Skill Doc Formatter

Formats SKILL.md (OpenClaw/Cursor skill docs) for optimal display on ClawHub. Produces a consistent structure—Description, Installation, Usage with benefit-f...

Skill Doc Formatter | ClawHub

Description

Formats SKILL.md (OpenClaw/Cursor skill docs) for optimal display on ClawHub. Produces a consistent structure—Description, Installation, Usage with benefit-focused examples, and Commands—so skill pages are clear and scannable.

Skill Doc Formatter | ClawHub

Formats SKILL.md skill documentation for optimal display on ClawHub. Output uses a consistent structure so skill pages are easy to scan: Description, Installation, Usage (with examples that showcase benefits), and Commands.

Clear description: what the skill does and when to use it. Scannable.

Installation

clawhub install your-skill
# or: git clone https://github.com/Org/your-skill.git workspace/skills/your-skill

Usage

• Preparing or updating a skill for publication on ClawHub
• Converting an existing SKILL.md into the ClawHub-recommended layout
• Generating usage examples from a skill's description when examples are missing
• Standardizing multiple skills to the same doc structure

1. Step or scenario one.
2. Step or scenario two.
3. When to run which command (point to Commands below).

Examples

Example 1: [benefit]
Scenario: User wants to do X.
Action: Run your-command --foo.
Outcome: Brief result that showcases the benefit.

Example 2: [benefit]
(Same pattern.)

Commands

python3 <skill-dir>/scripts/script.py command [options]   # What it does
python3 <skill-dir>/scripts/script.py other              # What it does

• command — Short description.
• other — Short description.

## Target structure (ClawHub-optimized)

The formatter produces or normalizes these sections:

| Section | Purpose |
|--------|--------|
| **Description** | One clear blurb (from frontmatter `description` + optional short intro). What the skill does and when to use it. |
| **Installation** | How to install: `clawhub install <skill>`, `git clone`, or other steps. Copy-paste ready. |
| **Usage** | How to use the skill: steps, scenarios, or workflow. Concise. |
| **Examples** | Concrete examples that showcase benefits (e.g. before/after, sample commands with outcomes). Generated if missing. |
| **Commands** | All CLI commands in one block with brief descriptions. Absolute paths or placeholders like `<skill-dir>`. |


## How to run

From the skill you want to format, or from the formatter skill:

```bash
# Format a skill by path (output to stdout)
python3 /path/to/skill-doc-formatter/scripts/format_skill_doc.py /path/to/other-skill/SKILL.md

# Write formatted result back to a new file
python3 scripts/format_skill_doc.py /path/to/skill/SKILL.md -o /path/to/skill/SKILL.clawhub.md

# Use formatter's own SKILL.md as input (demo)
python3 scripts/format_skill_doc.py SKILL.md

Options:

• -o FILE — Write output to FILE instead of stdout.
• --generate-examples — Generate example usage blocks from the description when Examples section is missing or thin.
• --inplace — Overwrite the input SKILL.md with the formatted version (use with care; prefer -o for review).
• --security-check — Run security review checks after formatting to identify ClawHub security scan issues.

Security Review

The formatter includes a security review checker (security_review.py) that helps identify issues that may cause ClawHub security scans to flag skills as "Suspicious". Run it with:

python3 scripts/security_review.py <skill-dir>

Or use the --security-check flag when formatting:

python3 scripts/format_skill_doc.py <skill-dir>/SKILL.md --security-check

The security review checks for:

• Missing Requirements: Skills that use system dependencies (CLI tools like openclaw, lsof, ps, launchctl) but don't declare them in SKILL.md
• Secret Logging: Commands or values containing secrets/tokens/passwords being written to log files
• Missing Files: Install scripts referencing files that don't exist in the skill package
• Environment Variables: Scripts using env vars that aren't documented
• Persistent Behavior: LaunchAgent/daemon installations without always: true in _meta.json
• File Permissions: Log files containing sensitive data without restricted permissions
• Metadata vs docs consistency: Env vars in _meta.json env (required) vs optionalEnv must match SKILL.md/README (no "optional" for required, no "required" for optional)
• openclaw.json read disclosure: If scripts read openclaw.json, SKILL.md/README must disclose it and which fields are used; recommend a "Before installing" / "verify you are comfortable granting read access" note
• CLI vs safe subprocess: If docs show CLI examples with user-supplied task/message in quotes (e.g. spawn --json "..."), docs must warn that programmatic use must use subprocess with a list of arguments (no shell interpolation)

Common fixes for ClawHub security reviews:

1. Add Requirements section listing all CLI tools and system dependencies
2. Mask secrets in logs - don't log full command strings with --token or --password arguments
3. Document environment variables in SKILL.md Requirements section
4. Add always: true to _meta.json if the skill runs persistently (LaunchAgent/daemon)
5. Set restrictive permissions on log files containing sensitive data (os.chmod(log_path, 0o600))
6. Align env metadata and docs - Keep requires.env / optionalEnv in _meta.json in sync with SKILL.md/README (required vs optional)
7. Disclose openclaw.json reads - State which fields are read (e.g. tools.exec.host / tools.exec.node only) and add "Before installing, verify you are comfortable granting read access to that file"
8. Warn about safe invocation - Above Commands/CLI, add that bash examples are for manual/CLI use only and that from code callers must use subprocess.run(..., [..., user_message], ...) with a list of arguments

What the script does

1. Parse the existing SKILL.md (YAML frontmatter + markdown body).
2. Map existing ## sections to Description / Installation / Usage / Examples / Commands (by title and content).
3. Normalize section order and headings to the ClawHub structure.
4. Extract or generate:
   • Description: frontmatter description + first paragraph or intro.
   • Installation: looks for "install", "clawhub", "clone", "npm" etc.; otherwise adds a placeholder.
   • Usage: keeps or merges "Usage", "When to use", "How to use" content.
   • Examples: keeps existing examples; with --generate-examples, adds 1–2 benefit-focused examples from the description.
   • Commands: collects fenced bash/code blocks and list items that look like CLI commands; merges into one Commands section.
5. Emit a single markdown document with clean headings and optional table of contents.
6. Security Review (optional): Run security checks to identify issues that may affect ClawHub security scans.

Manual template

If you prefer to edit by hand, use this structure in your SKILL.md:

---
name: your-skill
displayName: Your Skill | OpenClaw Skill
description: One-sentence description. Use when [trigger scenarios].
version: 1.0.0
---

# Your Skill Name

Short intro: what it does and why it matters (1–2 sentences).


## Requirements

- Python 3.7+
- Input: valid SKILL.md with YAML frontmatter (at least `name`, `description`).


## Files in this skill

- `SKILL.md` — This file (instructions for the formatter skill).
- `scripts/format_skill_doc.py` — Parser and formatter script.
- `TEMPLATE_CLAWHUB_SKILL.md` — Copy-paste template for ClawHub-optimized SKILL.md.