create-playbook

Create Playbook

ℹ️ First, set expectations: before anything else, print one short line with this skill's version and its most recent change — the top entry of metadata.changelog above — e.g. create-playbook vX.Y — recent: <summary>. Then proceed.

Create a new skill. Determines the right complexity tier and generates from the appropriate template.

For concepts and patterns, see the README. Tier templates are bundled with this skill in templates/ — reference them at runtime via ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/templates/.

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Workflow

Step 1: Check for Existing Skills

ls -d .claude/skills/*/ 2>/dev/null | head -10
ls -d ~/.claude/skills/*/ 2>/dev/null | head -10

If similar skill exists, ask: update it, create variant, or proceed with new?

Step 2: Gather Core Requirements

Ask or extract from context:

1. Name: lowercase-with-hyphens, descriptive. For project/personal skills the directory name is the command (name: is display-only); for plugin skills name: sets the command segment — keep name and directory identical so they never drift.
2. Purpose → the description: field: third person, what it does + when to use it, key use case first — the skill listing truncates description + when_to_use at 1,536 characters.
3. Tools needed: Which tools will it use?

Step 3: Determine Complexity Tier

Ask these questions to classify:

Q1: Does this skill read or write any files, APIs, or external state?

• NO → Tier 1: Simple Skill (skip to Step 4)
• YES → Continue to Q2

Q2: Will this run unattended, on a schedule, or need reliability guarantees?

• NO → Tier 2: Stateful Skill (skip to Step 4)
• YES → Continue to Q3

Q3: What automation level?

• Safe to run completely unattended, no approval needed at any point → autonomous
• Needs human approval at checkpoints → gated
• Human monitors entire execution → manual

⚠️ Critical: If user says "autonomous" but also mentions approval/review steps, clarify:

"Autonomous playbooks cannot have approval gates — they run unattended and would hang waiting for approval that never comes. Should this be gated instead?"