From 42373b6742377d57cdc36cb219f45eccea609567 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Peter Steinberger <steipete@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 23 Feb 2026 18:48:07 +0000
Subject: [PATCH] fix(skills): support multiline frontmatter fallback without
 PyYAML

---
 .../skill-creator/scripts/quick_validate.py   | 21 +++++++++---
 .../scripts/test_quick_validate.py            | 32 +++++++++++++++++--
 2 files changed, 46 insertions(+), 7 deletions(-)

diff --git a/skills/skill-creator/scripts/quick_validate.py b/skills/skill-creator/scripts/quick_validate.py
index 3e0130bee18..e8737b4f156 100644
--- a/skills/skill-creator/scripts/quick_validate.py
+++ b/skills/skill-creator/scripts/quick_validate.py
@@ -32,13 +32,25 @@ def _parse_simple_frontmatter(frontmatter_text: str) -> Optional[dict[str, str]]
     Supports simple `key: value` mappings used by SKILL.md frontmatter.
     """
     parsed: dict[str, str] = {}
+    current_key: Optional[str] = None
     for raw_line in frontmatter_text.splitlines():
-        line = raw_line.strip()
-        if not line or line.startswith("#"):
+        stripped = raw_line.strip()
+        if not stripped or stripped.startswith("#"):
             continue
-        if ":" not in line:
+
+        is_indented = raw_line[:1].isspace()
+        if is_indented:
+            if current_key is None:
+                return None
+            current_value = parsed[current_key]
+            parsed[current_key] = (
+                f"{current_value}\n{stripped}" if current_value else stripped
+            )
+            continue
+
+        if ":" not in stripped:
             return None
-        key, value = line.split(":", 1)
+        key, value = stripped.split(":", 1)
         key = key.strip()
         value = value.strip()
         if not key:
@@ -48,6 +60,7 @@ def _parse_simple_frontmatter(frontmatter_text: str) -> Optional[dict[str, str]]
         ):
             value = value[1:-1]
         parsed[key] = value
+        current_key = key
     return parsed
 
 
diff --git a/skills/skill-creator/scripts/test_quick_validate.py b/skills/skill-creator/scripts/test_quick_validate.py
index 717fbb8a8c2..199fcb633ad 100644
--- a/skills/skill-creator/scripts/test_quick_validate.py
+++ b/skills/skill-creator/scripts/test_quick_validate.py
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ import tempfile
 from pathlib import Path
 from unittest import TestCase, main
 
-from quick_validate import validate_skill
+import quick_validate
 
 
 class TestQuickValidate(TestCase):
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ class TestQuickValidate(TestCase):
         content = "---\r\nname: crlf-skill\r\ndescription: ok\r\n---\r\n# Skill\r\n"
         (skill_dir / "SKILL.md").write_text(content, encoding="utf-8")
 
-        valid, message = validate_skill(skill_dir)
+        valid, message = quick_validate.validate_skill(skill_dir)
 
         self.assertTrue(valid, message)
 
@@ -36,11 +36,37 @@ class TestQuickValidate(TestCase):
         content = "---\nname: bad-skill\ndescription: missing end\n# no closing fence\n"
         (skill_dir / "SKILL.md").write_text(content, encoding="utf-8")
 
-        valid, message = validate_skill(skill_dir)
+        valid, message = quick_validate.validate_skill(skill_dir)
 
         self.assertFalse(valid)
         self.assertEqual(message, "Invalid frontmatter format")
 
+    def test_fallback_parser_handles_multiline_frontmatter_without_pyyaml(self):
+        skill_dir = self.temp_dir / "multiline-skill"
+        skill_dir.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+        content = """---
+name: multiline-skill
+description: Works without pyyaml
+allowed-tools:
+  - gh
+metadata: |
+  {
+    "owners": ["team-openclaw"]
+  }
+---
+# Skill
+"""
+        (skill_dir / "SKILL.md").write_text(content, encoding="utf-8")
+
+        previous_yaml = quick_validate.yaml
+        quick_validate.yaml = None
+        try:
+            valid, message = quick_validate.validate_skill(skill_dir)
+        finally:
+            quick_validate.yaml = previous_yaml
+
+        self.assertTrue(valid, message)
+
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":
     main()