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+# Contributing to HashiCorp Agent Skills
+
+Thanks for contributing! This guide covers the skill format, local
+validation, and the pull request process.
+
+## Repository Layout
+
+Skills are grouped by product and plugin:
+
+```
+<product>/                      # terraform/, packer/, ...
+└── <plugin>/                   # e.g. provider-development/
+    ├── .claude-plugin/
+    │   └── plugin.json         # plugin manifest
+    └── skills/
+        └── <skill-name>/
+            ├── SKILL.md        # required
+            ├── references/     # optional: deep material, loaded on demand
+            ├── assets/         # optional: file templates copied into projects
+            └── scripts/        # optional: executable helpers
+```
+
+## Skill Format
+
+Every `SKILL.md` starts with YAML frontmatter. `name` and `description` are
+required (CI-enforced); the house style also includes license and metadata:
+
+```yaml
+---
+name: skill-name
+description: >-
+  What the skill does and — importantly — when to use it. This is the
+  trigger: name the tasks, phrases, and problems that should activate the
+  skill, not just its topic.
+license: MPL-2.0
+metadata:
+  copyright: Copyright IBM Corp. 2026
+  version: "0.0.1"
+---
+```
+
+Writing guidance:
+
+- **Description is the trigger.** Agents decide whether to load a skill
+  from the description alone. Cover what it does *and* the situations that
+  should activate it (including error messages users might paste).
+- **Keep `SKILL.md` lean** (aim well under 500 lines); move deep material
+  into `references/*.md` and tell the reader when to load each reference.
+- Include at least one fenced code example — CI review checks for examples
+  and body structure.
+- Use the imperative voice; explain *why* a rule exists, not just the rule.
+- Cross-reference sibling skills by name in prose ("use the
+  `provider-test-patterns` skill, if available") — never by relative path.
+  Skills are installable individually, so each must stand alone.
+- Code in `assets/` should compile/run after following the skill's own
+  setup steps — verify before submitting.
+
+## Adding a New Skill: Checklist
+
+- [ ] `skills/<name>/SKILL.md` with valid frontmatter
+- [ ] Registered in the product README table, `npx skills add` list, and structure tree (e.g. `terraform/README.md`)
+- [ ] Registered in `AGENTS.md` (structure tree, plugin table, install list)
+- [ ] `CHANGELOG.md` entry under Unreleased
+- [ ] Local validation passes (below)
+
+## Local Validation
+
+Run the same checks CI runs:
+
+```bash
+# Structure, manifests, frontmatter (mirrors the Validate Structure workflow)
+bash scripts/validate-structure.sh
+
+# Any JSON you touched must parse
+jq . path/to/file.json
+```
+
+### Tessl skill review (optional locally, runs in CI)
+
+CI scores changed skills with the [Tessl](https://tessl.io) CLI on two
+dimensions (description, content). Validation problems (frontmatter, body
+structure, missing examples, excessive length) fail the check; the scores
+themselves are informational. To preview locally:
+
+```bash
+npm install -g @tessl/cli
+tessl login                       # or export TESSL_TOKEN=<api key> for non-interactive use
+tessl skill review path/to/skills/<skill-name>
+```
+
+Note: `tessl skill review` is deprecated upstream in favor of
+`tessl review run`; check the workflow in
+`.github/workflows/tessl-skill-review.yml` for the currently pinned CLI
+version and invocation.
+
+**Fork PRs:** GitHub withholds repository secrets from workflows triggered
+by fork pull requests, so the Tessl review job cannot score fork PRs; it is
+expected to skip (not fail) in that case. All other validation runs
+normally.
+
+## Pull Requests
+
+- Branch from `main`; PRs target `main`.
+- Keep PRs atomic — one skill or one logical change per PR. Multi-skill
+  PRs are harder to review and will usually be asked to split.
+- Commit and PR titles follow conventional-commit style
+  (`feat: ...`, `fix(ci): ...`) or `skill-name: description`.
+- Sign the CLA when prompted by the bot on your first PR.
+- New Go/HCL example code should be verified (compile it in a scratch
+  module where practical) — reviewers will ask how examples were tested.