How to use the Art Bible Author agent skill (art-bible)

What the art-bible skill does

An agent skill is a folder containing a SKILL.md file that tells the agent how to handle a specific task. When this skill is invoked, the agent reads your existing game concept document and then guides you through authoring the art bible section by section.

Before writing anything, the agent asks about scope and reference material, such as which sections you need today and which games, films or art define the look you want. It then checks which sections of an existing art bible are already complete, so it only fills gaps instead of rewriting finished work.

• Reads design/gdd/game-concept.md or design/game-brief.md as the source of truth
• Asks scope and reference questions before authoring
• Asks for your approval before writing each section to a file
• Depth and number of sections depend on the project's workflow and docs.density settings

Install the art-bible skill

Download the ZIP from the skill's page on this directory and unzip it. You can install it in one of two places. For a personal setup, unzip it into ~/.claude/skills/. For a single project, unzip it into that project's .claude/skills/ folder.

If you use the Claude apps instead of Claude Code, upload the skill under Settings → Capabilities → Skills.

• Personal install: ~/.claude/skills/
• Project install: .claude/skills/ inside your project repository
• Claude apps: Settings → Capabilities → Skills

Check the requirements before you start

The skill needs Claude Code or a compatible SKILL.md agent, and it depends on the Claude Code Game Studios framework around it. Without a game concept file the skill stops and asks you to run the brainstorm step first.

It also needs Bash so it can run the bundled yaml-helper.sh config resolver from the hooks folder of the parent repository. The framework files it reads include the .claude/docs/ templates, the director-gate and workflow docs, and hooks/yaml-helper.sh. The skill does not work as a standalone file in an unrelated project.

• Claude Code or a compatible SKILL.md agent
• A game concept file at design/gdd/game-concept.md or design/game-brief.md
• Bash available for the yaml-helper.sh resolver
• Framework files: .claude/docs/ templates, director-gate and workflow docs, hooks/yaml-helper.sh

Run the skill with a natural request

The skill is user-invocable and accepts an optional --review argument with the values full, lean or solo. If you pass --review, it overrides the review_mode value in your project config. Without it, the review mode comes from the resolved configuration.

In the session, the agent asks two framing questions. The first is which sections to author today: the full bible of nine sections, the visual identity core of sections 1 to 4, asset standards only, or resuming missing sections. The second asks whether you have reference games, films or art. Type specific titles where you have them.

If you already have an art bible at design/art/art-bible.md, the agent builds a status table of complete and incomplete sections and says it will only work on the gaps. Existing content is not touched.

• Ask for the art bible in plain terms, for example: author the art bible for my game, or resume the missing sections of my art bible
• Pass --review full, lean or solo to set the review mode for one run
• Name your reference titles when the agent asks for them

Approve each section before it is written

Every section is approved through a question with a locking option labelled Lock this in and write it to design/art/art-bible.md. Choosing that option is your approval to write that section. No section is written without it, whether the file is new or being completed.

The docs.density setting controls how deep each section goes. terse, the default at minimal rigor, gives a bulleted list of constraints and references. balanced gives paragraphs explaining each visual choice. thorough gives full prose with style explorations and rationale. The workflow tier decides which sections are required: full needs all nine, standard needs sections 1 to 4 at minimum, and minimal makes the bible optional.

• terse: bulleted constraints and references per section
• balanced: paragraphs explaining each visual choice
• thorough: full prose with style explorations and rationale
• full workflow: all nine sections required

Tips for a smoother session

Have your game concept finished before you start, since the skill draws its pillars, core fantasy and any Visual Identity Anchor from it. If the concept file has a visual identity anchor from brainstorming, the agent will use it as the foundation.

Scope the session narrowly if you are short on time. Each authored section involves a specialist step, so asking for only the sections you need keeps the run shorter. Sections you skip are listed at the end of the session so you know what is still open.

• Finish the game concept first
• Use the scope question to limit sections when time is short
• Keep reference titles specific so the visual direction is clear