---
id: "action-single-line-descriptions"
type: "action-item"
source_timestamps: ["10:25:00", "10:35:00"]
tags: ["formatting", "claude"]
related: ["claim-single-line-description", "concept-description-routing-signal", "entity-product-claude"]
speakers: ["Nate B. Jones"]
outcome: "Prevents Claude from silently failing to read the full description, ensuring the skill triggers correctly."
sources: ["s43-file-format-agreement"]
sourceVaultSlug: "s43-file-format-agreement"
originDay: 43
---
# Keep skill descriptions on a single line

## Action

Ensure the `description` field in your `skill.md` file is **never broken across multiple lines**.

## Why

In [[entity-product-claude-d43]]'s current implementation, multi-line descriptions in the YAML frontmatter silently truncate at the first line — the agent never sees the rest. See [[claim-single-line-description]].

## Outcome

Prevents Claude from silently failing to read the full description, ensuring the skill triggers correctly. This is especially critical given the under-trigger bias documented in [[concept-description-routing-signal]].

## How

- Write the description as a **single-line string** in YAML frontmatter, OR
- Use proper YAML folded (`>`) or literal (`|`) scalar syntax if you absolutely need multi-line content.
- Run a CI lint that fails on raw newlines inside `description:`.