Business Analyst
Use this skill when gathering and documenting business requirements, mapping processes, performing gap analysis, writing business requirements documents (BRDs), or modeling stakeholder impact. Trigger phrases: ''write a business requirements document'', ''map this process'', ''gather requirements for'', ''gap analysis for'', ''AS-IS TO-BE process''. Not for writing user stories (use product-manag…
Database Design Patterns
Database schema design patterns and optimization strategies for relational and NoSQL databases. Use when designing database schemas, optimizing query performance, or implementing data persistence layers at scale.
Backlog Md
Task tracking system for agents via Backlog.md CLI. Use when creating deferred issues during implementation, filing audit findings, working assigned tasks, or managing project work. Optimized for agent workflows: structured issue filing, priority/labeling system, and task completion tracking.
Api Gateway Patterns
API Gateway patterns for routing, authentication, rate limiting, and service composition in microservices architectures. Use when implementing API gateways, building BFF layers, or managing service-to-service communication at scale.
Pre Mortem
Imagine failure first to surface guardrails and feature mitigations.
Dataset Curator
Use this skill when designing, cleaning, deduplicating, or documenting datasets for model training and evaluation including schema design, class imbalance handling, and train/val/test splits. Not for running model training or hyperparameter tuning. Not for real-time data pipeline engineering.
Chart Builder
Use this skill when creating data visualizations, selecting the right chart type, or generating chart code. Trigger phrases: ''build a chart'', ''visualize this data'', ''create a graph'', ''plot these numbers'', ''which chart should I use for''. Not for building interactive dashboards, designing UI components, or creating infographics with design tools like Figma.
Accessibility Audit
Fast, high-signal accessibility triage for pages, components, or PRs targeting WCAG 2.2 AA compliance.
Brainstorming
Rapid ideation skill adapted from obra/superpowers to kick off cortex sessions. Use when defining scope, aligning on goals, or exploring solution space before coding.
Your Skill Name
Brief description of what this skill does and provides. Use when [clear trigger condition that indicates this skill should activate]. Keep under 200 words.
Blog Post
Use this skill when writing blog posts, articles, or long-form web content—from quick how-to guides to in-depth opinion pieces. Trigger phrases: ''write a blog post about'', ''draft an article on'', ''create a post for my blog''. Do NOT use for academic papers, news reporting, or content requiring real-time facts.
Dashboard Designer
Use this skill when designing a data dashboard—choosing KPIs, structuring layout, applying visual hierarchy, or deciding which BI tool to use. Trigger phrases: ''design a dashboard'', ''build a KPI dashboard'', ''what should my dashboard show'', ''help me layout a dashboard'', ''dashboard for monitoring''. Not for building chart code from scratch (use chart-builder), writing SQL queries (use sql-…
Concept Forge
Score concepts on impact/delight/effort and pick a 1-day spike.
Brand Library Architect
Build a complete brand library for a product — visual asset render pipeline, brand documentation set (BRAND, COPY, MANIFESTO, BIOS, FAQ, GLOSSARY, TONE, PRICING), open-source convention files (README, CONTRIBUTING, SECURITY, CODE_OF_CONDUCT), and a self-contained press kit. This skill should be used when the user asks to "build a brand library / brand kit / press kit / brand assets" for a product…
Constructive Dissent
Structured disagreement protocols that expose weaknesses, test assumptions, and generate alternatives. Use when stress-testing proposals, playing devil's advocate, challenging architectural decisions, or auditing assumptions before finalizing plans.
Async Python Patterns
Python asyncio and concurrent programming patterns for high-performance applications. Use when building async APIs, concurrent systems, or I/O-bound applications requiring non-blocking operations.
Color Palette
Use this skill when creating, evaluating, or documenting color palettes for brands, products, or design systems. Trigger phrases: ''create a color palette'', ''what colors should I use'', ''brand colors for'', ''accessible color scheme''. Do NOT use for image editing, photo color correction, or print production color matching.
Ai Tells Review
Use when public prose still sounds machine-written after ai-tells-scan. Complements ai-tells-scan's mechanical pass with structural judgment: rhythm, hedging, rhetorical reflexes, and performative emphasis. Trigger on 'review for AI tells,' 'does this read AI,' 'strip the AI smell,' or 'make this less AI.
Idea Lab
Timeboxed divergent ideation that outputs ranked options plus day-one experiments.
Design System Architecture
Build scalable design systems with design tokens, component APIs, and documentation. Use when creating or evolving component libraries.
Dev Workflows
Use when running builds, executing tests, or improving developer experience workflows - provides structured guidance for build/test execution and DX improvement.
Decision Maker
Use this skill when you face a complex or high-stakes decision and need a structured framework to evaluate options objectively. Ideal for career choices, product prioritization, vendor selection, or any multi-criteria trade-off. Not for trivial daily decisions or situations that require licensed professional advice.
Claude Consult
Consult Claude specialist agents during implementation for codebase understanding, pattern checking, security review, debugging help, and more. Use this skill whenever you're unsure about conventions, stuck on a failure, or need expert input before writing code. Does not replace the formal review gates in agent-loops — this is for mid-implementation consultation.
Copywriter
Use this skill when writing persuasive, conversion-focused copy—landing pages, product descriptions, ads, sales emails, or any content designed to move someone to action. Trigger phrases: ''write copy for my landing page'', ''describe this product'', ''write an ad for''. Do NOT use for informational content, technical documentation, or long-form editorial writing.
Cqrs Event Sourcing
CQRS and Event Sourcing patterns for scalable, auditable systems with separated read/write models. Use when building audit-required systems, implementing temporal queries, or designing high-scale applications with complex domain logic.
Compliance Audit
Regulatory compliance auditing across GDPR, HIPAA, PCI DSS, SOC 2, and ISO frameworks with automated evidence collection and gap analysis. Use when conducting compliance assessments, preparing for certifications, or implementing regulatory controls.
Development Estimation
Use when estimating time, effort, or complexity for features or projects - provides structured estimation workflows with breakdowns, risks, and confidence intervals.
Codex Code Review
Automate code review remediation loops with the codex CLI. Requests reviews from codex, classifies findings by severity (P0-P4), fixes critical issues (P0/P1) through iterative cycles, defers quality improvements to backlog, and escalates after 3 review cycles. Use when working with code that needs structured remediation: ''codex review'' in a request triggers this workflow.
Atlas Crew Tasks
Use when filing, updating, sequencing, or querying tasks in any atlas-crew repo (Facet + the Atlas Crew Security repos: Apparatus, Chimera, Crucible, Synapse, Bridge). These repos track work in GitHub Issues on Projects v2 boards, NOT backlog.md. Covers the two boards, the Type/Area/Status field model, cross-repo Initiative grouping, gh seq execution ordering, and the non-obvious gh/GraphQL mecha…
Build Optimization
Build system optimization covering compilation, caching, incremental builds, and developer tooling. Use when improving build times, configuring CI pipelines, or designing developer tools.
Atomic Commits
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Cortex Skills Loop
Drives the cortex skills recommend-feedback-rate loop. Use when a context change occurs (new file types, domain shift, task pivot) or when a task completes and skill effectiveness should be recorded.
Competitor Analyst
Use this skill when analyzing competitors, building competitive positioning, creating feature comparison matrices, or applying strategic frameworks like SWOT or Porter''s Five Forces. Trigger phrases: ''analyze our competitors'', ''competitive analysis for'', ''how do we compare to'', ''create a feature matrix'', ''SWOT analysis of''. Not for sizing the total market (use market-researcher), writi…
Codanna Codebase Intelligence
Use codanna MCP tools for semantic code search, call graphs, and impact analysis before grep/find.
Writing Plans
Structured plan-writing skill adapted from obra/superpowers. Produces actionable plans that map directly to cortex workflows and tasks.
Api Design Patterns
Comprehensive REST and GraphQL API design patterns with versioning, pagination, error handling, and HATEOAS principles. Use when designing APIs, defining endpoints, or architecting service contracts requiring production-grade patterns.
Skill Creator
Guide for creating effective skills. This skill should be used when users want to create a new skill (or update an existing skill) that extends Codex's capabilities with specialized knowledge, workflows, or tool integrations.
Design Journey Review
Combined visual design and user journey review: color systems, typography, spacing, information density, visual hierarchy, workflow stages, emotional curve, friction points, and daily-use optimization. Use when evaluating how an interface looks, how it serves its user over time, and whether the design earns its space.
Design Critiquer
Use this skill when reviewing, evaluating, or giving structured feedback on UI designs, wireframes, mockups, or design systems. Trigger phrases: ''critique this design'', ''give feedback on my UI'', ''review this wireframe'', ''what''s wrong with this design''. Do NOT use for writing code, implementing designs, or marketing material critique.
Mashup
Force-fit patterns from other domains to spark novel concepts.
Architectural Analysis
User-triggered deep architectural analysis of a codebase or scoped subtree across eight modes — information architecture, data flow, integration points, UI surfaces, interaction patterns, data model, control flow, and failure modes. This skill should be used when the user asks to "diagram this codebase," "map the architecture," "show the data flow," "give me an ERD," "trace control flow," "find t…
Executing Plans
Execution discipline that translates plans into tracked tasks with orchestration and verification loops. Use when driving a plan through cortex’s task system, coordinating workstreams across agents, or ensuring every plan item is tracked, executed, and verified.
Agent Loops
Complete operational workflow for implementer agents (Codex, Gemini, etc.) making code changes and writing tests. Drives all work through atomic commits — each loop operates on the smallest complete, reviewable change. Defines the Code Change Loop, Test Writing Loop, Lint Gate, and Issue Filing process with circuit breakers, severity levels, and escalation rules. Requires `cortex git commit` for…
Ai Tells Scan
Use when writing tasks produce prose artifacts (READMEs, docs, PR text, tutorials, guides, posts, release notes) and need a fast surface scan for AI tells. Auto-engages on prose writing tasks; checks banned punctuation, stock vocabulary, and mechanical patterns. For the structural judgment pass on rhythm and rhetorical reflexes, use ai-tells-review. Not a replacement for voice skills like nick-vo…
Code Explanation
Use when explaining code, concepts, or system behavior to a specific audience level - provides a structured explanation workflow with depth control and validation steps.
Assumption Buster
Flip, remove, or exaggerate assumptions to unlock new solution angles.