are skill issues, which is good news, because skills can be learned.

The patterns here focus on that harness: clear specs, verification gates, sensible agent workflows, context management and prompting basics. They are well-established techniques written up as short, copy-paste templates. There are currently 12 of them.

How to use the patterns

• Copy a template, fill in the placeholders in angle brackets or double braces, and adjust it to your project.
• Read the "when not to use it" section. Every pattern has a cost.
• Verify the output. No template makes an agent reliable on its own.

Privacy

This site does not store visitor data or track visits, load third-party scripts or fonts, or collect submissions. It is plain HTML and CSS with a few lines of local JavaScript for filtering and copy buttons. Links to external documentation take you to other sites, which have their own policies.

No guarantees

The content is provided for information only and may be incomplete or out of date. Tools and models change quickly; check current official documentation for the tools you use.