DEV Community: Chris Lam The latest articles on DEV Community by Chris Lam (@chrislamdev). https://dev.to/chrislamdev https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F3998354%2Fcf97ce01-1817-47af-9b9f-c2b4e61de11c.png DEV Community: Chris Lam https://dev.to/chrislamdev en Hermes Core Skills: 25 Executable AI Agent Skills for Debugging, Planning & Token Efficiency Chris Lam Tue, 23 Jun 2026 09:09:00 +0000 https://dev.to/chrislamdev/hermes-core-skills-25-executable-ai-agent-skills-for-debugging-planning-token-efficiency-312l https://dev.to/chrislamdev/hermes-core-skills-25-executable-ai-agent-skills-for-debugging-planning-token-efficiency-312l <p>I've been building AI agent tools, and I'm excited to share what I've been working on.</p> <p><strong>Hermes Core Skills</strong> is a collection of 25 executable skills designed for AI agents — Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, and Hermes Agent. Each skill is a standalone SKILL.md file with YAML frontmatter, domain classification, and token cost metadata.</p> <h2> What's included </h2> <p>• <strong>Systematic Debugging</strong> — find and fix bugs faster<br> • <strong>Test-Driven Development</strong> — write tests before code<br> • <strong>Code Review</strong> — structured review workflows<br> • <strong>Security Hardening</strong> — protect your codebase<br> • <strong>Token Efficiency</strong> — optimize agent context usage<br> • <strong>Planning &amp; Decomposition</strong> — break down complex tasks<br> • <strong>And 19 more...</strong></p> <h2> Quick Start </h2> <p>bash<br> git clone <a href="https://github.com/chrislamlayer1-gif/hermes-core-skills" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://github.com/chrislamlayer1-gif/hermes-core-skills</a><br> cp -r hermes-core-skills/skills/* ~/.claude/skills/</p> <p>That's it. All 25 skills are ready to use.</p> <h2> Why skills? </h2> <p>Skills are the best way to encode agent workflows. Each skill includes:</p> <p>• Clear triggers (when to use it)<br> • Step-by-step instructions<br> • Verification checklists<br> • Token cost metadata (so agents know upfront what they're loading)</p> <h2> Get involved </h2> <p>The project is MIT licensed and open for contributions. Star it on GitHub, open issues, submit PRs — let's build better AI agents together.</p> <p>👉 github.com/chrislamlayer1-gif/hermes-core-skills</p> ai opensource productivity python