# agent-author

Creates and improves agent definition files for Claude Code and GitHub Copilot CLI.

## What it does

Scaffolds and fills in agent definition files at plugin/APM, project, or user scope. Project and user scope always generate a Claude Code + Copilot CLI file pair (`.md` + `.agent.md`) in one pass. Plugin/APM scope generates a single vendor-neutral `.apm/agents/<name>.agent.md` file instead — no separate Claude Code / Copilot split, since `apm compile` has no per-target field integrator (see ADR-0016). Also applies improvement signals — grill output, inline feedback, session context — to existing agent files. Bumps the version after every change: the resolved package's `apm.yml` at plugin/APM scope (minor for new agents, patch for improvements); project/user scope has no manifest to bump.

## Before you start

Have ready: the agent's name (kebab-case), the root directory (plugin root, project root, or `~`), a one-sentence purpose, and the triggering condition (when should the runtime delegate to this agent?).

## Usage

```
/agent-author
```

**Manual scaffold (human workflow):**
```bash
bash scripts/new-agent.sh <agent-name> <root>

# Examples:
bash scripts/new-agent.sh code-reviewer packages/my-package/   # plugin/APM scope if packages/my-package/apm.yml has a type: field
bash scripts/new-agent.sh deploy-assistant .
bash scripts/new-agent.sh security-reviewer ~
```

## Files

| File | Purpose |
|------|---------|
| `SKILL.md` | Skill instructions for agents — gotchas, the create/improve dispatch table, the scope dispatch table, the shared gates, and validation/close |
| `scripts/new-agent.sh` | Scaffolds agent definition file(s) from templates — a single `.apm/agents/<name>.agent.md` at plugin/APM scope, or a Claude Code + Copilot CLI pair at project/user scope |
| `references/create.md` | Create flow: prerequisites, scaffold and scope walk-up, what to fill in, package-root `sources.md` |
| `references/improve.md` | Improve flow: signal verification, root-cause grouping, generalizing, delegation over growth, ADR-0020 retrofit |
| `references/contract.md` | Description and body contract: three-part description shape, 250/400 tiers, delegation rule in place of a body word gate, invocation axis |
| `references/plugin-scope.md` | Plugin/APM scope field rules for the single vendor-neutral file, plus its pre-audit checklist |
| `references/project-user-scope.md` | Project/user scope field rules for the Claude Code + Copilot pair, both Copilot formats, plus its pre-audit checklist |
| `references/deployment-modes.md` | Scope hierarchy and precedence, scoped identifiers, cache isolation, path conventions |
| `references/scripts.md` | Conventions for new-agent.sh and the templates it copies: contract, template variables, file placement, error messages |
| `references/sources.md` | Research provenance — sources that informed this skill |
| `assets/templates/claude-code.md` | Annotated Claude Code agent definition template (project/user scope) |
| `assets/templates/copilot.agent.md.template` | Annotated Copilot CLI agent definition template (project/user scope) |
| `assets/templates/apm-agent.md` | Annotated vendor-neutral APM agent definition template (plugin/APM scope) |
| `tests/new-agent.bats` | (source-only) bats tests for `scripts/new-agent.sh` |
| `assets/README.md` | Directory meta-documentation for assets/ |
| `references/README.md` | Directory meta-documentation for references/ |
| `scripts/README.md` | Directory meta-documentation for scripts/ |
| `tests/README.md` | (source-only) bats dependency instructions and run command |

Rows marked **(source-only)** exist in the authoring source (`.apm/skills/agent-author/`) but are
not present in an installed plugin: `scripts/sync-plugin-content.sh` strips
`<category>/<name>/tests` when it generates the flat mirror, because these are dev-time fixtures no
plugin host needs to discover (ADR-0017). Run them from a repo checkout, not from an install. The
`assets/templates/` rows above are unaffected — the exclusion is depth-scoped to
`<category>/<name>/tests`, so template trees that themselves contain a `tests/` directory ship
intact.