diff --git a/assert-struct/SKILL.md b/assert-struct/SKILL.md
index faa97f0..bf38005 100644
--- a/assert-struct/SKILL.md
+++ b/assert-struct/SKILL.md
@@ -1,8 +1,7 @@
 ---
 name: assert-struct-guidance
 description: Always use this skill before writing any test code in the Toasty repository
-crates: assert-struct
-activation: always
+depends-on: assert-struct
 ---
 
 The `assert-struct` crate helps to write concise assertions for the values of struct fields.
diff --git a/dial9/SYMPOSIUM.toml b/dial9/SYMPOSIUM.toml
index fcb3206..009bb85 100644
--- a/dial9/SYMPOSIUM.toml
+++ b/dial9/SYMPOSIUM.toml
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 name = "dial9"
-crates = ["dial9-tokio-telemetry", "dial9", "dial9-viewer"]
+depends-on = ["dial9-tokio-telemetry", "dial9", "dial9-viewer"]
 
-[[skills]]
-source = "crate"
+# The dial9 skills ship in the dial9-viewer crate; load it as a plugin so its
+# skills/ are contributed whenever this plugin is active.
+[[plugins]]
+source.cargo = "dial9-viewer"
diff --git a/error-battery-pack/SYMPOSIUM.toml b/error-battery-pack/SYMPOSIUM.toml
index b94d7b6..2dbf3f7 100644
--- a/error-battery-pack/SYMPOSIUM.toml
+++ b/error-battery-pack/SYMPOSIUM.toml
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 name = "error-battery-pack"
-crates = ["anyhow", "thiserror", "eyre", "color-eyre", "miette", "snafu", "displaydoc", "error-stack", "error-battery-pack"]
+depends-on = ["anyhow", "thiserror", "eyre", "color-eyre", "miette", "snafu", "displaydoc", "error-stack", "error-battery-pack"]
 
-[[skills]]
-source = "crate"
+# The skills ship in the error-battery-pack crate's skills/ directory; load it
+# as a plugin so those skills are contributed whenever this plugin is active.
+[[plugins]]
+source.cargo = "error-battery-pack"
diff --git a/formality-core/SKILL.md b/formality-core/SKILL.md
index c1e1abe..d671727 100644
--- a/formality-core/SKILL.md
+++ b/formality-core/SKILL.md
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 ---
 name: formality-core
 description: Idiomatic patterns for writing code with formality-core (a-mir-formality). Use when writing or reviewing judgment functions, type definitions, or parser-related code in projects built on formality-core.
-crates: formality-core
+depends-on: formality-core
 ---
 
 # Idiomatic formality-core
diff --git a/rust/SYMPOSIUM.toml b/rust/SYMPOSIUM.toml
index b8b168a..81a6771 100644
--- a/rust/SYMPOSIUM.toml
+++ b/rust/SYMPOSIUM.toml
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 name = "symposium"
-crates = ["*"]
+depends-on = ["*"]
 
 [[skills]]
 source.path = "."
diff --git a/toasty/SKILL.md b/toasty/SKILL.md
index 0a99c49..0b53b24 100644
--- a/toasty/SKILL.md
+++ b/toasty/SKILL.md
@@ -1,8 +1,7 @@
 ---
 name: toasty-guidance
 description: Guidance for using the Toasty async ORM crate — schema definition, CRUD, relations, queries, and transactions
-crates: toasty
-activation: always
+depends-on: toasty
 ---
 
 Toasty is an async ORM for Rust supporting SQL (SQLite, PostgreSQL, MySQL) and NoSQL (DynamoDB). It prioritizes type safety and leans into each database's capabilities rather than hiding them.