amp-skill-creator

Amp Skill Creator

This skill covers Amp-specific features for skill creation. After reading this, load the agent-skill-creator skill and follow its workflow, applying the overrides at the end of this document.

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First: Ask Where to Install

Before creating a skill, ask the user where they want it installed (if they haven't already specified):

• .agents/skills/ — workspace-local (project-specific)
• ~/.config/amp/skills/ — global user

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Amp-Specific Features

Amp Frontmatter Fields

Beyond the required name and description, Amp supports:

---
name: my-skill-name
description: What the skill does and when to use it
argument-hint: "[query]" # Shown in /skill-list (e.g., "[repo] [issue]")
disable-model-invocation: true # Hides from agent auto-detection (manual /skill only)
---

---

Bundled MCP Servers

Skills can bundle MCP servers via mcp.json in the skill root:

skill-name/
├── SKILL.md
└── mcp.json

mcp.json Format

{
  "local-server-name": {
    "command": "npx",
    "args": ["-y", "some-mcp-server@latest"],
    "env": {
      "API_KEY": "${MY_API_KEY}"
    },
    "includeTools": ["tool_a", "tool_b", "navigate_*"]
  },
  "remote-server-name": {
    "url": "https://some-mcp-server.com/mcp",
    "headers": {
      "Authorization": "Bearer ${TOKEN}"
    },
    "includeTools": ["tool_a", "tool_b"]
  }
}

Local Server Fields

Field	Required	Description
command	Yes	Command to run
args	No	Array of command arguments
env	No	Environment variables for the server
includeTools	Recommended	Glob patterns to filter exposed tools

Remote Server Fields

Field	Required	Description
url	Yes	URL of the MCP server
headers	No	Headers to send with requests
includeTools	Recommended	Glob patterns to filter exposed tools

Environment Variables

Use ${VAR_NAME} syntax in any field:

{
  "my-server": {
    "command": "node",
    "args": ["${HOME}/scripts/mcp-server.js"],
    "env": {
      "API_KEY": "${SERVICE_API_KEY}"
    }
  }
}

Always Filter Tools

MCP servers often expose many tools (20+ = thousands of tokens). Always use includeTools:

{
  "includeTools": ["navigate_page", "take_screenshot", "click"]
}

Glob patterns supported: ["navigate_*", "click"] or ["*"] for all.

---

Adding MCP Servers via CLI

Use amp mcp add to quickly generate MCP server config:

# Local server (command-based)
amp mcp add <name> -- <command> [args...]

# Local server with env vars
amp mcp add <name> --env KEY=VAL -- <command> [args...]

# Remote server (URL-based, auto-detects transport)
amp mcp add <name> <url>

# Remote server with headers
amp mcp add <name> --header "Authorization=Bearer <token>" <url>

# Add to workspace settings instead of global
amp mcp add <name> --workspace -- <command> [args...]

Note: This command adds the server config to ~/.config/amp/settings.json (or workspace settings with --workspace), not directly into a skill's mcp.json. After running, copy the relevant entry from settings into your skill's mcp.json file.

Options

Option	Description
--env KEY=VAL	Environment variables (repeatable)
--header KEY=VAL	HTTP headers for URL-based servers (repeatable)
--workspace	Add to workspace settings instead of global (~/.config/amp/settings.json)

Examples

# NPX-based server
amp mcp add context7 -- npx -y @upstash/context7-mcp

# Postgres with env vars
amp mcp add postgres --env PGUSER=myuser -- npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-postgres postgresql://localhost/mydb

# Remote with auth header
amp mcp add sourcegraph --header "Authorization=token <token>" https://sourcegraph.example.com/.api/mcp/v1

# Remote with OAuth (auto-triggers browser auth)
amp mcp add linear https://mcp.linear.app/sse

# Workspace-specific server
amp mcp add project-server --workspace -- npx -y @some/server

---

Now: Load agent-skill-creator

Load the agent-skill-creator skill now and follow its 6-phase workflow for creating the skill content. Apply these overrides during implementation:

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Overrides for agent-skill-creator

agent-skill-creator Says	Amp Does Instead
Create marketplace.json	Not used — Amp uses SKILL.md frontmatter only
Create .claude-plugin/ directory	Not used in Amp
Skills in plugins/cache/	Use locations from "First: Ask Where to Install" above
plugins[0].description must sync with SKILL.md	Not applicable — only SKILL.md frontmatter matters
Cross-platform export to Desktop/API	Not applicable to Amp skills
Use -cskill suffix naming convention	Optional — use descriptive names
Run /plugin marketplace add ./skill-name	Skill will be loaded automatically based on file location

What to USE from agent-skill-creator:

• ✅ General SKILL.md content structure (workflows, examples, error handling)
• ✅ Scripts organization (scripts/, utils/)
• ✅ References organization (references/)
• ✅ Quality standards (1000+ words, real examples, no TODOs)
• ✅ Modular architecture patterns
• ✅ Testing approaches
• ✅ Validation patterns