# Verse Authoring Skill — canonical source

The full agent-facing skill (**8 compile-verified rules** for writing UEFN Verse that
compiles, ranked by real failure data from 1,418 compiles) lives canonically on GitHub:

**→ https://github.com/BizaNator/VerseIsland/blob/main/skills/verse-authoring/SKILL.md**
(raw, agent-loadable: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/BizaNator/VerseIsland/main/skills/verse-authoring/SKILL.md)

The 30-second version — nearly 3 in 4 (73%) of failures come from just three mistakes:

1. **Add the `using` block first** (34% of failures) — `trigger_device`, `agent`,
   `@editable` all live in modules you must import.
2. **Device text takes a `message`, not a `string`** (31%) — use the `<localizes>` pattern.
3. **Get the file shape right** (25%) — `#` comments, logic inside methods, no invented
   keywords.

Human version with full explanations: https://verseisland.com/guides/writing-verse-that-compiles

*(This file is a pointer so there is exactly one source of truth — CC BY 4.0, Verse Island / Biloxi Studios.)*