Skills Overview
Skills are specialized capabilities that help Claude handle specific types of tasks more effectively. Each skill defines a focused workflow with clear instructions.
Skills Catalog Structure
Skills are organized into two catalogs:
code
skills/ ├── public/ # Shared with the team (committed to git) └── private/ # Personal skills (gitignored)
- •Public skills: Committed to the repository, available to all team members
- •Private skills: Local only, excluded via
.gitignore, for personal workflows
Available Skills
Public Skills (skills/public/)
- •build-context: Gathers comprehensive context about a specific area of the codebase for future development. Use when preparing for feature implementation, major refactoring, or understanding complex subsystems.
- •explaining-code: Explains code with visual diagrams and analogies. Use when explaining how code works, teaching about a codebase, or when the user asks "how does this work?"
Private Skills (skills/private/)
Private skills are not listed here - check your local skills/private/ directory.
Using Skills
Skills are invoked using the Skill tool. Each skill has:
- •name: The skill identifier used to invoke it
- •description: When and why to use this skill
- •instructions: Step-by-step workflow the skill follows
Creating New Skills
When creating a new skill:
- •Define a clear, specific purpose (not "general coding help")
- •Include frontmatter with name and description
- •Write actionable, imperative instructions
- •Specify when to use specialized tools (WebSearch, Task, etc.)
- •Define expected outputs or deliverables
- •Keep skills focused on a single workflow
- •Choose the right catalog:
- •
public/for team-shared workflows - •
private/for personal or experimental skills
- •
Skill Best Practices
- •Be specific: "Search web for latest docs" not "Research if needed"
- •Use structure: Numbered steps for sequential workflows
- •Avoid redundancy: Don't duplicate instructions from CLAUDE.md
- •Scope clearly: Define what the skill does and doesn't do
- •Test iteratively: Update based on actual usage patterns