skill-manifest-generator

name: skill-manifest-generator
description: Generate MANIFEST.json files for Agent Skills, providing content integrity verification, file inventory, and external reference tracking.
version: 1.0.0
license: MIT
author: "@anthropic-agent-skills"
tags:
- manifest
- integrity
- validation
- tooling

Instructions

Use this skill to generate a MANIFEST.json file for any Agent Skill directory. The manifest provides:

• Integrity verification - SHA256 hashes for all files and an overall integrity hash
• File inventory - Complete listing of files with sizes and types
• External URL detection - URLs found in code that reference external resources
• Structure analysis - Folder depth, file counts, and organization

When to Use

• Before publishing a skill to a catalog
• To verify a skill hasn't been modified
• To audit external dependencies in a skill
• To validate skill structure and compliance

How to Use

Run the manifest generator on a skill directory:

Generate a manifest for the skill at /path/to/my-skill

Or to verify an existing manifest:

Verify the manifest for /path/to/my-skill

Output

The generator creates a MANIFEST.json file in the skill root containing:

{
  "$schema": "https://agentskills.io/schemas/manifest.v1.json",
  "manifestVersion": "1.0",
  "generatedAt": "2025-01-15T10:30:00Z",
  "generator": "skill-manifest-generator/1.0.0",
  "skill": {
    "name": "my-skill",
    "version": "1.0.0"
  },
  "integrity": {
    "algorithm": "sha256",
    "hash": "a1b2c3d4..."
  },
  "files": [...],
  "externalReferences": [...],
  "structure": {...}
}

Examples

Generate a manifest:

User: Generate a manifest for the skill at ./pdf-tools
Agent: I'll generate a MANIFEST.json for the pdf-tools skill...
       [Runs generate_manifest.py]
       Created MANIFEST.json with:
       - 12 files inventoried
       - Integrity hash: sha256:abc123...
       - 2 external URLs detected
       - Max folder depth: 2

Verify a manifest:

User: Verify the manifest for ./pdf-tools
Agent: I'll verify the MANIFEST.json matches the current files...
       [Runs generate_manifest.py --verify]
       ✓ All 12 files match their recorded hashes
       ✓ No new untracked files found
       ✓ Integrity hash verified

Limitations

• Binary files are hashed but not scanned for URLs
• URL detection uses regex patterns, may have false positives in comments
• Maximum skill size: 50MB total, 10MB per file
• Maximum file count: 1000 files
• Maximum folder depth: 6 levels

Dependencies

• Python 3.9+
• PyYAML (for SKILL.md frontmatter parsing)
• No other external dependencies (uses Python stdlib)