The skill guide
Start with a concrete goal and an observable done condition. Examples show both hosts: Claude Code uses slash syntax, such as /how, and Codex uses a dollar sign, such as $how. With the native plugins, use the namespaced equivalent: zstack:how in the Codex skill picker or /zstack:how in Claude Code. See installation choices.
How the library works
Explore the visual guide for an interactive component map, task walkthroughs, and installation diagrams.
A skill is a set of instructions that your coding agent reads, together with any referenced prompts or helper scripts. Invoking a skill gives the agent a process for your request. The host supplies the model, tools, permissions, and any subagents; installing the library does not configure those capabilities.
Use a named skill for a specific job, such as $how to trace behavior. Use $z-mode for an engineering task: it selects a playbook for the kind of work and reads relevant principles as decisions arise. Playbooks describe workflows; principles guide decisions within those workflows. They are not background services. The mode can work directly or delegate where the selected workflow and host allow it.
The workflow skill reference explains each skill's inputs, process, and results. The playbook reference gives task examples, and the principle reference shows the decisions each principle affects.
To run authorized workers and useful long-running processes in Herdr, follow Use Herdr with existing workflows. Explicit execution selection applies alongside the normal playbook and its companions.
Choose a workflow
- 1Understandhow · why · teach
- 2Designarchitect · arena · interrogate
- 3Buildz-mode · tdd
- 4Verifycreate-verification-skill
- 5Publishopening-a-pr · shipping
| Step | Page | Key skills |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Install and route work | setup-zstack, z-mode |
| 2 | Understand and design | in-your-own-words, how, why, teach, recall, architect, arena, swarm, interrogate |
| 3 | Build and verify | tdd, no-comments, unslop, create-verification-skill |
| 4 | Long work and conventions | autonomous-run, pause-safely, orchestrate, automate-me, reflect |
| 5 | Principles and recipes | The 24 principles, example prompts |
Every skill and playbook is listed in the skill catalog.