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Identity Injection: Shaping the Agent with SOUL and SKILL

A raw model is a general-purpose machine. It can answer questions, but it does not yet feel like your agent.

Week 2 is where you shape that raw capability into a more specific role.

In the Intro Track, we keep this simple by focusing on two core files:

  • SOUL.md: who the agent is, what it values, and how it should think
  • SKILL.md: what the agent should do, step by step, when asked to perform its job

That is enough for a first real agent.

What SOUL.md Does

SOUL.md gives the agent a stable identity.

This is where you define things like:

  • the role of the agent
  • the standards it should follow
  • the tone it should use
  • the anti-patterns it should avoid

For a research agent, that might include:

  • be concise
  • prioritize signal over noise
  • avoid invented claims
  • state uncertainty when the evidence is weak

SOUL.md is not about sounding fancy. It is about making the agent more dependable.

What SKILL.md Does

SKILL.md is the operating procedure.

This is where you describe:

  • what kind of task the agent handles
  • which tools it may use
  • the order of operations
  • what the final output should look like

If SOUL.md shapes the agent's character, SKILL.md shapes its workflow.

Why This Matters

Many beginners assume building an agent means writing complex code first.

In this workshop, the first lesson is different: a useful agent begins with clear instructions.

That is why Week 2 focuses on text files that are readable, editable, and easy to reason about.

A Good Beginner Pattern

For your first research agent, a simple pattern is enough:

  • SOUL.md defines the agent as disciplined, concise, and evidence-seeking
  • SKILL.md tells it to search, filter, summarize, and save the result

That pairing is powerful because it answers both questions:

  • how should the agent behave?
  • what should the agent actually do?

Looking Ahead

In more advanced systems, agent structure can expand into more files, more tools, and more orchestration layers.

But for the Intro Track, SOUL.md and SKILL.md are the right level of complexity. They are enough to help you understand the logic of agent design without drowning in framework details.

Ask AI If You're Stuck

AI can help you turn vague instincts about the agent into clearer SOUL and SKILL instructions.

Try prompts like these:

I want to build a research agent on this topic:
[describe topic or use case]

Please draft a beginner-friendly SOUL.md with:
1. the role
2. 4 core values
3. 4 anti-patterns
4. a concise tone

I need help writing SKILL.md for my research agent.

The task is:
[describe task]

Please turn it into a step-by-step skill with:
1. trigger
2. tool usage
3. workflow steps
4. output format
5. stop condition

For a reusable prompt template, see the AI Debugging Guide.