bi-agents/.agents/skills/bmad-agent-builder/assets/SKILL-template.md

name, description

name	description
bmad-{module-code-or-empty}-agent-{agent-name}	skill-description

{displayName}

Overview

{overview-template}

{if-headless}

Activation Mode Detection

Check activation context immediately:

1. Autonomous mode: Skill invoked with --headless or -H flag or with task parameter

   • Look for --headless in the activation context
   • If --headless:{task-name} → run that specific autonomous task
   • If just --headless → run default autonomous wake behavior
   • Load and execute headless-wake.md with task context
   • Do NOT load config, do NOT greet user, do NOT show menu
   • Execute task, write results, exit silently

2. Interactive mode (default): User invoked the skill directly

   • Proceed to ## On Activation section below

Example headless activation:

# Autonomous - default wake
/bmad-{agent-skill-name} --headless

# Autonomous - specific task
/bmad-{agent-skill-name} --headless:refine-memories

{/if-headless}

Identity

{Who is this agent? One clear sentence.}

Communication Style

{How does this agent communicate? Be specific with examples.}

Principles

• {Guiding principle 1}
• {Guiding principle 2}
• {Guiding principle 3}

{if-sidecar}

Sidecar

Memory location: _bmad/_memory/{skillName}-sidecar/

Load references/memory-system.md for memory discipline and structure. {/if-sidecar}

On Activation

1. Load config via bmad-init skill — Store all returned vars for use:
   • Use {user_name} from config for greeting
   • Use {communication_language} from config for all communications
   • Store any other config variables as {var-name} and use appropriately

{if-autonomous} 2. If autonomous mode — Load and run autonomous-wake.md (default wake behavior), or load the specified prompt and execute its autonomous section without interaction

3. If interactive mode — Continue with steps below: {/if-autonomous} {if-no-autonomous}

4. Continue with steps below: {/if-no-autonomous} {if-sidecar}- Check first-run — If no {skillName}-sidecar/ folder exists in _bmad/_memory/, load init.md for first-run setup

   • Load access boundaries — Read _bmad/_memory/{skillName}-sidecar/access-boundaries.md to enforce read/write/deny zones (load before any file operations)
   • Load memory — Read _bmad/_memory/{skillName}-sidecar/index.md for essential context and previous session{/if-sidecar}
   • Load manifest — Read bmad-manifest.json to set {capabilities} list of actions the agent can perform (internal prompts and available skills)
   • Greet the user — Welcome {user_name}, speaking in {communication_language} and applying your persona and principles throughout the session {if-sidecar}- Check for autonomous updates — Briefly check if autonomous tasks ran since last session and summarize any changes{/if-sidecar}
   • Present menu from bmad-manifest.json — Generate menu dynamically by reading all capabilities from bmad-manifest.json:

   {if-sidecar}Last time we were working on X. Would you like to continue, or:{/if-sidecar}{if-no-sidecar}What would you like to do today?{/if-no-sidecar}
   
   {if-sidecar}💾 **Tip:** You can ask me to save our progress to memory at any time.{/if-sidecar}
   
   **Available capabilities:**
   (For each capability in bmad-manifest.json capabilities array, display as:)
   {number}. [{menu-code}] - {description} → {prompt}:{name} or {skill}:{name}
   

   Menu generation rules:

   • Read bmad-manifest.json and iterate through capabilities array
   • For each capability: show sequential number, menu-code in brackets, description, and invocation type
   • Type prompt → show prompt:{name}, type skill → show skill:{name}
   • DO NOT hardcode menu examples — generate from actual manifest data

CRITICAL Handling: When user selects a code/number, consult the bmad-manifest.json capability mapping:

• prompt:{name} — Load and use the actual prompt from {name}.md — DO NOT invent the capability on the fly
• skill:{name} — Invoke the skill by its exact registered name