Guide · Agent skill
How to use the Interactive Workshop Style agent skill (workshop-style)
Updated · written with AI from the project's own documentation and checked against our catalogue data
The workshop-style skill is a set of instructions that tells an AI agent to design a course as a hands-on workshop instead of a lecture. It is written for the OpenMAIC course-generation runtime, and it does not run anything on its own. This guide explains what the skill changes, how to install it, how to trigger it with plain requests, and what to check before you rely on it.
Interactive Workshop StyleTHU-MAIC/OpenMAIC · MIT Download the skill Quick start
- 1Download the ZIP. Get the workshop-style package from the page where you found it. It contains SKILL.md and outline-constraints.json.
- 2Unzip into the skills folder. Place the folder in ~/.claude/skills/ for personal use or in the project's .claude/skills/ folder for one project.
- 3Or upload in the Claude apps. Open Settings, go to Capabilities, then Skills, and upload the skill there.
- 4Confirm the runtime is available. Make sure the OpenMAIC course-generation runtime with create_stage, set_roster and generate_scene is available, since the skill only guides it.
- 5Make a natural request. Ask for a workshop, bootcamp session or hands-on course on a topic that has a task to practise.
- 6Review the output. Check the generated pages, narration and closing project for accuracy before sharing them with learners.
What an agent skill is and what this one changes
An agent skill is a folder with a SKILL.md file that gives an AI agent extra instructions for a particular kind of task. When a request matches the skill's description, the agent reads those instructions and follows them.
This skill tells the agent how to shape a course. Slides become short task briefs. Roughly one interactive or quiz page appears for every two pages. Exercises isolate one thing to build, vary or trace. Quizzes are short self-checks with two or three questions. Narration asks more than it tells, and the last page is a small project that combines the earlier exercises.
- Scene 1 is a short slide about what the learner will make and the first thing they will try.
- Each interactive page carries a populated widget outline that includes a concept.
- Narration lines are one or two sentences, and two teacher voices alternate in short turns.
- The closing page is an integrating project, not a summary slide.
Install the workshop-style skill
Download the ZIP for this skill from the page where you found it. The package contains outline-constraints.json and SKILL.md. Unzip it into one of two places, depending on how you want to use it.
For a personal setup, unzip the folder into ~/.claude/skills/. For a single project, unzip it into the project's .claude/skills/ folder. If you use the Claude apps instead, open Settings, go to Capabilities, and upload the skill under Skills.
- Personal use: place the skill folder in ~/.claude/skills/.
- Project use: place the skill folder in the project's .claude/skills/ folder.
- Claude apps: Settings → Capabilities → Skills, then upload the skill.
Trigger the skill with natural requests
The skill activates when your request matches its description. You do not need to name it, but you can. Ask for a workshop, a bootcamp session, or a skill the learner should leave holding. The description also lists the Chinese terms 「动手」「实操」「练中学」and「边做边学」.
If you want to be explicit, say that you want the workshop style. The skill also says to use it when the user names this style.
- "Design a two-hour bootcamp session on writing SQL queries, hands-on."
- "Make this OpenMAIC course a workshop where learners practise each idea."
- "Build a 边做边学 course on basic circuit design."
- "Use the workshop style for this course."
Check what you need before you start
The skill requires the OpenMAIC course-generation runtime with its stage tools: create_stage, set_roster and generate_scene. It is a style guide for that runtime. It does not generate courses by itself, and it runs no scripts and uses no network access.
The skill also relies on a companion skill named stage-design, which governs how the stage is built: outline, roster, one page per generate_scene, and audio before done. workshop-style governs what the stage contains and how it sounds.
- Requires: OpenMAIC course-generation runtime with create_stage, set_roster and generate_scene.
- Runs scripts: no.
- Uses network: no.
- Companion skill referenced in the text: stage-design.
Safety notes: scripts and network
According to the skill's own listing, workshop-style runs no scripts and uses no network. It contains instructions only. Review the SKILL.md file yourself before installing any skill you did not write, since an agent will follow whatever instructions it contains.
Because the skill writes the course content that the runtime generates, check the generated pages for accuracy before you give them to learners. The skill controls style, not the correctness of the subject matter.
- Read SKILL.md before installing.
- Review generated content for accuracy before publishing it.
Tips for getting good results
Give the agent a subject that has something to practise. The skill itself says that a historical narrative or an appreciation course should use lecture-style instead, because exercises on such a topic become busywork.
Pass the style into each page. The skill notes that page generators see only the page brief, page content and roster, so the cadence, the closing project and the narration directive should be written into each generate_scene brief and materialFacts field. Naming the skill in a prompt alone does nothing.
- Choose a topic with a task a learner can perform.
- Specify the cadence and closing project in each page brief.
- Put the two-voice facilitation style into each roster persona.
- Keep narration directives in materialFacts for each page.
What people use it for
- Designing a bootcamp session where learners practise a skill step by step.
- Turning an existing OpenMAIC course into a workshop with exercises after every two pages.
- Building a consistent interactive style across all pages of a course for a trainer team.
- Creating a closing project that combines several earlier exercises into one small tool.
Frequently asked questions
Is the workshop-style skill free to use?
The source material says the skill is licensed under MIT. It is a set of instructions, and the source does not mention any price, so check the licence text on the source page for the terms.
What do I need to use workshop-style?
You need the OpenMAIC course-generation runtime with its stage tools: create_stage, set_roster and generate_scene. The skill runs no scripts and uses no network.
How do I install the workshop-style skill?
Download the ZIP, then unzip it into ~/.claude/skills/ for personal use or into a project's .claude/skills/ folder. In the Claude apps, upload it under Settings, Capabilities, Skills.
When should I use lecture-style instead?
Use lecture-style for a systematic explanatory course. The skill says to use it when the subject has nothing to practise, such as a historical narrative or an appreciation course.
When is vocational the better choice?
Use vocational for occupational procedure training that involves tools and safety gates. The skill says that kind of training belongs to the vocational style.
Why does the agent ignore the workshop style sometimes?
According to the skill, page generators see only the page brief, page content and roster. Put the cadence, closing project and narration directive into each generate_scene brief and materialFacts field, because naming the skill in a prompt does nothing on its own.
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Our verdict
Use workshop-style if you are building a course on a skill that learners should practise, and you already work with the OpenMAIC runtime. Pick lecture-style for systematic explanatory material, and vocational for occupational procedure training with tools and safety gates.
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