Skill Creator
Create effective, token-efficient Claude skills.
Core Principles
- •Concise - Challenge every token. Only add what Claude doesn't already know.
- •Appropriate freedom - Match specificity to task fragility (see references/workflows.md)
- •Progressive disclosure - Metadata → SKILL.md → references (loaded as needed)
- •Favor subagents - Design skills to use Task tool for parallel work where beneficial
Skill Structure
code
skill-name/ ├── SKILL.md # Required: frontmatter + instructions ├── scripts/ # Optional: executable code ├── references/ # Optional: documentation loaded as needed └── assets/ # Optional: files used in output
Creation Workflow
- •Understand - Gather concrete usage examples (use subagents for parallel research)
- •Architect - Use skill-architect to design subagents for the skill
- •Plan - Identify reusable resources (scripts/references/assets)
- •Initialize - Run
scripts/init_skill.py <name> --path <dir> - •Implement - Create resources, write SKILL.md with agent definitions
- •Validate - Run
scripts/validate_skill.py <skill-dir> - •Register - Add skill to
.claude/claude.mdunder "Auto-Triggered Skills" - •Package - Run
scripts/package_skill.py <skill-dir>(creates .skill file) - •Iterate - Improve based on real usage
Writing SKILL.md
Frontmatter (Critical)
yaml
--- name: lowercase-hyphenated description: What it does AND when to trigger. Include specific triggers, keywords, use cases. This is the PRIMARY triggering mechanism. allowed-tools: Read, Edit, Write, Task # Include Task for subagent support ---
The description must contain ALL "when to use" info - body is only loaded AFTER triggering.
Include Task in allowed-tools to enable subagent parallelization.
Body Guidelines
- •Keep under 500 lines; split to references if longer
- •Use imperative form ("Run the script" not "You should run")
- •For multi-step processes, give overview early
- •For output formats, use templates or examples (see references/output-patterns.md)
Resource Types
| Type | When to Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
scripts/ | Same code rewritten repeatedly; deterministic reliability needed | rotate_pdf.py |
references/ | Documentation Claude should reference while working | schema.md |
assets/ | Files used in output, not loaded into context | template.pptx |
Do NOT Include
- •README.md, CHANGELOG.md, INSTALLATION_GUIDE.md
- •Auxiliary documentation not needed by Claude
- •Duplicate info (lives in SKILL.md OR references, not both)
Validation Checklist
- •
nameanddescriptionin frontmatter - • Description includes what + when to trigger
- • SKILL.md under 500 lines
- • Scripts tested and working
- • No extraneous files
- • References cited in SKILL.md
See references/workflows.md for workflow patterns and references/output-patterns.md for output formatting.