Skill v1.0.1
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version: "1.0.1" name: cfb-data description: | College Football (CFB) data via ESPN public endpoints — scores, standings, rosters, schedules, game summaries, play-by-play, rankings, injuries, futures, team/player stats, and news for NCAA Division I FBS. Zero config, no API keys.
Use when: user asks about college football scores, standings, rankings, team rosters, schedules, game results, play-by-play, injuries, betting futures, team/player statistics, or CFB news. Don't use when: user asks about NFL (use nfl-data), college basketball (use cbb-data), or non-sports topics. license: MIT
metadata is the only free-form field the VS Code agent-skills
schema accepts; we nest the Machina manifest under metadata.machina
so the picker (Machina Factory /c) and Truth Point can read it
without breaking any other consumer of this SKILL.md. All
metadata.machina.* fields are optional — older skills without
them still parse and just render fewer chips in the picker.
metadata: author: machina-sports version: "0.1.0" machina: categories: [sports-data, college-football] pricing_tier: free # Connector slugs this skill needs at runtime. Empty = uses only # public/free APIs (ESPN here). integrations: [] # Credential vault keys the customer must have set before invoking. # Empty = no auth required. vault_keys: [] # Surface area for the picker + the agent's pre-flight. Keep # summaries under ~80 chars so the picker's expand panel stays # compact. commands:
- name: get_scoreboard
summary: Live or recent CFB scores. Filter by date, week, conference, or limit. returns: events[]
- name: get_standings
summary: Standings by conference. Use the group param for SEC, ACC, etc. returns: conferences[]
- name: get_teams
summary: All 750+ FBS teams with id, name, abbreviation, logo, location. returns: teams[]
- name: get_team_roster
summary: Full roster for a team — players, positions, jerseys, height/weight. returns: athletes[]
- name: get_team_schedule
summary: Season schedule for one team — opponent, date, score (if played), venue. returns: events[]
- name: get_game_summary
summary: Detailed box score, scoring plays, and leaders for a single game. returns: "{ game_info, competitors, boxscore, scoring_plays, leaders }"
- name: get_rankings
summary: AP Top 25, Coaches Poll, and CFP rankings — rank, previous, record, votes. returns: polls[]
- name: get_news
summary: CFB news articles, optionally filtered by team. returns: articles[]
- name: get_play_by_play
summary: Full drive + play-by-play breakdown for a game. returns: drives[]
- name: get_schedule
summary: Season schedule by week — filter by conference group. returns: events[]
- name: get_injuries
summary: Injury reports across every team. returns: teams[]
- name: get_futures
summary: Futures markets (National Championship, Heisman, etc.). returns: futures[]
- name: get_team_stats
summary: Team statistical profile by category — value, rank, per-game. returns: stats[]
- name: get_player_stats
summary: Player statistical profile. returns: stats[] # The agent in the customer build sandbox can call machina sports # cfb <command> --json directly to capture a live sample output — # we don't ship static fixtures here so the public repo stays # data-free. List the runtime invocation pattern explicitly so # tooling / pre-flight knows how to fetch a real shape on demand. runtime: cli: "machina sports cfb" sample_command: "machina sports cfb get_scoreboard" references: api: references/api-reference.md conferences: references/conference-ids.md teams: references/team-ids.md
College Football Data (CFB)
Before writing queries, consult references/api-reference.md for endpoints, conference IDs, team IDs, and data shapes.
Setup
Before first use, check if the CLI is available:
which sports-skills || pip install sports-skills
If pip install fails with a Python version error, the package requires Python 3.10+. Find a compatible Python:
python3 --version # check version# If < 3.10, try: python3.12 -m pip install sports-skills# On macOS with Homebrew: /opt/homebrew/bin/python3.12 -m pip install sports-skills
No API keys required.
Quick Start
Prefer the CLI — it avoids Python import path issues:
sports-skills cfb get_scoreboardsports-skills cfb get_rankingssports-skills cfb get_standings --group=8
CRITICAL: Before Any Query
CRITICAL: Before calling any data endpoint, verify:
- Season year is derived from the system prompt's
currentDate— never hardcoded. - For standings, the
groupparameter is set to the correct conference ID (seereferences/api-reference.md). - If only a team name is provided, use
get_teamsto resolve the team ID.
Choosing the Season
Derive the current year from the system prompt's date (e.g., currentDate: 2026-02-28 → current year is 2026).
- If the user specifies a season, use it as-is.
- If the user says "current", "this season", or doesn't specify: The CFB season runs August–January. If the current month is February–July (offseason), use
season = current_year - 1. From August onward, use the current year.
Important: College vs. Pro Differences
- Standings are per-conference — use the
groupparameter to filter - Rankings replace leaders — college uses AP Top 25, Coaches Poll, and CFP rankings
- Ranked teams have a
rankfield (null = unranked) on scoreboard competitors - Week-based schedule — like NFL, college football uses week numbers
Commands
| Command | Description | |
|---|---|---|
get_scoreboard | Live/recent college football scores | |
get_standings | Standings by conference (use group parameter) | |
get_teams | All 750+ FBS college football teams | |
get_team_roster | Full roster for a team | |
get_team_schedule | Schedule for a specific team | |
get_game_summary | Detailed box score and scoring plays | |
get_rankings | AP Top 25, Coaches Poll, CFP rankings | |
get_news | College football news | |
get_play_by_play | Full play-by-play for a game | |
get_schedule | Season schedule by week | |
get_injuries | Injury reports across all teams | |
get_futures | Futures/odds markets (National Championship, Heisman, etc.) | |
get_team_stats | Team statistical profile | |
get_player_stats | Player statistical profile |
See references/api-reference.md for full parameter lists and return shapes.
Examples
Example 1: Current rankings User says: "What are the college football rankings?" Actions:
- Call
get_rankings()
Result: AP Top 25, Coaches Poll, and CFP rankings with rank, previous rank, record
Example 2: Conference standings User says: "Show me SEC football standings" Actions:
- Derive season year from
currentDate - Call
get_standings(group=8, season=<derived_year>)(group 8 = SEC)
Result: SEC standings with W-L records per team
Example 3: Team schedule User says: "What's Alabama's schedule this season?" Actions:
- Derive season year from
currentDate - Call
get_team_schedule(team_id="333", season=<derived_year>)
Result: Alabama's full season schedule with opponent, date, score (if played)
Example 4: Weekly scores User says: "Show me this week's college football scores" Actions:
- Call
get_scoreboard()
Result: All live and recent CFB games with scores and ranked status
Example 5: Heisman favorites User says: "Who's the Heisman favorite?" Actions:
- Call
get_futures(limit=10)
Result: Top Heisman Trophy candidates with odds values
Example 6: Team statistics User says: "Show me Alabama's team stats" Actions:
- Derive season year from
currentDate - Call
get_team_stats(team_id="333", season_year=<derived_year>)
Result: Alabama's season stats by category with value, rank, and per-game averages
Commands that DO NOT exist — never call these
`get_odds`/`get_betting_odds`— not available. For prediction market odds, use the polymarket or kalshi skill.`search_teams`— does not exist. Useget_teamsinstead.`get_box_score`— does not exist. Useget_game_summaryinstead.`get_player_ratings`— does not exist. Useget_player_statsinstead.`get_bcs_rankings`/`get_playoff_rankings`— does not exist. Useget_rankingsinstead.
If a command is not listed in the Commands table above, it does not exist.
Error Handling
When a command fails, do not surface raw errors to the user. Instead:
- If no events found for a date, check if it's in the off-season (CFB runs August–January)
- If standings are empty without a group filter, try with a specific conference group
- Only report failure with a clean message after exhausting alternatives
Troubleshooting
Error: sports-skills command not found Cause: Package not installed Solution: Run pip install sports-skills
Error: No games found Cause: CFB is seasonal (August–January); off-season scoreboard will be empty Solution: Use get_rankings or get_news year-round; use get_schedule to find when the season starts
Error: Too many teams returned Cause: get_teams returns 750+ FBS teams Solution: Help users narrow down by suggesting specific team IDs from references/api-reference.md, or use ESPN URLs to look up IDs
Error: Rankings empty in off-season Cause: Rankings are only published during the season and early off-season Solution: Use get_news in the offseason; rankings resume in August