Turn a Linear or GitHub issue into a skill brief
Cursor or Claude Code converts a ticket into a reusable SKILL.md section: acceptance criteria, fixtures, out-of-scope, and verification commands an agent can run repeatedly.
A skill brief committed beside the feature (or in .cursor/skills/) so the same issue shape does not get re-explained in every agent session.
- 1
Paste the issue with decisions
Include comment threads where scope was cut. The out-of-scope section is what keeps agents from gold-plating.
- 2
Commit the brief before the big diff
Land SKILL.md or the brief section in the same PR as the feature, or in a docs-only commit agents can @-reference.
- 3
Close the loop against acceptance criteria
Tick done means items against the ticket before merge. If a criterion is untestable, update the issue — not the skill — first.
The prompt to paste
Turn this issue into an agent skill brief we can check into the repo. The brief becomes a SKILL.md section or a full SKILL.md if the work will repeat. Issue paste (Linear, GitHub Issues, or Jira export): [paste title, description, comments with decisions, links] Repository context: [test command, lint command, paths likely touched] Output SKILL.md (or ## Skill brief section if you recommend nesting inside a larger skill) with: 1. Purpose — tie to the issue title in one sentence. 2. When to use / when not to use — include ticket id and branch naming pattern if the issue specifies one. 3. Acceptance criteria — copy from the issue; add [missing from ticket] bullets only where the issue is silent and the gap blocks verification. 4. Fixtures and test data — files, env names (not values), seed commands, or URLs to staging; write [human must provide] if absent. 5. Out of scope — explicit list from issue comments; if none, infer only from labels like “won’t do” in the paste or ask in one bracketed line. 6. Verification commands — ordered list using our real scripts; write [confirm command] for unknowns. 7. Steps for the agent — numbered, each ending with Verify:. 8. Two example prompts that invoke this brief with the ticket id filled in. 9. Pitfalls: scope creep, skipping tests mentioned in the issue, editing unrelated modules, closing without running verification commands. 10. Done means: checklist mapped to acceptance criteria (checkbox per criterion). Rules: - Do not invent product requirements not in the issue paste. - Do not paste secrets from the ticket; replace with env var names. - Markdown only.
Tickets go stale the day after merge. Archive or delete the brief when the work is one-shot; keep it only when the workflow repeats.
Sample case written by Hidden Logic Lab. Not affiliated with Cursor or Claude Code.
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