skill-creator

name	skill-creator
version	2.0.0
description	[Skill Management] Use when you need guide for creating effective skills, adding skill references, skill scripts or optimizing existing skills.
license	Complete terms in LICENSE.txt
disable-model-invocation	true

Quick Summary

Goal: Guide creation of effective Claude Code skills with proper structure, progressive disclosure, SYNC protocol compliance, and AI attention anchoring.

Workflow:

1. Understand — Gather concrete usage examples and trigger scenarios
2. Plan — Identify reusable scripts, references, and assets needed
3. Initialize — Run init_skill.py to scaffold skill directory
4. Edit — Write SKILL.md (<500 lines) + reference files (<100 lines each)
5. Add SYNC Blocks — Inline relevant protocol checklists from sync-inline-versions.md
6. Enhance — Call /prompt-enhance on the SKILL.md for attention anchoring
7. Package — Validate and zip with package_skill.py
8. Iterate — Test on real tasks, refine based on performance

Key Rules:

• SKILL.md under 500 lines; reference files under 100 lines each (progressive disclosure)
• Shared protocols MUST ATTENTION be inlined via <!-- SYNC:tag --> blocks, NEVER file references
• MUST ATTENTION call /prompt-enhance on new/updated skills as final quality pass
• Attention structure: SYNC blocks at top, Quick Summary, detailed steps, Closing Reminders with :reminder blocks at bottom
• Skills are practical instructions, not documentation

Skill Creator

This skill provides guidance for creating effective skills.

About Skills

Skills are modular, self-contained packages that extend Claude's capabilities by providing specialized knowledge, workflows, and tools. Think of them as "onboarding guides" for specific domains or tasks—they transform Claude from a general-purpose agent into a specialized agent equipped with procedural knowledge that no model can fully possess.

IMPORTANT:

• Skills are not documentation, they are practical instructions for Claude Code to use the tools, packages, plugins or APIs to achieve the tasks.
• Each skill teaches Claude how to perform a specific development task, not what a tool does.
• Claude Code can activate multiple skills automatically to achieve the user's request.

What Skills Provide

1. Specialized workflows - Multi-step procedures for specific domains
2. Tool integrations - Instructions for working with specific file formats or APIs
3. Domain expertise - Company-specific knowledge, schemas, business logic
4. Bundled resources - Scripts, references, and assets for complex and repetitive tasks

Anatomy of a Skill

Every skill consists of a required SKILL.md file and optional bundled resources:

.claude/skills/
└── skill-name/
    ├── SKILL.md (required)
    │   ├── YAML frontmatter metadata (required)
    │   │   ├── name: (required)
    │   │   ├── description: (required)
    │   │   ├── license: (optional)
    │   │   └── version: (optional)
    │   └── Markdown instructions (required)
    └── Bundled Resources (optional)
        ├── scripts/          - Executable code (Python/Bash/etc.)
        ├── references/       - Documentation intended to be loaded into context as needed
        └── assets/           - Files used in output (templates, icons, fonts, etc.)

Requirements (IMPORTANT)

• MANDATORY: Every generated SKILL.md MUST ATTENTION include a ## Quick Summary block (Goal/Workflow/Key Rules) within the first 30 lines, after frontmatter and prerequisites. See _templates/template-skill/SKILL.md for the standard template.
• MANDATORY: Always break implementation into small todo tasks using TaskCreate.
• MANDATORY: Always create a final self-review todo task to verify work quality.
• Skill should be combined into specific topics, for example: cloudflare, cloudflare-r2, cloudflare-workers, docker, gcloud should be combined into devops
• SKILL.md should be less than 100 lines and include the references of related markdown files and scripts.
• Each script or referenced markdown file should be also less than 100 lines, remember that you can always split them into multiple files (progressive disclosure principle).
• Descriptions in metadata of SKILL.md files should be both concise and still contains enough usecases of the references and scripts, this will help skills can be activated automatically during the implementation process of Claude Code.
• Referenced markdowns:
  • Sacrifice grammar for the sake of concision when writing these files.
  • Can reference other markdown files or scripts as well.
• Referenced scripts:
  • Prefer nodejs or python scripts instead of bash script, because bash scripts are not well-supported on Windows.
  • If you're going to write python scripts, make sure you have requirements.txt
  • Make sure scripts respect .env file follow this order: process.env > .claude/skills/${SKILL}/.env > .claude/skills/.env > .claude/.env
  • Create .env.example files to show the required environment variables.
  • Always write tests for these scripts.

IMPORTANT:

• Always keep in mind that SKILL.md and reference files should be token consumption efficient, so that progressive disclosure can be leveraged at best.
• SKILL.md should be less than 100 lines
• Referenced markdown files should be also less than 100 lines, remember that you can always split them into multiple files (progressive disclosure principle).
• Referenced scripts: no limit on length, just make sure it works, no compile issues, no runtime issues, no dependencies issues, no environment issues, no platform issues.

Why? Better context engineering: leverage progressive disclosure technique of Agent Skills, when agent skills are activated, Claude Code will consider to load only relevant files into the context, instead of reading all long SKILL.md as before.

SKILL.md (required)

File name: SKILL.md (uppercase) File size: Under 100 lines, if you need more, plit it to multiple files in references folder. SKILL.md is always short and concise, straight to the point, treat it as a quick reference guide.

Metadata Quality: The name and description in YAML frontmatter determine when Claude will use the skill. Be specific about what the skill does and when to use it. Use the third-person (e.g. "This skill should be used when..." instead of "Use this skill when...").

Bundled Resources (optional)

Scripts (scripts/)

Executable code (Python/Bash/etc.) for tasks that require deterministic reliability or are repeatedly rewritten.

• When to include: When the same code is being rewritten repeatedly or deterministic reliability is needed
• Example: scripts/rotate_pdf.py for PDF rotation tasks
• Benefits: Token efficient, deterministic, may be executed without loading into context
• Note: Scripts may still need to be read by Claude for patching or environment-specific adjustments

IMPORTANT:

• Write tests for scripts.
• Run tests and make sure it works, if tests fail, fix them and run tests again, repeat until tests pass.
• Run scripts manually with some usecases to make sure it works.
• Make sure scripts respect .env file follow this order: process.env > .claude/skills/docs-seeker/.env > .claude/skills/.env > .claude/.env

References (references/)

Documentation and reference material intended to be loaded as needed into context to inform Claude's process and thinking.

• When to include: For documentation that Claude should reference while working
• Examples: references/finance.md for financial schemas, references/mnda.md for company NDA template, references/policies.md for company policies, references/api_docs.md for API specifications
• Use cases: Database schemas, API documentation, domain knowledge, company policies, detailed workflow guides
• Benefits: Keeps SKILL.md lean, loaded only when Claude determines it's needed
• Best practice: If files are large (>100 lines), include grep search patterns in SKILL.md
• Avoid duplication: Information should live in either SKILL.md or references files, not both. Prefer references files for detailed information unless it's truly core to the skill—this keeps SKILL.md lean while making information discoverable without hogging the context window. Keep only essential procedural instructions and workflow guidance in SKILL.md; move detailed reference material, schemas, and examples to references files.

IMPORTANT:

• Referenced markdown files should be also less than 100 lines, remember that you can always split them into multiple files (progressive disclosure principle).
• Referenced markdown files are practical instructions for Claude Code to use the tools, packages, plugins or APIs to achieve the tasks.
• Each skill teaches Claude how to perform a specific development task, not what a tool does.

Assets (assets/)

Files not intended to be loaded into context, but rather used within the output Claude produces.

• When to include: When the skill needs files that will be used in the final output
• Examples: assets/logo.png for brand assets, assets/slides.pptx for PowerPoint templates, assets/frontend-template/ for HTML/React boilerplate, assets/font.ttf for typography
• Use cases: Templates, images, icons, boilerplate code, fonts, sample documents that get copied or modified
• Benefits: Separates output resources from documentation, enables Claude to use files without loading them into context

Progressive Disclosure Design Principle

Skills use a three-level loading system to manage context efficiently:

1. Metadata (name + description) - Always in context (~100 words)
2. SKILL.md body - When skill triggers (<5k words)
3. Bundled resources - As needed by Claude (Unlimited*)

*Unlimited because scripts can be executed without reading into context window.

Skill Creation Process

To create a skill, follow the "Skill Creation Process" in order, skipping steps only if a clear reason why they are not applicable.

Step 1: Understanding the Skill with Concrete Examples

Skip this step only when the skill's usage patterns are already clearly understood. It remains valuable even when working with an existing skill.

To create an effective skill, clearly understand concrete examples of how the skill will be used. This understanding can come from either direct user examples or generated examples that are validated with user feedback.

For example, when building an image-editor skill, relevant questions include:

• "What functionality should the image-editor skill support? Editing, rotating, anything else?"
• "Can you give some examples of how this skill would be used?"
• "I can imagine users asking for things like 'Remove the red-eye from this image' or 'Rotate this image'. Are there other ways you imagine this skill being used?"
• "What would a user say that should trigger this skill?"

To avoid overwhelming users, avoid asking too many questions in a single message. Start with the most important questions and follow up as needed for better effectiveness.

Conclude this step when a clear sense of the functionality the skill should support.

Step 2: Planning the Reusable Skill Contents

To turn concrete examples into an effective skill, analyze each example by:

1. Considering how to execute on the example from scratch
2. Identifying what scripts, references, and assets would be helpful when executing these workflows repeatedly

Example: When building a pdf-editor skill to handle queries like "Help me rotate this PDF," the analysis shows:

1. Rotating a PDF requires re-writing the same code each time
2. A scripts/rotate_pdf.py script would be helpful to store in the skill

Example: When designing a frontend-webapp-builder skill for queries like "Build me a todo app" or "Build me a dashboard to track my steps," the analysis shows:

1. Writing a frontend webapp requires the same boilerplate HTML/React each time
2. An assets/hello-world/ template containing the boilerplate HTML/React project files would be helpful to store in the skill

Example: When building a big-query skill to handle queries like "How many users have logged in today?" the analysis shows:

1. Querying BigQuery requires re-discovering the table schemas and relationships each time
2. A references/schema.md file documenting the table schemas would be helpful to store in the skill

To establish the skill's contents, analyze each concrete example to create a list of the reusable resources to include: scripts, references, and assets.

• Make sure scripts respect .env file follow this order: process.env > .claude/skills/docs-seeker/.env > .claude/skills/.env > .claude/.env
• Make sure scripts have tests.

Step 3: Initializing the Skill

At this point, it is time to actually create the skill.

Skip this step only if the skill being developed already exists, and iteration or packaging is needed. In this case, continue to the next step.

When creating a new skill from scratch, always run the init_skill.py script. The script conveniently generates a new template skill directory that automatically includes everything a skill requires, making the skill creation process much more efficient and reliable.

Usage:

scripts/init_skill.py <skill-name> --path <output-directory>

The script:

• Creates the skill directory at the specified path
• Generates a SKILL.md template with proper frontmatter and TODO placeholders
• Creates example resource directories: scripts/, references/, and assets/
• Adds example files in each directory that can be customized or deleted

After initialization, customize or remove the generated SKILL.md and example files as needed.

Step 4: Edit the Skill

When editing the (newly-generated or existing) skill, remember that the skill is being created for another instance of Claude to use. Focus on including information that would be beneficial and non-obvious to Claude. Consider what procedural knowledge, domain-specific details, or reusable assets would help another Claude instance execute these tasks more effectively.

Start with Reusable Skill Contents

To begin implementation, start with the reusable resources identified above: scripts/, references/, and assets/ files. Note that this step may require user input. For example, when implementing a brand-guidelines skill, the user may need to provide brand assets or templates to store in assets/, or documentation to store in references/.

Also, delete any example files and directories not needed for the skill. The initialization script creates example files in scripts/, references/, and assets/ to demonstrate structure, but most skills won't need all of them.

Update SKILL.md

Writing Style: Write the entire skill using imperative/infinitive form (verb-first instructions), not second person. Use objective, instructional language (e.g., "To accomplish X, do Y" rather than " do X" or "If do X"). This maintains consistency and clarity for AI consumption.

To complete SKILL.md, answer the following questions:

1. What is the purpose of the skill, in a few sentences?
2. When should the skill be used?
3. In practice, how should Claude use the skill? All reusable skill contents developed above should be referenced so that Claude knows how to use them.

Step 4b: Add SYNC Protocol Blocks

If the skill needs shared protocol enforcement (most skills do), inline them via SYNC tags:

1. Read .claude/skills/shared/sync-inline-versions.md — canonical source for all protocol checklists
2. Identify which protocols the skill needs. Common ones:
   • understand-code-first — for any skill that reads/modifies code
   • evidence-based-reasoning — for investigation/review/planning skills
   • output-quality-principles — for skills that produce reports/docs
   • graph-assisted-investigation — for skills that analyze code relationships
3. Copy the checklist between <!-- SYNC:tag --> open/close tags at the TOP of the skill (after frontmatter)
4. Add 1-line :reminder versions at the BOTTOM inside Closing Reminders
5. NEVER use MUST ATTENTION READ .claude/skills/shared/ file references — always inline

Step 4c: Run /prompt-enhance

Call /prompt-enhance on the finished SKILL.md to verify and apply AI attention anchoring:

• Primacy-recency: critical rules at top AND bottom
• Inline summaries for any remaining READ references
• Token optimization pass

Step 5: Packaging a Skill

Once the skill is ready, it should be packaged into a distributable zip file that gets shared with the user. The packaging process automatically validates the skill first to ensure it meets all requirements:

scripts/package_skill.py <path/to/skill-folder>

Optional output directory specification:

scripts/package_skill.py <path/to/skill-folder> ./dist

The packaging script will:

1. Validate the skill automatically, checking:

   • YAML frontmatter format and required fields
   • Skill naming conventions and directory structure
   • Description completeness and quality
   • File organization and resource references

2. Package the skill if validation passes, creating a zip file named after the skill (e.g., my-skill.zip) that includes all files and maintains the proper directory structure for distribution.

If validation fails, the script will report the errors and exit without creating a package. Fix any validation errors and run the packaging command again.

Step 6: Iterate

After testing the skill, users may request improvements. Often this happens right after using the skill, with fresh context of how the skill performed.

Iteration workflow:

1. Use the skill on real tasks
2. Notice struggles or inefficiencies
3. Identify how SKILL.md or bundled resources should be updated
4. Implement changes and test again

References

• Agent Skills
• Agent Skills Spec
• Agent Skills Overview
• Best Practices

---

[IMPORTANT] Use TaskCreate to break ALL work into small tasks BEFORE starting.

Critical Thinking Mindset — Apply critical thinking, sequential thinking. Every claim needs traced proof, confidence >80% to act. Anti-hallucination: Never present guess as fact — cite sources for every claim, admit uncertainty freely, self-check output for errors, cross-reference independently, stay skeptical of own confidence — certainty without evidence root of all hallucination.

Shared Protocol Duplication Policy — Inline protocol content in skills (wrapped in <!-- SYNC:tag -->) is INTENTIONAL duplication. Do NOT extract, deduplicate, or replace with file references. AI compliance drops significantly when protocols are behind file-read indirection. To update: edit .claude/skills/shared/sync-inline-versions.md first, then grep SYNC:protocol-name and update all occurrences.

AI Mistake Prevention — Failure modes to avoid on every task:

Check downstream references before deleting. Deleting components causes documentation and code staleness cascades. Map all referencing files before removal. Verify AI-generated content against actual code. AI hallucinates APIs, class names, and method signatures. Always grep to confirm existence before documenting or referencing. Trace full dependency chain after edits. Changing a definition misses downstream variables and consumers derived from it. Always trace the full chain. Trace ALL code paths when verifying correctness. Confirming code exists is not confirming it executes. Always trace early exits, error branches, and conditional skips — not just happy path. When debugging, ask "whose responsibility?" before fixing. Trace whether bug is in caller (wrong data) or callee (wrong handling). Fix at responsible layer — never patch symptom site. Assume existing values are intentional — ask WHY before changing. Before changing any constant, limit, flag, or pattern: read comments, check git blame, examine surrounding code. Verify ALL affected outputs, not just the first. Changes touching multiple stacks require verifying EVERY output. One green check is not all green checks. Holistic-first debugging — resist nearest-attention trap. When investigating any failure, list EVERY precondition first (config, env vars, DB names, endpoints, DI registrations, data preconditions), then verify each against evidence before forming any code-layer hypothesis. Surgical changes — apply the diff test. Bug fix: every changed line must trace directly to the bug. Don't restyle or improve adjacent code. Enhancement task: implement improvements AND announce them explicitly. Surface ambiguity before coding — don't pick silently. If request has multiple interpretations, present each with effort estimate and ask. Never assume all-records, file-based, or more complex path.

IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION follow duplication policy: inline protocols are INTENTIONAL, never extract to file references

MUST ATTENTION apply critical thinking — every claim needs traced proof, confidence >80% to act. Anti-hallucination: never present guess as fact.

MUST ATTENTION apply AI mistake prevention — holistic-first debugging, fix at responsible layer, surface ambiguity before coding, re-read files after compaction.

Closing Reminders

IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION break work into small todo tasks using TaskCreate BEFORE starting IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION inline shared protocols via <!-- SYNC:tag --> blocks — NEVER use MUST ATTENTION READ shared/ file references IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION call /prompt-enhance on new/updated skills as final attention-anchoring quality pass IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION include ## Quick Summary within first 30 lines of every SKILL.md IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION add Closing Reminders with :reminder SYNC blocks at bottom of every skill

[TASK-PLANNING] Before acting, analyze task scope and systematically break it into small todo tasks and sub-tasks using TaskCreate.