Discover how file-based AI agents are replacing complex code graphs. Compare how Flue, Vercel Eve, and Mastra let you build an agent from a simple folder.
A folder of markdown really is the whole thing now, which still feels wrong to people who learned the graph frameworks. I run a public skill pack that way, no orchestration layer, just files I edit by hand. What the file-based approach gives up is enforcement: nothing stops a skill from being vague, so the discipline moves from the framework into the writing.
You’re right, Jason. The enforcement layer is the part people underestimate. What we do is add hard checks at the top of the skill: if the required input or context is missing, it fails closed and refuses to run rather than guessing and continuing. A markdown file has no compiler to catch vague instructions, so that discipline has to move into validation and testing before the skill ships.
A folder of markdown really is the whole thing now, which still feels wrong to people who learned the graph frameworks. I run a public skill pack that way, no orchestration layer, just files I edit by hand. What the file-based approach gives up is enforcement: nothing stops a skill from being vague, so the discipline moves from the framework into the writing.
You’re right, Jason. The enforcement layer is the part people underestimate. What we do is add hard checks at the top of the skill: if the required input or context is missing, it fails closed and refuses to run rather than guessing and continuing. A markdown file has no compiler to catch vague instructions, so that discipline has to move into validation and testing before the skill ships.