Design, build, review, and publish GitHub Skills-style exercises with custom agents and Agent Skills for learner journeys, workflow-backed validation, and release readiness.

Installation

Copilot CLI

Install directly from this repository:

copilot plugin install arilivigni/gh-skills-builder

Warning

Copilot CLI currently supports direct repository installs but marks them as deprecated. Keep this path as a fallback until this plugin is indexed in a marketplace, then prefer plugin@marketplace installs.

Or from within an interactive Copilot session:

/plugin install arilivigni/gh-skills-builder

Note

Installing from arilivigni/gh-skills-builder performs a direct repository install. You can verify the install with:

copilot plugin list

After install, manage the plugin by name (gh-skills-builder) for update and uninstall commands.

To update to the latest version:

copilot plugin update gh-skills-builder

To remove the plugin:

copilot plugin uninstall gh-skills-builder

Copilot App

1. Open the Copilot App and go to Plugins.
2. Select Add plugin, then provide arilivigni/gh-skills-builder.
3. Confirm install, then enable the plugin for your chat/session.

Tip

If you prefer VS Code, open the Command Palette (⌘⇧P / Ctrl+Shift+P), run Chat: Plugins, then install gh-skills-builder from the plugin picker.

What's Included

Agents

Agent	Mention	Role	Tool Access
Outline Architect	@github-skills-outline-architect	Converts an idea, workshop, or demo into a learner-centered exercise outline with objectives, scenario, steps, validation, and success criteria.	Read, search, fetch, and edit planning docs
Exercise Builder	@github-skills-exercise-builder	Converts an approved outline into repository structure, Markdown steps, issue flow, workflows, and validation scaffolding.	Full coding and test tools
Quality Reviewer	@github-skills-quality-reviewer	Reviews an exercise for learning value, validation reliability, workflow safety, accessibility, and publish readiness.	Read, search, run commands, and run tests
Publisher	@github-skills-publisher	Prepares release notes, PR descriptions, validation evidence, final checklist, and publication handoff guidance.	Read, edit docs, run commands, and run tests

Skills

The plugin provides four lifecycle skills:

• /create-github-skills-outline — design a new exercise or convert training material into a self-paced GitHub Skills outline.
• /bootstrap-github-skills-exercise — create repository files, step Markdown, workflow plans, validation scripts, and starter structure from an approved outline.
• /review-github-skills-exercise — audit an exercise for learner experience, validation correctness, workflow safety, accessibility, and readiness.
• /publish-github-skills-exercise — prepare final checklist, release notes, PR copy, validation evidence, and launch guidance.

Quick Start

1. Create the exercise outline

@github-skills-outline-architect I want to teach [topic] as a 30-minute GitHub Skills exercise.
Use /create-github-skills-outline to define objectives, learner steps, and validation ideas.

2. Bootstrap the repository

@github-skills-exercise-builder Use the approved outline to scaffold the exercise.
Use /bootstrap-github-skills-exercise to create README content, steps, workflows, and validation guidance.

3. Review before launch

@github-skills-quality-reviewer Review this exercise for learner clarity, validation reliability, workflow safety, and accessibility.
Use /review-github-skills-exercise and prioritize release blockers.

4. Prepare for publication

@github-skills-publisher Prepare this exercise for release.
Use /publish-github-skills-exercise to produce validation evidence, PR description, release notes, and remaining risks.

How It Works

The plugin splits exercise creation into four focused phases so the human can approve the learning design before repository automation is generated:

• Outline first — define the learner outcome, scenario, steps, and validation signals.
• Bootstrap second — create or update repository assets only after the outline is approved.
• Review third — catch weak validation, unsafe workflow behavior, unclear learner instructions, and accessibility issues.
• Publish last — assemble release evidence and handoff notes for contribution or rollout.

Companion Instructions

The Awesome Copilot plugin spec declares plugin content with agents, commands, and skills. Copilot instructions are standalone resources, so this plugin includes instructions/github-skills-exercises.instructions.md as an optional companion file to copy into exercise repositories.

Evaluation

Test prompts are in evals/evals.json. They cover outline creation, bootstrap planning, quality review, and publish readiness.

Release process (SemVer)

This plugin follows strict semantic versioning:

Change type	Version bump	Examples
Breaking behavior or contract changes	MAJOR (X.0.0)	Renaming/removing expected capabilities or changing required usage patterns
New non-breaking capabilities	MINOR (X.Y.0)	Adding agents, skills, or non-breaking plugin features
Fixes and non-breaking maintenance	PATCH (X.Y.Z)	Bug fixes, docs updates, wording improvements

CI gate

.github/workflows/plugin-ci.yml runs on pull requests and pushes to main and validates:

• .github/plugin/plugin.json syntax
• referenced agent and skill paths from the plugin manifest
• required name and description metadata presence in each skill SKILL.md
• local markdown links in README.md

Deployment plan

1. Merge to main only after CI is green.

2. Confirm .github/plugin/plugin.json has the intended release version.

3. Prepare and verify first-release metadata from main:

   python3 -m json.tool .github/plugin/plugin.json >/dev/null
   grep '"version"' .github/plugin/plugin.json

4. Validate install paths before tagging (use direct repo install as fallback until marketplace listing is available):

   copilot plugin install arilivigni/gh-skills-builder
   copilot plugin list

5. Tag and publish from main:

   git tag vX.Y.Z
   git push origin vX.Y.Z

6. Verify the tag points to the intended commit:

   git rev-parse vX.Y.Z

Example first stable release:

git tag v1.0.0
git push origin v1.0.0
git rev-parse v1.0.0