claude-code-skill-development

Skill Development

Create effective Claude Code skills that are concise, discoverable, and well-structured.

Quick Reference

You MUST read these references for detailed guidance:

• Best Practices - Official Anthropic guidance
• Skill Examples - Patterns from real skills
• Skill Categories & Patterns - Three categories and five reusable patterns
• Testing Guide - Triggering, functional, and performance testing
• Troubleshooting - Common problems and fixes
• The Complete Guide to Building Skills for Claude - Comprehensive Anthropic guide (source PDF)

Before You Start

Define 2-3 concrete use cases before writing anything:

Use Case: [Name]
Trigger: User says "[phrase]" or "[phrase]"
Steps:
1. [First action]
2. [Second action]
Result: [What gets produced]

Then identify which category your skill falls into — this determines which techniques to use. See Skill Categories & Patterns.

Core Principles

1. Concise is key - Only add context Claude doesn't already have
2. Progressive disclosure - SKILL.md is the overview; details go in references/
3. Write in third person - "This skill processes..." not "I can help you..."

Skill Structure

skill-name/
├── SKILL.md              # Main instructions (< 500 lines)
├── scripts/              # Optional: executable code (Python, Bash, etc.)
├── assets/               # Optional: templates, fonts, icons
└── references/           # Detailed docs (loaded on demand)
    ├── guide.md
    └── examples/

YAML Frontmatter

---
name: my-skill-name
description: This skill should be used when the user asks to "do X", "create Y", or mentions Z. Be specific about triggers.
context: fork          # Optional: run in isolated context (prevents side effects)
user-invocable: true   # Optional: show in slash command menu (default: true)
---