diff --git a/packages/create-plugin/templates/common/.claude/skills/build-plugin/SKILL.md b/packages/create-plugin/templates/common/.claude/skills/build-plugin/SKILL.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..97f2d191a3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/create-plugin/templates/common/.claude/skills/build-plugin/SKILL.md
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+@../../../../.config/AGENTS/skills/build-plugin.md
diff --git a/packages/create-plugin/templates/common/.claude/skills/validate-plugin/SKILL.md b/packages/create-plugin/templates/common/.claude/skills/validate-plugin/SKILL.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..14685c2c33
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/create-plugin/templates/common/.claude/skills/validate-plugin/SKILL.md
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+@../../../../.config/AGENTS/skills/validate-plugin.md
diff --git a/packages/create-plugin/templates/common/.codex/skills/build-plugin/SKILL.md b/packages/create-plugin/templates/common/.codex/skills/build-plugin/SKILL.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..c49a091550
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/create-plugin/templates/common/.codex/skills/build-plugin/SKILL.md
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+---
+name: build-plugin
+description: build a Grafana plugin using the standard build process (frontend and backend if applicable)
+---
+
+@../../../../.config/AGENTS/skills/build-plugin.md
diff --git a/packages/create-plugin/templates/common/.codex/skills/validate-plugin/SKILL.md b/packages/create-plugin/templates/common/.codex/skills/validate-plugin/SKILL.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..f265c46ed2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/create-plugin/templates/common/.codex/skills/validate-plugin/SKILL.md
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+---
+name: validate-plugin
+description: validate a Grafana plugin using the official Grafana plugin validator
+---
+
+@../../../../.config/AGENTS/skills/validate-plugin.md
diff --git a/packages/create-plugin/templates/common/.config/AGENTS/skills/build-plugin.md b/packages/create-plugin/templates/common/.config/AGENTS/skills/build-plugin.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..dcad7b6674
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/create-plugin/templates/common/.config/AGENTS/skills/build-plugin.md
@@ -0,0 +1,49 @@
+# Build Grafana Plugin
+
+## Usage
+
+```
+/build-plugin
+```
+
+Run this from the root of your plugin directory.
+
+## Steps
+
+1. Detect the package manager. Check the `packageManager` field in `package.json` first, then fall back to lock file detection:
+   ```bash
+   PKG_MANAGER=$(
+     if grep -q '"packageManager"' package.json 2>/dev/null; then
+       grep '"packageManager"' package.json | sed -E 's/.*"packageManager" *: *"([^@]+).*/\1/'
+     elif [ -f "pnpm-lock.yaml" ]; then
+       echo "pnpm"
+     elif [ -f "yarn.lock" ]; then
+       echo "yarn"
+     else
+       echo "npm"
+     fi
+   )
+   ```
+
+2. Check if the plugin has a backend:
+   ```bash
+   HAS_BACKEND=$(grep -c '"backend" *: *true' src/plugin.json || true)
+   ```
+
+3. Build the frontend following the build instructions in `.config/AGENTS/instructions.md`. For detailed packaging steps refer to the packaging documentation linked there:
+   ```bash
+   ${PKG_MANAGER} run build
+   ```
+   If the build fails, stop and report the error to the user.
+
+4. If `HAS_BACKEND` is non-zero (backend plugin detected), build the backend following the build instructions and packaging documentation linked in `.config/AGENTS/instructions.md`:
+   - The backend must be built using `mage` with the build targets provided by the Grafana plugin Go SDK:
+     ```bash
+     mage -v
+     ```
+   - If `mage` is not installed, stop and tell the user: "mage is required to build the backend. Install it from https://magefile.org or run: go install github.com/magefile/mage@latest"
+   - If the build fails, stop and report the error to the user.
+   - After a successful backend build, ensure all backend binaries in `dist/` have execute permissions:
+     ```bash
+     chmod 0755 dist/gpx_*
+     ```
diff --git a/packages/create-plugin/templates/common/.config/AGENTS/skills/validate-plugin.md b/packages/create-plugin/templates/common/.config/AGENTS/skills/validate-plugin.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..096f69002f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/create-plugin/templates/common/.config/AGENTS/skills/validate-plugin.md
@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+# Validate Grafana Plugin
+
+## Important
+
+Always use the bash commands below directly.
+
+## Usage
+
+```
+/validate-plugin
+```
+
+Run this from the root of your plugin directory.
+
+## Steps
+
+1. Check if `npx` or `docker` is available. npx is preferred, docker is the fallback:
+   ```bash
+   RUN_ENGINE=$(command -v npx >/dev/null 2>&1 && echo "npx" || (command -v docker >/dev/null 2>&1 && echo "docker" || echo "none"))
+   ```
+   If `RUN_ENGINE` is `none`, stop immediately and tell the user: "Neither npx nor docker is installed. Please install Node.js (for npx) or Docker to run the plugin validator."
+
+2. Extract the plugin ID from `src/plugin.json` (or `plugin.json`). Sanitize `PLUGIN_ID` to only allow characters valid in a Grafana plugin ID:
+   ```bash
+   PLUGIN_ID=$(grep '"id"' < src/plugin.json | sed -E 's/.*"id" *: *"(.*)".*/\1/' | tr -cd 'a-zA-Z0-9._-')
+   ```
+
+3. Run the `build-plugin` skill to build the plugin (frontend and backend if applicable).
+
+4. Build the plugin zip archive for validation with a timestamp:
+   ```bash
+   TIMESTAMP=$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S)
+   ZIP_NAME="${PLUGIN_ID}-${TIMESTAMP}.zip"
+   cp -r dist "${PLUGIN_ID}"
+   zip -qr "${ZIP_NAME}" "${PLUGIN_ID}"
+   rm -rf "${PLUGIN_ID}"
+   ```
+
+5. Run the validator with JSON output using `$RUN_ENGINE` from step 1 and `$ZIP_NAME` from step 4:
+   If `$RUN_ENGINE` is `npx`:
+   ```bash
+   npx --cache .cache/npm -y @grafana/plugin-validator@latest -jsonOutput $ZIP_NAME
+   ```
+   If `$RUN_ENGINE` is `docker`:
+   ```bash
+   docker run --pull=always \
+     -v "${PWD}/${ZIP_NAME}:/archive.zip:ro" \
+     grafana/plugin-validator-cli -jsonOutput /archive.zip
+   ```
+
+6. Read and interpret the JSON output. Summarize:
+   - Total errors, warnings, and passed checks
+   - List each error with its title and detail
+   - List each warning with its title and detail
+   - Provide actionable suggestions to fix each issue
+
+7. Inform the user that a zip file was created (include the filename) and suggest they remove it manually when done. Do NOT run `rm` to delete the zip — this tool does not have permission to remove files.