SDK Quickstart Writer

What this skill does

This skill writes a concise, copy-paste-ready quickstart guide for any SDK or library. It produces a document that gets a developer from zero to their first working API call or feature in under 10 minutes — covering installation, setup, authentication, and a complete working example. The output follows the "get it working first, explain later" philosophy.

Use this when releasing a new SDK, when existing documentation is too verbose or scattered, or when onboarding developers who need a working example before reading the full API reference.

How to use

Claude Code / Cline

Copy this file to .agents/skills/sdk-quickstart-writer/SKILL.md in your project root.

Then ask:

• "Use the SDK Quickstart Writer skill to write a quickstart for our Node.js SDK."
• "Write a quickstart guide for developers integrating our REST API using the SDK Quickstart Writer skill."

Provide:

• The SDK name and language(s)
• Installation command
• Required credentials or API keys
• The most common or important first use case
• Any code samples you already have

Cursor

Add the instructions below to your .cursorrules or paste them into the Cursor AI pane. Provide SDK details and any existing code.

Codex

Provide the SDK name, the package name, authentication method, and a description of the primary use case. Ask Codex to follow the instructions below.

The Prompt / Instructions for the Agent

When asked to write an SDK quickstart, follow these steps:

Step 1 — Understand the SDK

Before writing, confirm you understand:

• Language / runtime: Node.js, Python, Go, browser JS, etc.
• Package name: What do developers install?
• Authentication: API key in header? OAuth? Client ID + secret?
• Primary use case: What's the first thing 80% of developers want to do?
• Base URL / environment: Any staging vs production distinction?

If this information isn't provided, ask before writing.

Step 2 — Structure the quickstart

The quickstart must follow this exact structure:

1. Prerequisites — What does the developer need before starting? (Node 18+, a free account, an API key)
2. Installation — Single command, copy-paste ready
3. Configuration — How to provide credentials (environment variable, config file, constructor argument)
4. Your first call — A complete, runnable code example that does something meaningful. Not "hello world" — the actual thing they came here to do.
5. Understanding the response — Annotate the response object with comments explaining key fields
6. What to do next — 3–4 links or topics to explore after the quickstart

Step 3 — Write the code examples

Code examples must be:

• Complete and runnable — copy-paste with only the API key changed
• Minimal — no boilerplate, no unrelated setup, no try/catch unless error handling is the point
• Annotated — key lines should have a short inline comment explaining what they do
• Using real-looking data — use realistic example values, not foo, bar, test123

Step 4 — Write the surrounding prose

• Keep it short. Each prose section should be 1–3 sentences max.
• Use imperative voice: "Install the package", "Set your API key", "Create a client"
• Don't explain why — that's for the reference docs. Just show what to do.
• Use callout boxes for important notes (authentication, rate limits, required fields)

Step 5 — Format the quickstart

# [SDK Name] Quickstart

Get up and running in under 10 minutes.

## Prerequisites
- [Requirement 1]
- [Requirement 2]
- An API key — [link to where to get one]

## Install

```bash
npm install @yourcompany/sdk

Configure

Set your API key as an environment variable:

export YOUR_API_KEY=your_key_here

Never commit your API key to source control. Use a .env file and add it to .gitignore.

Your First Call

[1–2 sentence description of what this example does]

[Complete, runnable code example with inline comments]

Understanding the Response

{
  "id": "item_123",       // Unique ID for this resource
  "status": "active",     // Current state: "active" | "inactive" | "pending"
  "createdAt": "2026-03-15T10:00:00Z"  // ISO 8601 timestamp
}

Next Steps

• [Link or topic 1]
• [Link or topic 2]
• [Link or topic 3]

## Example

**Input to Agent:**
> "Use the SDK Quickstart Writer skill. SDK details:
> - Name: Notify SDK (Node.js)
> - Package: `@notifyhq/node`
> - Auth: API key passed to constructor
> - Primary use case: Send a push notification to a user by their user ID"

**Output from Agent:**

> # Notify Node.js SDK — Quickstart
>
> Get up and running in under 10 minutes.
>
> ## Prerequisites
> - Node.js 18 or higher
> - A Notify account — [sign up free](https://notifyhq.com/signup)
> - An API key from your [Notify dashboard](https://notifyhq.com/dashboard/keys)
>
> ## Install
>
> ```bash
> npm install @notifyhq/node
> ```
>
> ## Configure
>
> ```bash
> export NOTIFY_API_KEY=your_api_key_here
> ```
>
> > **Never commit your API key.** Add `.env` to `.gitignore` and use a package like `dotenv` to load it locally.
>
> ## Your First Call
>
> Send a push notification to a user:
>
> ```js
> import { NotifyClient } from '@notifyhq/node';
>
> // Initialize the client with your API key
> const notify = new NotifyClient(process.env.NOTIFY_API_KEY);
>
> // Send a push notification to a user by their ID
> const result = await notify.push.send({
>   userId: 'user_8a72bc',           // Your app's user identifier
>   title: 'Your order has shipped', // Notification title
>   body: 'Estimated arrival: March 18', // Notification body
> });
>
> console.log(result.id); // => "notif_9f3a12c"
> ```
>
> ## Understanding the Response
>
> ```js
> {
>   "id": "notif_9f3a12c",        // Unique notification ID — use for status lookups
>   "status": "queued",           // "queued" | "delivered" | "failed"
>   "userId": "user_8a72bc",      // The recipient
>   "createdAt": "2026-03-15T10:00:00Z"
> }
> ```
>
> ## Next Steps
> - [Send to multiple users at once](https://docs.notifyhq.com/batch)
> - [Track delivery status with webhooks](https://docs.notifyhq.com/webhooks)
> - [Customize notification channels (email, SMS, push)](https://docs.notifyhq.com/channels)
> - [Full API reference](https://docs.notifyhq.com/api)

## Notes

- The quickstart should be opinionated — show one way to do it, not three. Options belong in the full docs.
- If the SDK supports multiple languages, write a separate quickstart for each — don't try to combine them.
- Real, working code examples are more valuable than any amount of prose. When in doubt, add more code and less text.