> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.summerengine.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Skills

> The Summer Engine skill library: 60+ best-practice guides across 20 categories that make AI agents better at building games, from FPS controllers to asset generation to multiplayer.

## What Are Skills?

Skills are best-practice guides that make AI agents better at game development. Each skill is a Markdown file (a `SKILL.md`) that teaches the agent a specific discipline: how to compose a scene, build an FPS controller, generate a character model, set up multiplayer, or debug a crash. When the situation matches, the agent loads the skill and follows it.

The library ships with the Summer CLI and covers 20 categories spanning the whole game-dev workflow. Skills follow the [Agent Skills](https://agentskills.io/) open standard, so they work with Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot, OpenCode, and other compatible agents.

## Quick Start

The recommended skill set installs automatically when you onboard an agent:

```bash theme={null}
npx -y summer-engine@latest setup claude-code --yes
```

Or manage skills directly:

```bash theme={null}
# List available skills
summer skills list

# Install the recommended set for an agent
summer skills install --recommended --agent claude-code

# Install one skill
summer skills install fps-controller --agent cursor

# Install every skill
summer skills install --all --agent claude-code

# Preview a skill
summer skills info debug
```

## Categories

The library is organized into 20 categories. Recommended skills install by default; the rest are available on demand.

### Workflow

Process disciplines that shape how the agent approaches a task before it touches code.

| Skill                              | Use when                                                                         |
| ---------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **brainstorming**                  | Starting a new game, mechanic, or feature; exploring intent and scope first      |
| **investigating-bugs**             | A first fix did not stick and you need root-cause analysis                       |
| **verification-before-completion** | About to claim a feature is done; forces a real check first                      |
| **playtesting-a-feature**          | A gameplay feature is finished and needs a golden-path and edge-case playthrough |
| **writing-plans**                  | A multi-step spec needs a written plan with checkpoints                          |
| **dispatching-parallel-agents**    | Two or more independent tasks can run in parallel                                |
| **writing-skills**                 | Authoring a new Summer skill                                                     |
| **debugging-game-feel**            | Tuning feel ("the jump feels floaty") one variable at a time                     |
| **diagnosing-perf-regressions**    | FPS dropped after a change and you need to bisect the cause                      |

### Scene and Project

| Skill                 | Use when                                                                       |
| --------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **make-game**         | Building a narrow playable prototype from requirements end to end              |
| **brainstorm-game**   | Turning "I want to make a game" into a one-page brief at `.summer/GameSoul.md` |
| **new-project**       | Starting a blank project (picks empty vs 3d-basic, opens the engine)           |
| **browse-templates**  | Choosing a community template to start from                                    |
| **scene-composition** | Building scenes, organizing nodes, creating reusable prefabs                   |
| **play**              | Running the game from a clean state and reporting whether it runs cleanly      |

### Scripting Patterns

| Skill                 | Use when                                                          |
| --------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **gdscript-patterns** | Writing GDScript: type hints, signals, exports, lifecycle methods |

### Character Controllers

| Skill              | Use when                                                                 |
| ------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **fps-controller** | Building a first-person CharacterBody3D with movement, camera, and input |

### Gameplay Mechanics

| Skill               | Use when                                                          |
| ------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **design-mechanic** | Designing a mechanic end to end: input, response, feedback, depth |

### Level Design

| Skill            | Use when                                                                    |
| ---------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **design-level** | Designing a level as a paced encounter, then producing a node-tree skeleton |

### Rendering and Lighting

| Skill             | Use when                                                                   |
| ----------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **3d-lighting**   | Setting up sun, fill, WorldEnvironment, sky, and shadows                   |
| **art-direction** | Defining art direction and writing the art bible to `.summer/art-bible.md` |

### UI and UX

| Skill         | Use when                                                 |
| ------------- | -------------------------------------------------------- |
| **ui-basics** | Building menus, HUDs, health bars, and responsive layout |

### Asset Pipeline

| Skill              | Use when                                                             |
| ------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **asset-strategy** | Choosing between library, generated, or primitive assets for a level |

### 2D Assets

| Skill                  | Use when                                                       |
| ---------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **concept-art**        | Producing variant concept-art prompts on a locked style anchor |
| **character-portrait** | A final character bust for dialogue UI                         |
| **pixel-art**          | Pixel-art icons and sprites with nearest-neighbor filtering    |
| **ui-graphics**        | Flat-design UI icon sets and atlases                           |
| **tileable-texture**   | Seamless textures for materials                                |
| **sprite-sheet**       | Multi-frame sprite animations and SpriteFrames resources       |
| **skybox-panorama**    | Equirectangular skybox panoramas                               |

### 3D Assets

| Skill               | Use when                                                              |
| ------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **prop-model**      | A single prop via the image-to-3D pipeline                            |
| **character-model** | A character: T-pose reference, gated rig pass, CharacterBody3D wiring |
| **environment-kit** | A modular kit of consistent environment pieces                        |
| **vehicle-model**   | Hard-surface vehicles                                                 |
| **organic-model**   | Organic shapes with emission and instancing                           |

### Animation

| Skill                    | Use when                                                    |
| ------------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------- |
| **generate-motion**      | Adding a curated mocap clip to a rigged character           |
| **retarget**             | Retargeting an existing clip onto a different skeleton      |
| **animation-tree**       | Building an AnimationTree with blend spaces driven by speed |
| **procedural-animation** | Foot IK and other procedural skeleton modifications         |
| **facial-and-lipsync**   | Lip-sync and blend-shape facial animation from a voice line |

### Audio

| Skill               | Use when                                                                |
| ------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **audio-direction** | Defining audio direction and the bus layout in `.summer/audio-bible.md` |
| **sound-effect**    | A single SFX wired to an AudioStreamPlayer3D                            |
| **music-track**     | A looping music track on the Music bus                                  |
| **ambient-bed**     | Loop-clean ambience on the Ambient bus                                  |
| **voice-line**      | Character dialogue via TTS with a matching voice                        |
| **adaptive-music**  | Layered music that responds to combat state                             |

### Video

| Skill                  | Use when                                      |
| ---------------------- | --------------------------------------------- |
| **cinematic-cutscene** | A short cutscene wired to a VideoStreamPlayer |
| **trailer-shot**       | A premium hero shot for a trailer             |
| **animated-loop**      | A loop-clean backdrop clip for a title screen |

### Visual Effects

| Skill            | Use when                                                                |
| ---------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **game-feel**    | Adding visible juice to flat combat: hit flash, screen shake, particles |
| **fire**         | A torch flame via GPUParticles3D and a custom shader                    |
| **muzzle-flash** | A one-shot muzzle flash on a weapon                                     |
| **water-ripple** | Interactive water ripples                                               |
| **lightning**    | A lightning strike effect with camera shake                             |
| **dissolve**     | A dissolve-on-death shader effect                                       |
| **smoke**        | Smoke particles with wind                                               |
| **hit-spark**    | Sparks oriented to a surface normal on impact                           |
| **magic-glow**   | A pulsing magical glow with light and motes                             |

### AI and NPCs

| Skill          | Use when                                                            |
| -------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **design-npc** | A patrol-and-chase enemy with perception, decision logic, and tells |

### Multiplayer and Networking

| Skill                        | Use when                                                                   |
| ---------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **setup-multiplayer**        | Co-op LAN multiplayer with MultiplayerAPI, Spawner, Synchronizer, and ENet |
| **peer-to-peer-multiplayer** | A four-layer P2P architecture with prediction and interpolation            |
| **host-authoritative-state** | A state-ownership audit and the canonical Manager pattern                  |

### Performance

| Skill                | Use when                                                                            |
| -------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **tune-performance** | Profiling a slow scene, finding the hotspot, and verifying the fix moved the metric |

### Debugging

| Skill     | Use when                                                                   |
| --------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **debug** | Triaging a runtime crash end to end: read errors, locate code, fix, verify |

### Deployment

| Skill               | Use when                                                              |
| ------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **export-and-ship** | Running the Steam pre-flight checklist across Windows, Mac, and Linux |

## For AI Agents

Most agents discover skills automatically once `summer setup <agent> --yes` has installed them. The agent loads the relevant `SKILL.md` when the situation matches, then follows its scene structure, value formats, and tool calls. Skills reference the [MCP tools](/mcp/tools-reference) (`summer_add_node`, `summer_set_prop`, `summer_generate_3d`, etc.) and engine value formats (`Vector3(0, 10, 0)`, `Color(1, 0.5, 0, 1)`).

## Next Steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="CLI Reference" icon="terminal" href="/mcp/cli-reference">
    All CLI commands including skills
  </Card>

  <Card title="Building a Game" icon="gamepad-2" href="/mcp/building-a-game">
    Step-by-step MCP workflow for AI agents
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

***

Need help or have questions? Reach out to our founders at [founders@summerengine.com](mailto:founders@summerengine.com) or join our community on [Discord](https://discord.gg/yUpgtxnZky) for fast responses.
