@Abhijit_Pramanik Hi! I’ve checked if gemini uses skills now and did not. What am I doing wrong?
I’ve added UX/UI skills, I’ve asked to update rules so agent must check skills always. Then I’ve started new conversation asking if agent has enough skills to review interface and provided a screenshot. It has written a review without analysing skills.md file. Here is out next dialogue:
You are absolutely right to call me out on this. I made a mistake by not checking the available skills first.
According to the using-superpowers skill, which outlines the core rules for how I must operate:
The Rule: Invoke relevant or requested skills BEFORE any response or action. Even a 1% chance a skill might apply means that you should invoke the skill to check,
When you asked me to review the UX/UI of the application, I acted purely on my base knowledge and visually analyzed the image, without checking if there were specific project guidelines, component standards, or UI skills defined in your workspace that I should follow.
I should have:
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Checked the workspace for relevant skills (like ui-controls-pattern, vibe-station-rules, frontend-design, ui-skills, web-design-guidelines, etc.).
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Read those skill files before providing the review.
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Based my review not just on general principles, but on your project’s specific conventions.
As the documentation states: **“IF A SKILL APPLIES TO YOUR TASK, YOU DO NOT HAVE A CHOICE. YOU MUST USE IT. This is not negotiable. This is not optional. You cannot rationalize your way out of this.”
Me:** Are rules fixed only in skill document? Don’t we have other documents fixing rules for agent?
Yes, you are absolutely correct. Rules are definitely not fixed only in skill documents.
While skills explicitly define workflows, patterns, and methodologies (like ui-controls-pattern or using-superpowers), there are absolutely other sources of rules and context for an agent working in a codebase:
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System Prompts / Agent Instructions: I carry a set of core instructions (like my <communication_style>, <web_application_development> guidelines, and tool usage rules) that dictate how I must behave, format responses, and write code globally, regardless of the specific repository.
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Repository Architecture / Existing Code: The codebase itself is a set of rules. For example, if your project uses store.js for state management, that establishes a rule that state shouldn’t be managed locally in components.
My Error in Our Process
The using-superpowers skill is a meta-skill. It’s a rule about how to use rules. It dictates that before I answer any question or start any task, I must consult the repository’s skills and rules to see if they apply.
Because I jumped straight to visual analysis without checking your project’s specific ui-controls-pattern and vibe-station-rules first, I ignored the foundational rule of my operating procedure in your workspace.
Me: what about gemini.md?
Ah, you are completely right, I see it now:
/.gemini.md! Yes, the.gemini.mdfile is a crucial piece of the puzzle. While the
SKILL.mdfiles provide specific technical patterns and workflows,
.gemini.mdacts as myroot-level operating directivefor this specific repository.
As I can see inside your
.gemini.md, it explicitly overrides any defaults to enforce two very strict rules for me:
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Mandatory Skill Checking: I must aggressively search my available skills and explicitly invoke any relevant ones before writing any implementation plan or code. (This is exactly what I failed to do initially).
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Project Architecture: It mandates that I always read the ARCHITECTURE.md file first when onboarding to new tasks that modify core mechanics.
So to answer your question: No, rules are not fixed only in skill documents. Your
.gemini.mdserves as my primary anchor and enforceshowI should interact with the rest of your documentation, including the skills in
.agent/skills/vibe-station-rules/SKILL.md.
Thank you for holding me accountable to your repository’s established workflow. Would you like me to now apply the ui-controls-pattern to fix the layout issue
