Knowledge Layers
Decides whether a doc belongs in AGENTS.md, .context/, the KB, docs/, or a work dir
Test report
- Verdict
- Tested · Works
- Score
- Tested
- Jul 31, 2026
- Environment
- Claude Code 2.x (agent harness)
- Upstream re-checked
- Aug 10, 2026 · 3b24a73
⚠ The author changed this skill after we tested it. The verdict below describes the version we ran on Jul 31, 2026; it's queued for a re-test.
Installed into a throwaway HOME (git clone + cp of cw/skills/knowledge-layers); frontmatter parsed with name+description, resources/bootstrap.md and the five sibling skills it invokes all fetch HTTP 200, no scripts/network calls/secrets in either file. Trigger set — YES: "Where should this JWT decision live, the gateway's AGENTS.md or the kb?", "Bootstrap a kb/ structure for this project", "Our docs/ and .context/ files contradict each other, lint them"; NO: "Add docstrings to the functions in utils.py", "Where in the codebase should the new rate-limiter module live?" — all 5 judged as intended. Output test: same auth-migration documenting task twice. Baseline produced one file, docs/auth-jwt-migration.md, named by event and narrating its own history ("Until Q2 we used…", "In June we migrated…", "Deployed to staging June 3"), with rationale, current mechanics, rollout log and a gateway-only fact mixed together. Skill-followed run produced four artifacts — kb/auth/token-verification.md (named by what it describes, mermaid sequence diagram, a "> [!FLAG] **Needs human review**" on unimplemented refresh rotation), a new decision record 0007 listing rejected options, a superseded-status edit on the old 0003 record, and a kb/index.md catalog line — plus an explicit exclusion list routing the rollout narrative to a work directory and the legacy/ dir fact to services/api-gateway/.context/. Real structural change, not wording; caveat is it assumes a repo that already runs a kb/ + .context/ layout.
Scored on four weighted criteria — install, triggering, output vs. baseline, docs. How scoring works
- Installs cleanly 5/5
- Triggers reliably 5/5
- Output vs. baseline 7/10
- Docs & honesty 4/5
What Knowledge Layers does
Routes project knowledge into one of five layers — AGENTS.md, .context/CONTEXT.md, a cross-cutting knowledge base, docs/, or a temporary work directory — using explicit placement rules, and defines KB conventions for wiki pages, decision records, naming, and archiving superseded content. Triggers when you ask where a piece of documentation should live, when you are writing or updating AGENTS.md / .context/ / KB pages, or when you want a knowledge base bootstrapped or lint-checked for stale and orphaned content. Includes a starter kb/ layout and a governance AGENTS.md template in resources/bootstrap.md.
How to install Knowledge Layers
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/haowjy/creative-writing-skills.git /tmp/knowledge-layers-src
mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills
cp -R /tmp/knowledge-layers-src/cw/skills/knowledge-layers ~/.claude/skills/knowledge-layers
for d in qi-layer information-hierarchy llm-writing shared-dao md-validation; do cp -R /tmp/knowledge-layers-src/cw/skills/$d ~/.claude/skills/$d; done
# The 5 extra dirs are siblings the SKILL.md body invokes by name (/qi-layer, /information-hierarchy,
# /llm-writing, /shared-dao, /md-validation). knowledge-layers works without them, but those
# references dangle. Copy only the first dir if you want the skill alone.
# Plugin alternative (installs all 24 skills + the creative-writing agents):
# /plugin marketplace add haowjy/creative-writing-skills
# /plugin install creative-writing-skills@cw
# No scripts, no deps, no API keys — the skill is two markdown files.
Skills live in ~/.claude/skills/ (global) or .claude/skills/
(per-project). Restart Claude Code after installing.
Commands — how to trigger Knowledge Layers
-
/knowledge-layersDecides whether a doc belongs in AGENTS.md, .context/, the KB, docs/, or a work dir
It also activates on plain-language prompts like these:
-
Where should I document this new convention -
Read the durable docs before making changes -
Organize this knowledge into the right layer
Frequently asked questions
- Is the Knowledge Layers skill free?
- Yes. The skill itself is free from haowjy/creative-writing-skills. SkillProof publishes the install command and an independent test verdict at no cost.
- Does Knowledge Layers work with Claude Code?
- We tested it with Claude Code 2.x (agent harness) on Jul 31, 2026. Verdict: Tested · Works. Installed into a throwaway HOME (git clone + cp of cw/skills/knowledge-layers); frontmatter parsed with name+description, resources/bootstrap.md and the five sibling skills it invokes all fetch HTTP 200, no scripts/network calls/secrets in either file. Trigger set — YES: "Where should this JWT decision live, the gateway's AGENTS.md or the kb?", "Bootstrap a kb/ structure for this project", "Our docs/ and .context/ files contradict each other, lint them"; NO: "Add docstrings to the functions in utils.py", "Where in the codebase should the new rate-limiter module live?" — all 5 judged as intended. Output test: same auth-migration documenting task twice. Baseline produced one file, docs/auth-jwt-migration.md, named by event and narrating its own history ("Until Q2 we used…", "In June we migrated…", "Deployed to staging June 3"), with rationale, current mechanics, rollout log and a gateway-only fact mixed together. Skill-followed run produced four artifacts — kb/auth/token-verification.md (named by what it describes, mermaid sequence diagram, a "> [!FLAG] **Needs human review**" on unimplemented refresh rotation), a new decision record 0007 listing rejected options, a superseded-status edit on the old 0003 record, and a kb/index.md catalog line — plus an explicit exclusion list routing the rollout narrative to a work directory and the legacy/ dir fact to services/api-gateway/.context/. Real structural change, not wording; caveat is it assumes a repo that already runs a kb/ + .context/ layout.
- What is the Knowledge Layers SkillProof Score?
- 8.4/10 — installs cleanly 5/5, triggers reliably 5/5, output vs. baseline 7/10, docs & honesty 4/5.
- How do I install Knowledge Layers?
- Copy the install command from this page, run it in your terminal, and restart Claude Code. Skills live in ~/.claude/skills/ (global) or .claude/skills/ inside a project.
- Can I use Knowledge Layers with Cursor, Copilot, Gemini CLI, Codex or other AI tools?
- The SKILL.md format is native to Claude (Claude Code, Desktop, claude.ai). The instructions inside adapt to other assistants: Cursor rules, GitHub Copilot instructions, Windsurf rules, Custom GPTs, AGENTS.md for OpenAI Codex, and GEMINI.md for Google Gemini CLI — our conversion guides cover each, and the free converter on the tools page does the wrapping for you.