/converter -- Cross-Platform Skill Converter
Parse AgentOps skills into a universal SkillBundle format, then convert to target agent platforms.
Quick Start
/converter skills/council codex # Convert council skill to Codex format
/converter skills/vibe cursor # Convert vibe skill to Cursor format
/converter --all codex # Convert all skills to Codex
Pipeline
The converter runs a three-stage pipeline:
parse --> convert --> write
Stage 1: Parse
Read the source skill directory and produce a SkillBundle:
- Extract YAML frontmatter from SKILL.md (between
---markers) - Collect the markdown body (everything after the closing
---) - Enumerate all files in
references/andscripts/ - Assemble into a SkillBundle (see
references/skill-bundle-schema.md)
Stage 2: Convert
Transform the SkillBundle into the target platform's format:
| Target | Output Format | Status |
|---|---|---|
codex | Codex SKILL.md + prompt.md | Implemented |
cursor | Cursor .mdc rule + optional mcp.json | Implemented |
The Codex adapter produces a SKILL.md with YAML frontmatter (name, description) plus rewritten body content and a prompt.md (Codex prompt referencing the skill). Default mode is modular: reference docs, scripts, and resources are copied as files and SKILL.md includes a local resource index instead of inlining everything. Optional inline mode preserves the older behavior by appending inlined references and script code blocks. Codex output rewrites known slash-skill references (for example /plan) to dollar-skill syntax ($plan), replaces Claude-specific paths/labels (including ~/.claude/, $HOME/.claude/, and /.claude/ path variants), normalizes common mixed-runtime terms (for example Claude Native Teams, claude-native-teams, and Claude session/runtime) to Codex-native phrasing, and rewrites Claude-only primitive labels to runtime-neutral wording. It preserves current flat ao CLI commands from the source skill rather than reintroducing deprecated namespace forms. It also deduplicates repeated "In Codex" runtime headings after rewrite while preserving section content. It preserves non-generated resource files/directories from the source skill (for example templates/, assets/, schemas/, examples/, agents/) and enforces passthrough parity (missing copied resources fail conversion). Descriptions are truncated to 1024 chars at a word boundary if needed.
The Cursor adapter produces a <name>.mdc rule file with YAML frontmatter (description, globs, alwaysApply: false) and body content. References are inlined into the body, scripts are included as code blocks. Output is budget-fitted to 100KB max -- references are omitted largest-first if the total exceeds the limit. If the skill references MCP servers, a mcp.json stub is also generated.
Stage 3: Write
Write the converted output to disk.
- Default output directory:
.agents/converter/<target>/<skill-name>/ - Write semantics: Clean-write. The target directory is deleted before writing. No merge with existing content.
CLI Usage
# Convert a single skill
bash skills/converter/scripts/convert.sh <skill-dir> <target> [output-dir]
bash skills/converter/scripts/convert.sh --codex-layout inline <skill-dir> codex [output-dir]
# Convert all skills
bash skills/converter/scripts/convert.sh --all <target> [output-dir]
Arguments
| Argument | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
skill-dir | Yes (or --all) | Path to skill directory (e.g. skills/council) |
target | Yes | Target platform: codex, cursor, or test |
output-dir | No | Override output location. Default: .agents/converter/<target>/<skill-name>/ |
--all | No | Convert all skills in skills/ directory |
--codex-layout | No | Codex-only layout mode: modular (default) or inline (legacy inlined refs/scripts) |
Supported Targets
- codex -- Convert to OpenAI Codex format (
SKILL.md+prompt.md) with codex-native rewrites (slash-to-dollar skills,.claudepath variants to.codex, mixed-runtime term normalization to Codex phrasing, Claude primitive label neutralization, duplicate runtime-heading cleanup, and flataoCLI preservation). Default is modular output with copied resources and aSKILL.mdlocal-resource index; pass--codex-layout inlinefor legacy inlined refs/scripts. Converter enforces passthrough parity so missing copied resources fail fast. Output:<dir>/SKILL.md,<dir>/prompt.md, and copied resources. - cursor -- Convert to Cursor rules format (
.mdcrule file + optionalmcp.json). Output:<dir>/<name>.mdcand optionally<dir>/mcp.json. - test -- Emit the raw SkillBundle as structured markdown. Useful for debugging the parse stage.
Extending
To add a new target platform:
- Add a conversion function to
scripts/convert.sh(pattern:convert_<target>) - Update the target table above
- Add reference docs to
references/if the target format needs documentation
Examples
Converting a single skill to Codex format
User says: /converter skills/council codex
What happens:
- The converter parses
skills/council/SKILL.mdfrontmatter, markdown body, and anyreferences/andscripts/files into a SkillBundle. - The Codex adapter transforms the bundle into a
SKILL.md(body + inlined references + scripts as code blocks) and aprompt.md(Codex prompt referencing the skill). - Output is written to
.agents/converter/codex/council/.
Result: A Codex-compatible skill package ready to use with OpenAI Codex CLI.
Batch-converting all skills to Cursor rules
User says: /converter --all cursor
What happens:
- The converter scans every directory under
skills/and parses each into a SkillBundle. - The Cursor adapter transforms each bundle into a
.mdcrule file with YAML frontmatter and body content, budget-fitted to 100KB max. Skills referencing MCP servers also get amcp.jsonstub. - Each skill's output is written to
.agents/converter/cursor/<skill-name>/.
Result: All skills are available as Cursor rules, ready to drop into a .cursor/rules/ directory.
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Cause | Solution |
|---|---|---|
parse error: no frontmatter found | SKILL.md is missing the --- delimited YAML frontmatter block | Add frontmatter with at least name: and description: fields, or run /heal-skill --fix on the skill first |
Cursor .mdc output is missing references | Total bundle size exceeded the 100KB budget limit | The converter omits references largest-first to fit the budget. Split large reference files or move non-essential content to external docs |
| Output directory already has old files | Previous conversion artifacts remain | This is expected -- the converter clean-writes by deleting the target directory before writing. If old files persist, manually delete .agents/converter/<target>/<skill>/ |
--all skips a skill directory | The directory has no SKILL.md file | Ensure each skill directory contains a valid SKILL.md. Run /heal-skill to detect empty directories |
Codex prompt.md description is truncated | The skill description exceeds 1024 characters | This is by design. The converter truncates at a word boundary to fit Codex limits. Shorten the description in SKILL.md frontmatter if the truncation point is awkward |
| Conversion fails with passthrough parity check | A resource entry from source skill wasn't copied to output | Ensure source entries are readable and copyable (including nested files). Re-run conversion; failure is intentional to prevent drift between skills/ and converted output |
References
references/skill-bundle-schema.md-- SkillBundle interchange format specification