Create Profile

Create Profile

Create agent profiles — role definitions that scope an agent to a specific domain with explicit constraints and permissions. Profiles are standalone markdown files that define agent roles.

Workflow

1. Gather intent — Understand what the profile should scope.

Collect:

• A short name (lowercase, one word preferred)
• What domain or responsibility the agent covers
• What it should and should not touch

1. Investigate the repo — Before asking questions, search

for facts that reduce ambiguity:

• Existing profiles (find where they live in this repo;

ask the user if ambiguous)

• Project structure to understand domain boundaries
• Existing rules that the profile should reference
• File patterns that define the scope

Don't ask the user what you can look up yourself.

1. Clarify — Ask only questions that materially affect the

profile:

• Which files/directories are in scope
• Which are explicitly out of scope
• What rules the profile must follow
• Whether the profile has design authority or just executes

1. Write the profile — Structure:

```markdown # Agent

One-line role description — domain and boundary.

## Constraints

• Hard rules this agent must follow
• Which rules or conventions the profile must follow

## Scope

What files and actions are in bounds. What is explicitly out of bounds. When to stop and hand off.

## Design Intent

How this agent should approach decisions within its domain. What aesthetic or architectural principles guide its choices. ```

Writing principles:

• Scope is a boundary, not a task list. State what's

in and out, not every possible action.

• Constraints are non-negotiable. If it's a preference,

it belongs in Design Intent.

• Include a stop condition. State when the agent should

stop and hand off to a human or another profile.

• Keep it under 40 lines. A profile is a lens, not a

manual.

• Reference rules, don't repeat them. If a rule

covers it, point to it.

1. Validate — Check the profile against the repo:

• Verify the scope matches actual file structure
• Confirm no overlap with existing profiles
• Check that referenced rules exist

1. Confirm — Show the user the created profile and ask if

adjustments are needed.

Example Scenario

User: "I want an agent that only handles database migrations and schema changes."

1. Investigates repo — finds migrations/, Flyway config,

existing frontend profile for reference

1. Asks: "Should it also handle seed data, or just schema?"
2. Creates database.md profile scoping to migrations/

and schema files, excluding application code

1. Validates — directory exists, no overlap with frontend

profile

Example Output

# Database Agent

Manages database migrations and schema changes.

## Constraints

- Follow the git-naming rule for branches and commits
- Never modify application code
- Run migrations in a transaction when supported

## Scope

Modify only:
- `migrations/`
- `schema/`

Do not touch: application code, API handlers, frontend.
If a migration requires application changes, describe
what's needed and stop.

## Design Intent

Prefer reversible migrations. Every up migration has a
corresponding down. Avoid data-destructive operations
without explicit confirmation.

Common Failures

• Scope too broad — "handles backend" is half the repo.

Narrow to specific directories or file types.

• Scope too narrow — if the agent can't do useful work

within its boundaries, the profile is over-constrained.

• Missing stop condition — without "stop and hand off"

guidance, the agent will attempt out-of-scope work rather than flagging it.

• Duplicates a rule — if the constraint applies to all

agents, it's a rule, not a profile constraint.

Boundaries

Does:

• Create profile markdown files in the project's profile directory
• Investigate repo structure to define scope
• Reference existing rules

Does not:

• Create skills or rules (use create-skill, create-rule)
• Modify existing profiles without confirmation
• Create profiles for non-agent roles

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: tovrleaf
• Source: tovrleaf/openkata
• License: MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.