Hands on labs

Lab 1: Build a Simple Document Creation Skill

Duration: 30 minutes
Difficulty: Beginner
Prerequisites: Kiro IDE or CLI installed

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Objective

Build a skill that creates standardized project documentation with your team's templates.

Skills You'll Practice

• SKILL.md structure
• YAML frontmatter
• Basic instructions
• Testing triggering

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Scenario

Your team needs to create project documentation for every new project. The documentation should include:

• Project README with standard sections
• CONTRIBUTING.md with team guidelines
• LICENSE file
• .gitignore for your tech stack

Currently, team members copy-paste from old projects or forget sections. You'll create a skill to automate this.

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Step 1: Plan Your Skill (10 minutes)

Define Use Cases

Use Case 1: Create new project documentation

• Trigger: "Set up project docs", "create project documentation", "initialize project files"
• Steps: Create README, CONTRIBUTING, LICENSE, .gitignore
• Result: Complete documentation set

Use Case 2: Add missing documentation

• Trigger: "Add CONTRIBUTING file", "create LICENSE"
• Steps: Create specific missing file
• Result: Single file created

Define Success Criteria

Quantitative:

• Triggers on 90% of "project docs" queries
• Creates all 4 files in < 30 seconds
• 0 formatting errors

Qualitative:

• Team members don't need to ask what sections to include
• Consistent documentation across all projects

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Step 2: Create SKILL.md (20 minutes)

Create Folder Structure

mkdir -p ~/.kiro/skills/project-docs
cd ~/.kiro/skills/project-docs
touch SKILL.md

Write SKILL.md

---
name: project-docs
description: Creates standardized project documentation including README, 
  CONTRIBUTING, LICENSE, and .gitignore files. Use when user says "set up 
  project docs", "create project documentation", "initialize project files", 
  or "add project README".
metadata:
  author: Your Name
  version: 1.0.0
  category: documentation
---

# Project Documentation Creator

Creates complete, standardized project documentation for new projects.

## Instructions

### Step 1: Gather Project Information
Ask the user for:
- Project name
- Project description (1-2 sentences)
- Tech stack (e.g., Python, Node.js, React)
- License type (MIT, Apache-2.0, or other)

### Step 2: Create README.md
Generate README with these sections:
```markdown
# [Project Name]

[Project Description]

## Features
- [Key feature 1]
- [Key feature 2]
- [Key feature 3]

## Installation
\`\`\`bash
# Installation commands based on tech stack
\`\`\`

## Usage
\`\`\`bash
# Basic usage examples
\`\`\`

## Contributing
See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.

## License
This project is licensed under the [License Type] License - see LICENSE file.

Step 3: Create CONTRIBUTING.md

Generate CONTRIBUTING with:

• Code of conduct
• How to report bugs
• How to suggest features
• Pull request process
• Coding standards

Step 4: Create LICENSE

Generate LICENSE file based on user's choice:

• MIT License
• Apache 2.0 License
• Or other specified license

Step 5: Create .gitignore

Generate .gitignore based on tech stack:

• Python: __pycache__/, *.pyc, .env, venv/
• Node.js: node_modules/, .env, dist/
• General: .DS_Store, *.log, .vscode/

Step 6: Confirm Completion

List all created files and their locations.

Examples

Example 1: New Python Project

User says: "Set up project docs for a new Python API"

Actions:

1. Ask for project name, description, license
2. Create README.md with Python-specific installation
3. Create CONTRIBUTING.md
4. Create LICENSE (MIT)
5. Create .gitignore with Python patterns

Result: 4 files created in current directory

Example 2: Add Missing File

User says: "Add a CONTRIBUTING file"

Actions:

1. Create only CONTRIBUTING.md
2. Use team's standard guidelines

Result: CONTRIBUTING.md created

Troubleshooting

Error: File already exists

Cause: Documentation files already present
Solution: Ask user if they want to overwrite or skip

Error: Unknown tech stack

Cause: User specified unfamiliar technology
Solution: Ask for clarification or use general .gitignore patterns

---

## Step 3: Test Your Skill (10 minutes)

### Test Triggering

Try these phrases in Kiro:

**Should Trigger:**
- "Set up project docs"
- "Create project documentation"
- "Initialize project files"
- "Add project README"
- "I need documentation for a new project"

**Should NOT Trigger:**
- "What's the weather?"
- "Write Python code"
- "Explain documentation"

### Test Functionality

1. **Full Documentation Set:**

"Set up project docs for a new Python API called 'FastAPI Demo' that provides REST endpoints. Use MIT license."

Expected: 4 files created (README, CONTRIBUTING, LICENSE, .gitignore)

2. **Single File:**

"Add a CONTRIBUTING file"

Expected: Only CONTRIBUTING.md created

3. **Different Tech Stack:**

"Create project docs for a React app"

Expected: .gitignore includes node_modules/, not Python patterns

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## Step 4: Iterate (5 minutes)

### If Skill Doesn't Trigger
- Add more trigger phrases to description
- Make description more "pushy"
- Include specific keywords like "documentation", "README", "project setup"

### If Output is Incorrect
- Clarify instructions for each file
- Add more examples
- Specify exact format expected

### If Errors Occur
- Add error handling for edge cases
- Include troubleshooting section
- Test with various inputs

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## Success Criteria

You've successfully completed this lab if:
- ✅ Skill triggers on project documentation requests
- ✅ Creates all 4 documentation files
- ✅ Files contain appropriate content for tech stack
- ✅ Skill doesn't trigger on unrelated queries
- ✅ You can explain how progressive disclosure works

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## Bonus Challenges

1. **Add Templates:** Create `assets/` folder with template files
2. **Add Validation:** Check if files already exist before creating
3. **Add Customization:** Let users specify which files to create
4. **Add Styling:** Include team-specific branding in README

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## Next Steps

- Deploy to your team
- Collect feedback
- Iterate on description and instructions
- Move on to Lab 2 for MCP integration

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## Solution

A complete solution is available in `./examples.md`

Compare your implementation and note differences.