Matt Pocock skills
A first Matt Pocock skills workflow: clarify, specify, test and review
Set up repository conventions, choose an explicit first workflow and distinguish the pinned TDD instructions from the broader README summary.
What you will learn
- Establish the project conventions first
- Make the first task small enough to judge
- Keep invocation and completion explicit
Before you start
- Basic repository, issue-tracker and test concepts
- An understanding that instructions and permission are different
Choose an adoption model and trace its files, authority boundaries and verification evidence.
Key takeaways
- Setup records conventions after inspection and confirmation.
- The pinned TDD file separates implementation cycles from review-stage refactoring.
- A workflow instruction is not an execution receipt.
Establish the project conventions first
The setup skill is a guided conversation, not a deterministic configuration executable. It inspects existing project instructions, issue-tracker conventions and domain documents, then presents proposed changes for confirmation. Its concrete outputs include issue-tracker and domain guidance under docs/agents, with a triage-label document only when triage is installed.
The source supports GitHub, GitLab and local Markdown conventions; other trackers are recorded from the user’s described workflow. It selects the existing project instruction file rather than blindly creating a competing one. In a learning exercise, choose local issue documents and a throwaway repository so experimenting with a workflow does not publish tickets to a real team.
Make the first task small enough to judge
A useful trial is an order-total change with an explicit rounding rule and one public interface. Clarify what should happen for an empty order and a discounted item before requesting implementation. Record the decision in ordinary language, then let the specification and test use the same terms. This is an editorial example, not an upstream application bundled with the skills.
The pinned TDD file asks for agreed public test boundaries and behavioral assertions. It favors one failing test followed by the minimal implementation for that slice. Unlike the README’s broader red-green-refactor wording, this specific file places refactoring in the review stage. Readers should follow the actual selected revision rather than silently merging contradictory summaries.
Keep invocation and completion explicit
The implement skill is marked user-invoked. Its written flow calls for regular focused tests and type checks, a full suite near the end, review and a commit. Those instructions describe intended workflow, not proof that the current host has the tools, credentials or authority to carry out every step. Confirm the permitted outputs before using it on a shared branch.
A successful first exercise leaves a clear acceptance condition and evidence that the observed behavior matches it. Record any unexecuted step separately: a missing browser check, unavailable tracker or unrun integration test is not transformed into a pass by the skill’s presence. Do not use this editorial walkthrough as authorization to install or invoke skills in another project.
Implementation steps
- 1
Use a disposable repository and local issue documents.
- 2
Run the documented setup deliberately and inspect the proposed diff.
- 3
Agree one behavior and its public test boundary.
- 4
Request the chosen workflow, then inspect test and review evidence.
Copy-ready example
{
"exercise": "order total",
"publicBoundary": "quoteOrder(items)",
"acceptance": "an empty order has a zero total",
"tracker": "local markdown",
"remoteIssueCreationApproved": false,
"exerciseExecutedByThisReview": false
}Frequently asked questions
Does setup automatically configure every repository?
No. It is a repository-specific guided process that proposes changes and asks for confirmation.
Why does the series distinguish the README from the TDD file?
Their descriptions of refactoring differ at this revision. The chapter identifies that difference instead of presenting a blended workflow as exact source behavior.
Sources
- README.mdSource checked 2026-09-08
- skills/engineering/setup-matt-pocock-skills/SKILL.mdSource checked 2026-09-08
- skills/engineering/tdd/SKILL.mdSource checked 2026-09-08
- skills/engineering/implement/SKILL.mdSource checked 2026-09-08