ankyr-agent-hierarchy

Organizes agent libraries by choosing between rules, skills, references, and assets.

1|Updated May 21, 2026
One-click install
npx skills add https://github.com/GuyErreich/AI_Agents --skill ankyr-agent-hierarchy-guyerreich
Or copy as Structured Prompt for Agentโ–ผ
Please help me install this Agent Skill.
Skill: ankyr-agent-hierarchy
Source: https://github.com/GuyErreich/AI_Agents/tree/main/plugins/ankyr-authoring/skills/ankyr-agent-hierarchy
Command: npx skills add https://github.com/GuyErreich/AI_Agents --skill ankyr-agent-hierarchy-guyerreich

SYSTEM DOCUMENTATION & REQUIREMENTS

๐Ÿ’ก This Skill includes references (resource) components.

What problem does it solve? Deciding where new agent content belongs โ€” a rule, a SKILL.md, a reference file, or an asset โ€” is ambiguous, and wrong choices bloat context budgets or bury information behind chained reads. This Skill provides container tiers, link-depth rules, and an aggregation decision procedure for structuring agent libraries under .cursor/ or a plugin stack. ## Core Features & Use Cases - Container tier guidance: Maps content types (always-on rules, glob rules, SKILL.md, references, assets, AGENT.md) to their context cost so each piece lands in the cheapest tier that fits. - Aggregation decision procedure: A four-step test run before creating any new folder, preferring deepening an existing skill with references over widening the tree with sibling skills. - Drift signals and restructuring: A table of warning signs (SKILL.md past 500 lines, chained references, underpopulated subfolders) with concrete corrective actions, illustrated by worked examples in references/worked-examples.md. - Use Case: When adding pytest guidance to an agent library, apply the nesting test to decide it belongs as references/testing.md under the Python language skill rather than a new quality/testing sibling. ## Quick Start Ask the agent to apply the agent-hierarchy rules to decide whether a new piece of guidance should become a rule, a reference, or a new skill.

Frequently Asked Questions about ankyr-agent-hierarchy

High-intent search queries and answers about installing and using this skill.

FAQPage Schema
How do I decide between creating a new skill or adding a reference file?โ–ผ

Run the aggregation decision: if an existing skill owns the responsibility, add references/<topic>.md instead of a sibling skill. Create a new skill only when the content has its own trigger and workflow and loading it would drag in unrelated context.

When should agent guidance become a rule instead of a skill?โ–ผ

Make it a rule when the guidance is needed on nearly every task and expressible in one to three lines, preferring glob-scoped rules over always-on ones. Always-applied rules past roughly ten lines should move their body into a skill with a pointer rule left behind.

Can Cursor plugin skills be nested in subfolders?โ–ผ

No. Plugin skills must live exactly one level under the skills root as skills/<name>/SKILL.md, with the frontmatter name matching the folder. Nested trees like skills/code/languages/python/ do not register with Cursor's plugin loader.

How deep can the references folder structure go?โ–ผ

Folder depth under references/ is unconstrained; the real constraint is link depth. SKILL.md must link directly to every reference file, and a subfolder is justified when three or more references share a real axis and SKILL.md routes to each by name.

What are the signs an agent library needs restructuring?โ–ผ

Restructure when SKILL.md exceeds about 500 lines, a reference is reachable only through another reference, a subfolder holds only one or two files, documentation lives in assets/, or two skills with identical Foundation pointers are always loaded together.