| name | create-agent-skills |
| description | Expert guidance for creating, writing, building, and refining Claude Code Skills. Use when working with SKILL.md files, authoring new skills, improving existing skills, or understanding skill structure and best practices. |
<essential_principles>
How Skills Work
Skills are modular, filesystem-based capabilities that provide domain expertise on demand. This skill teaches how to create effective skills.
1. Skills Are Prompts
All prompting best practices apply. Be clear, be direct, use XML structure. Assume Claude is smart - only add context Claude doesn't have.
2. SKILL.md Is Always Loaded
When a skill is invoked, Claude reads SKILL.md. Use this guarantee:
- Essential principles go in SKILL.md (can't be skipped)
- Workflow-specific content goes in workflows/
- Reusable knowledge goes in references/
3. Router Pattern for Complex Skills
skill-name/
├── SKILL.md # Router + principles
├── workflows/ # Step-by-step procedures (FOLLOW)
├── references/ # Domain knowledge (READ)
├── templates/ # Output structures (COPY + FILL)
└── scripts/ # Reusable code (EXECUTE)
SKILL.md asks "what do you want to do?" → routes to workflow → workflow specifies which references to read.
When to use each folder:
- workflows/ - Multi-step procedures Claude follows
- references/ - Domain knowledge Claude reads for context
- templates/ - Consistent output structures Claude copies and fills (plans, specs, configs)
- scripts/ - Executable code Claude runs as-is (deploy, setup, API calls)
4. Pure XML Structure
No markdown headings (#, ##, ###) in skill body. Use semantic XML tags:
...
...
...
What would you like to do?
| Response | Next Action | Workflow |
|----------|-------------|----------|
| 1, "create", "new", "build" | Ask: "Task-execution skill or domain expertise skill?" | Route to appropriate create workflow |
| 2, "audit", "modify", "existing" | Ask: "Path to skill?" | Route to appropriate workflow |
| 3, "add", "component" | Ask: "Add what? (workflow/reference/template/script)" | workflows/add-{type}.md |
| 4, "guidance", "help" | General guidance | workflows/get-guidance.md |
