skill-creator

name	skill-creator
description	Guide for creating custom skills in SaaS Factory. Use when you need to create a new skill to extend Claude's capabilities with specialized knowledge, workflows, or tools.
license	MIT

Skill Creator - SaaS Factory Edition

This skill provides guidance for creating custom skills following SaaS Factory standards.

Purpose

To create specialized skills that extend Claude's capabilities with domain-specific knowledge and reusable workflows.

When to Use

• Creating new domain-specific skills
• Building reusable tools for your team
• Extending Claude Code functionality
• Documenting specialized procedures

How to Create a Skill

Step 1: Initialize

python scripts/init_skill.py my-skill --path ./my-skill

This creates:

my-skill/
├── SKILL.md           # Edit this with your skill
├── scripts/           # Add executable code
├── references/        # Add documentation
└── assets/           # Add resources

Step 2: Edit SKILL.md

Follow this template:

---
name: my-skill
description: What this skill does and when to use it (3-5 sentences)
license: MIT
---

# My Skill Title

## Purpose
Describe what the skill does in 1-2 paragraphs.

## When to Use
Explain when Claude should activate this skill.

## How to Use

### Step 1: First action
Instructions for step one.

### Step 2: Second action
Instructions for step two.

## Examples
- Example usage 1
- Example usage 2

## Reference Files
- See `references/` for detailed documentation
- Use `scripts/` for executable code

Step 3: Add Content

For scripts/ (executable code):

scripts/
├── helper.py          # Reusable code
├── processor.sh       # Shell utilities
└── validator.py       # Input validation

For references/ (documentation):

references/
├── api_docs.md        # API specifications
├── schemas.md         # Data schemas
└── best_practices.md  # Guidelines

For assets/ (output resources):

assets/
├── template.html      # HTML templates
├── icon.png          # Images
└── style.css         # Styles

Step 4: Validate

python scripts/quick_validate.py ./my-skill

Check:

• ✅ SKILL.md has valid YAML frontmatter
• ✅ Required fields: name, description
• ✅ Correct file structure
• ✅ Naming conventions followed

Step 5: Package

python scripts/package_skill.py ./my-skill

Output: my-skill.zip ready for distribution

Step 6: Install in Claude Code

/plugin install ./my-skill.zip

Best Practices

✅ DO

• Write imperative instructions: "To create X, do Y"
• Keep SKILL.md <5k words: Move large docs to references/
• Name scripts descriptively: rotate_pdf.py, not util.py
• Include --help in scripts: For user guidance
• Document everything: Clear examples and use cases

❌ DON'T

• Use vague names: "tool", "helper", "util"
• Write in second person: "You should do X"
• Include thousands of lines of code in SKILL.md
• Forget error handling in scripts
• Hardcode configurations

Naming Conventions

Skills:      kebab-case (my-skill)
Scripts:     action_noun.py (rotate_pdf.py)
References:  descriptive.md (api_docs.md)
Files:       kebab-case.extension (config-template.json)

Example Structure

pdf-processor/
├── SKILL.md
│   ---
│   name: pdf-processor
│   description: Process and manipulate PDF files.
│              Use when users need to rotate, merge, or
│              extract data from PDFs.
│   ---
│
│   # PDF Processor
│
│   ## Purpose
│   Advanced PDF manipulation for common tasks.
│
│   ## How to Use
│   1. Prepare input PDF
│   2. Execute relevant script
│   3. Output is saved
│
├── scripts/
│   ├── rotate_pdf.py
│   ├── merge_pdfs.py
│   └── extract_text.py
│
└── references/
    ├── pdf_formats.md
    └── library_guide.md

Validation Checklist

□ SKILL.md structure
  □ Valid YAML frontmatter
  □ name in kebab-case
  □ description is descriptive

□ File organization
  □ Scripts in scripts/
  □ Docs in references/
  □ Resources in assets/

□ Quality
  □ SKILL.md <5k words
  □ Scripts have docstrings
  □ Clear examples included
  □ All paths relative

□ Ready to distribute
  □ Validated: ✓ All OK!
  □ Packaged: skill-name.zip
  □ Can install: /plugin install

References

See references/ for:

• Anthropic Skills Specification
• Best Practices Guide
• Example Skills

---

Create skills following SaaS Factory standards for consistency and quality.