hive.writing-hive-skills

1## Operational Protocol: Writing Hive Skills
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3Hive agents discover skills by scanning several roots, in precedence order (later wins):
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51. Framework defaults shipped in `core/framework/skills/_default_skills/`
62. `~/.agents/skills/` — user, cross-client
73. `$HIVE_HOME/skills/` — the shared library every queen and colony reads
84. `$HIVE_HOME/queens/<queen_id>/skills/` — one queen's own skills (her colonies read them too)
95. `$HIVE_HOME/colonies/<colony_name>/skills/` — one colony's skills
106. `<project>/.agents/skills/`, then `<project>/.hive/skills/` — project
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12Each skill is a directory containing a `SKILL.md`. At startup, only the frontmatter `name` + `description` of every skill is loaded; the body is loaded only when the agent activates the skill. Design for that.
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14### Adding a skill as a queen: `write_skill`
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16**Always add a skill with `write_skill`. Never write a `SKILL.md` into a skills folder with the terminal or `write_file`**: a skill put there by hand isn't in any running catalog until a new session, and one put in the shared library skips the user's approval. `write_skill` takes the content inline or copies an existing skill folder (`source_path`, e.g. one you `git clone`d into your workspace), and its `scope` decides who sees it:
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18| `scope` | Lands in | Who sees it |
19|---|---|---|
20| `queen` (default outside a colony) | your own skills | you from your next turn, and your colonies' workers |
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