Skills: File Operation Skills

Last updated: 2026-08-31

Files are the carriers of code — a Skill that can't operate files is like a designer without hands.

1. File Operation Toolbox

(1) Read Operations

(2) Write Operations

(3) Execution Operations

2. File Operation Modes

(1) Read-Only Analysis Mode

No files modified, only analysis output:

---
name: code-metrics
description: "Code metrics analysis"
tools:
  - Read
  - Grep
  - Glob
---

## Execution Flow
1. Glob to determine project file scope
2. Grep to count code patterns (classes, functions, TODOs)
3. Read to deeply analyze key files
4. Output metrics report, no files modified

(2) Safe Modification Mode

Backup before modification, verify after:

## Safe Modification Rules
1. Read current file contents
2. Analyze what needs to be modified
3. Edit precisely, only change target lines
4. Bash to run tests for verification
5. If tests fail, explain the issue and suggest rollback

(3) Batch Operation Mode

## Batch Rename Flow
1. Glob to get target file list
2. List all planned changes
3. Edit one by one to execute changes
4. Bash to run full test suite for verification

3. Search Strategies

(1) Search-First Principle

Wrong approach: Read all files → Check one by one
Right approach: Search to locate → Precisely read

(2) Common Search Patterns

(3) Search + Read Coordination

graph TD
    A[Glob: Determine file list] --> B[Grep: Search key patterns]
    B --> C{Found target?}
    C -->|Yes| D[Read: Deep read]
    C -->|No| E[Expand search scope]
    D --> F{Need modification?}
    F -->|Yes| G[Edit: Precise modification]
    F -->|No| H[Output analysis result]

graph TD
    A[Glob: Determine file list] --> B[Grep: Search key patterns]
    B --> C{Found target?}
    C -->|Yes| D[Read: Deep read]
    C -->|No| E[Expand search scope]
    D --> F{Need modification?}
    F -->|Yes| G[Edit: Precise modification]
    F -->|No| H[Output analysis result]

4. File Operation Practice

▶ Example: Project Migration Skill

Alice needs to migrate a project from JavaScript to TypeScript:

---
name: js-to-ts-migration
description: "Migrate JS files to TS"
tools:
  - Read
  - Write
  - Glob
  - Grep
  - Bash
---

## Migration Flow
1. Glob to find all .js files
2. For each file:
   a. Read contents
   b. Analyze dependencies and exports
   c. Write corresponding .ts file
   d. Add type annotations
3. Bash to run tsc --noEmit for verification
4. Output migration report

Bob said: "The biggest fear with file operations is accidental deletion or modification — search to locate, precise editing, post-verification — none of these three steps can be skipped."

❓ FAQ

📖 Summary

• Three operation modes: read-only analysis, safe modification, batch operations
• Search-first: Glob/Grep to locate, then Read for depth, finally Edit/Write to modify
• Safety principle: Read before modifying, edit precisely, verify after modifying
• Large file strategy: Read by line number ranges, don't load entire files

📝 Exercises

1. Basic (⭐): Create a read-only analysis Skill that counts TODO/FIXME occurrences and distribution in a project.
2. Intermediate (⭐⭐): Create a safe modification Skill that auto-adds type hints to Python functions, then runs tests for verification.
3. Advanced (⭐⭐⭐): Create a batch migration Skill that converts CommonJS require to ES Module import, handling edge cases like circular dependencies.

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