Skill Creator

Overview

Learn how to create effective, reusable Agent Skills that extend Claude's capabilities with proper structure, documentation, and community standards.

When to Use This Skill

✅ Creating custom skills for personal workflows ✅ Contributing skills to community repositories ✅ Standardizing team practices as skills ✅ Documenting domain expertise

Skill Structure

Basic Skill Template

---
name: your-skill-name
category: core | mcp | workflow | meta
version: 1.0.0
description: One-line summary of what this skill does
author: your-name-or-organization
verified: false
tags: [tag1, tag2, tag3]
---

# Skill Name

## Overview
[2-3 sentences explaining what this skill does and when to use it]

## When to Use This Skill
✅ [Use case 1]
✅ [Use case 2]
✅ [Use case 3]

## How It Works
[Explanation of the skill's approach]

## Usage Examples
[Concrete examples of using the skill]

## Best Practices
[Key guidelines and patterns]

## Common Mistakes
❌ [What to avoid]

## Integration with Claude
[How Claude uses this skill]

Skill Categories

Core Skills

Fundamental development practices:

• Testing (TDD, testing patterns)
• Debugging (systematic debugging)
• Git workflows (worktrees, branching)
• Planning and architecture
• Code review practices

MCP Skills

Model Context Protocol integrations:

• API integrations
• Database operations
• File system operations
• External service connections
• Tool implementations

Workflow Skills

Team and process workflows:

• Code review processes
• Documentation standards
• Collaboration patterns
• Release processes
• Project management

Meta Skills

Skills about skills:

• Creating skills
• Testing skills
• Sharing skills
• Skill patterns

Writing Good Skills

1. Clear Purpose

❌ Bad: "Helps with code" ✅ Good: "Test-driven development using RED-GREEN-REFACTOR cycle"

2. Specific Use Cases

❌ Bad: "When writing code" ✅ Good: "When building new features from scratch with guaranteed test coverage"

3. Actionable Guidance

❌ Bad: "Write good tests" ✅ Good: "Follow RED-GREEN-REFACTOR: write failing test, make it pass, refactor"

4. Concrete Examples

❌ Bad: "Here's how to use it:" ✅ Good: "To build a user auth system with TDD:

1. RED: Write test for login validation
2. GREEN: Implement validateLogin()
3. REFACTOR: Extract common validation logic"

Skill Quality Checklist

Structure

• Valid YAML frontmatter
• All required fields populated
• Version number follows semver
• Category is appropriate

Content

• Clear overview paragraph
• Specific use cases listed
• Actionable guidance provided
• Examples included
• Best practices documented
• Common mistakes highlighted

Usability

• Skill name is descriptive
• Tags are relevant
• Description is concise
• Examples are realistic
• Can be used without extra context

Integration

• Claude knows when to use it
• Clear activation triggers
• Explains what Claude will do
• Handles edge cases

Common Skill Patterns

Checklist Pattern

## Pre-Execution Checklist
- [ ] Step 1
- [ ] Step 2
- [ ] Step 3

## Post-Execution Checklist
- [ ] Verification 1
- [ ] Verification 2

Phase Pattern

## Phase 1: Preparation
[Steps and guidance]

## Phase 2: Execution
[Steps and guidance]

## Phase 3: Verification
[Steps and guidance]

Example Pattern

## Example: [Specific scenario]
### Before
[Code or situation before]

### After
[Code or situation after]

### Key Changes
- [Change 1]
- [Change 2]

Testing Your Skill

1. Manual Testing

## Test Cases
1. **Scenario**: [describe situation]
   - **Input**: [what you provide]
   - **Expected**: [what should happen]
   - **Actual**: [what actually happened]

2. Claude Integration Testing

• Use the skill in Claude Code
• Verify Claude recognizes relevant context
• Check that guidance is followed
• Ensure examples are helpful

3. Peer Review

• Have others test the skill
• Gather feedback on clarity
• Identify missing use cases
• Refine based on suggestions

Publishing Skills

GitHub Repository Structure

my-claude-skills/
├── skills/
│   ├── skill-1/
│   │   └── SKILL.md
│   ├── skill-2/
│   │   └── SKILL.md
│   └── skill-3/
│       └── SKILL.md
├── README.md
├── CONTRIBUTING.md
└── LICENSE

README Template

# My Claude Skills Collection

A collection of skills for [purpose].

## Skills
- [Skill 1]: [Brief description]
- [Skill 2]: [Brief description]
- [Skill 3]: [Brief description]

## Installation
\`\`\`bash
git clone https://github.com/username/repo ~/.claude/skills/my-skills
\`\`\`

## Usage
Skills load automatically when relevant. See individual skill files for details.

Contributing to Collections

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a new branch: git checkout -b skill/my-skill
3. Add your skill file
4. Update README if needed
5. Submit pull request

Integration with Claude

When creating skills, say:

• "Help me create a skill for [workflow]"
• "Review my skill and suggest improvements"
• "Convert this process into a reusable skill"
• "What's the best way to structure this skill?"

Claude will:

• Structure the skill correctly
• Write clear documentation
• Add appropriate examples
• Suggest improvements
• Ensure proper YAML formatting
• Test the skill structure