Automated summary

This skill helps write task prompts for coding agents by structuring the objective, scope, constraints, and verifiable acceptance criteria.

Strengths

Forces explicit ownership boundaries between in-scope and out-of-scope work
Asks for concrete validation commands instead of vague quality goals
Covers AGENTS.md files, review briefs, and subagent handoffs, not just single prompts
Produces a final prompt that can be pasted directly into an agent session

Limitations

Provides no ready-made prompt template or full worked example
Focuses on writing instructions only, not on generating application code
Assumes the user already knows which repository files and commands to reference

When to use it

Reach for it when a coding-agent task prompt is too vague and needs to be made precise, scoped, and testable before execution.

When not to use it

Avoid it for writing application code or summarizing transcripts, or when you want a fill-in-the-blank prompt template.

Security analysis

Safe

Quality score85/100

This skill only provides guidance for writing coding-agent prompts and declares no tools or executable actions. It does not request secrets, network access, destructive commands, or safety bypasses, so the listing risk is minimal.

No concerns found

How this analysis is made

Examples

Rewrite a vague task prompt

Rewrite this Codex task prompt so it has an explicit objective, owned scope, out-of-scope areas, required discovery steps, and acceptance criteria I can verify locally.

Draft an AGENTS.md section

Write an AGENTS.md section for our repo that tells coding agents which files to inspect first, which constraints to respect, and which test commands to run.

Scope a subagent handoff

Turn this feature request into a subagent handoff brief with ownership boundaries, safety and style constraints, and a specified final handoff format.

name: codex-prompting description: >- Use when improving Codex-style task prompts, AGENTS.md instructions, review briefs, subagent handoffs, or implementation requests so they are precise, scoped, testable, and safe for coding agents. version: "1.0.0" triggers:

improve this codex prompt
write agent instructions
draft an implementation brief
make this prompt testable negative_triggers:
write application code only
summarize a meeting transcript allowed_tools: [] required_tools: [] trust_level: local safety_class: read_only examples:
"Rewrite a coding-agent task prompt with scope, constraints, acceptance criteria, and verification commands." tests:
"sb skills validate --path skills --strict" performance: notes: "Best for precise coding-agent prompts, handoffs, and repo instructions."

Codex Prompting

Name: Codex Prompting Improvement
Author: Skills Guide Bot

Purpose

Create prompts and instruction files that coding agents can execute without guesswork.

Instructions

State the objective, owned scope, and out-of-scope areas.
Name the exact files, registries, APIs, or commands the agent should inspect first.
Include constraints for safety, permissions, style, tests, and working-tree hygiene.
Add acceptance criteria that can be verified locally.
Prefer concrete commands over vague quality goals.
Keep the final prompt direct enough to paste into a coding-agent session.

Checklist

Goal and reason are explicit.
Ownership boundaries are explicit.
Required discovery steps are listed.
Validation commands and expected outcomes are listed.
Final handoff format is specified.

From the file to a first result

The download contains exactly the content displayed on this page. This copy may differ from the latest version in the source repository.

View the source and supporting files

This download contains SKILL.md only. Any scripts, references, templates and dependencies are not included. Get the required files from the source, preserving their directory structure, before continuing.

1. Download the file

Download SKILL.md

From the root of a test project, save the file as .skill-downloads/codex-prompting-improvement-mrx3xyyh/SKILL.md, or use the command below. This folder is for inspecting the skill before installation.

Command for macOS/Linux or WSL: requires a POSIX shell and curl. On Windows without WSL, use the download button and create the folder manually.

mkdir -p '.skill-downloads/codex-prompting-improvement-mrx3xyyh' && curl --fail --show-error --location 'https://skills-guides.com/api/skills/codex-prompting-improvement-mrx3xyyh/download' --output '.skill-downloads/codex-prompting-improvement-mrx3xyyh/SKILL.md.part' && mv '.skill-downloads/codex-prompting-improvement-mrx3xyyh/SKILL.md.part' '.skill-downloads/codex-prompting-improvement-mrx3xyyh/SKILL.md'

2. Check prerequisites

Read SKILL.md before using it. If it references scripts or external services, inspect them and prepare the required access in your test environment.

No recognized prerequisites section in this file. This does not mean it is self-contained: libraries, tools and access requirements may be mentioned elsewhere in the content or source repository.

The platforms on this page are catalog indications. The paths below follow tool documentation; they do not prove this skill has been run in those tools. No minimum tool version is confirmed for this listing.

3. Load the skill

After inspection, copy the complete folder into your project using one of the commands below, then open a new tool session. The command stops if a folder with the same name already exists: compare the files before replacing it.

Claude Code

test -f '.skill-downloads/codex-prompting-improvement-mrx3xyyh/SKILL.md' && test -s '.skill-downloads/codex-prompting-improvement-mrx3xyyh/SKILL.md' && mkdir -p '.claude/skills' && test ! -e '.claude/skills/codex-prompting' && cp -R '.skill-downloads/codex-prompting-improvement-mrx3xyyh' '.claude/skills/codex-prompting'

Cursor

test -f '.skill-downloads/codex-prompting-improvement-mrx3xyyh/SKILL.md' && test -s '.skill-downloads/codex-prompting-improvement-mrx3xyyh/SKILL.md' && mkdir -p '.cursor/skills' && test ! -e '.cursor/skills/codex-prompting' && cp -R '.skill-downloads/codex-prompting-improvement-mrx3xyyh' '.cursor/skills/codex-prompting'

Codex

test -f '.skill-downloads/codex-prompting-improvement-mrx3xyyh/SKILL.md' && test -s '.skill-downloads/codex-prompting-improvement-mrx3xyyh/SKILL.md' && mkdir -p '.agents/skills' && test ! -e '.agents/skills/codex-prompting' && cp -R '.skill-downloads/codex-prompting-improvement-mrx3xyyh' '.agents/skills/codex-prompting'

OpenSkills

OpenSkills must already be installed. The local install/read procedure is checked with OpenSkills 1.5.0, which requires Node.js ≥ 20.6.0. Catalog slugs are not resolved automatically.

Official OpenSkills installation

openskills install './.skill-downloads/codex-prompting-improvement-mrx3xyyh'

openskills read 'codex-prompting-improvement-mrx3xyyh'

Reading should display the installed file content and its base directory. It does not run the skill or install its dependencies.

For an agent that reads AGENTS.md, then sync the index. This command changes AGENTS.md: review the diff before using it.

openskills sync

Manual method or another tool: attach SKILL.md to a conversation, or open it in an agent that can read files. Include any required supporting resources. No universal folder is recognized by every tool.

4. Try a first task

Use a short, synthetic input: an API endpoint, a small document or an interface brief. In a new conversation, attach the file or give the agent its path, then adapt this request:

Read .skill-downloads/codex-prompting-improvement-mrx3xyyh/SKILL.md and apply its instructions to this example: [describe a test input]. Identify any missing files, dependencies or access. Produce the result requested by the skill without inventing data or running unreviewed scripts.

Expected result: output matching the skill instructions, or a precise list of missing prerequisites. A read confirmation alone does not validate a first use. If an external resource is unavailable, that path remains untested.

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Claude CodeCursorCodexbeginnerSafe 20,122

Skills Guide Bot