Skill Finder

Dynamically discover, install, and create skills to expand Claude's capabilities on-demand.

When to Activate

PROACTIVELY use this skill when:

User requests new capability
- "I want to know kung-fu"
- "Help me learn about [topic]"
- "I need to work with [unfamiliar technology]"
Specialized domain encountered
- Niche APIs (NFT marketplaces, proprietary systems)
- Domain-specific formats/protocols
- Industry-specific tooling
Knowledge gap recognized
- Task requires expertise you're uncertain about
- Unfamiliar tools, frameworks, or services
- User asks about something highly specialized
Recurring specialized need
- Pattern suggests ongoing work in specialized area
- Multiple related requests in same domain

DO NOT activate for:

General programming tasks (algorithms, data structures)
Common frameworks (React, Express, Django) - base model handles these
One-off simple queries
Tasks you can handle confidently

Instructions

Phase 1: Extract Search Keywords

Interpret the user's request and extract relevant search terms:

"I want to know kung-fu" → search: martial arts combat self-defense
"Help with Stripe billing" → search: stripe payments billing api
"Work with NFTs on OpenSea" → search: opensea nft marketplace api

Use multiple related keywords to maximize match potential.

Phase 2: Search the Registry

Query the skills API:

https://claude-plugins.dev/api/skills?q=<keywords>

Use WebFetch to retrieve results. The API returns:

{
  "skills": [{
    "name": "skill-name",
    "namespace": "@author/repo/skill-name",
    "description": "What the skill does...",
    "stars": 12345,
    "installs": 678,
    "metadata": {
      "rawFileUrl": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/..."
    }
  }],
  "total": 100
}

Phase 3: Evaluate Results

Rank by:

Relevance - Does description match the actual need?
Quality - Star count as credibility signal:
- 1000 stars: High confidence
- 100 stars: Moderate confidence
- < 100 stars: Review carefully
Specificity - Prefer targeted skills over broad ones

Credible match criteria:

Description clearly addresses the task
AND (stars > 500 OR installs > 50)
No obvious security concerns

Phase 4a: Auto-Install (if credible match found)

Run the install command:

npx claude-plugins skills install <namespace> --local

Where <namespace> is the full namespace from the API (e.g., @anthropics/claude-code/frontend-design).

The --local flag installs to the project's .claude/skills/ directory.

After installation, inform the user:

I've learned <skill-name> - [brief description of capability]. Let me apply this to your task.

Then immediately use the new skill to address the user's original request.

Phase 4b: Create Skill (if no credible match)

Only create a skill if:

No good matches in the registry
Task is genuinely specialized (not just complex)
Would provide reusable capability for this domain
Base Claude genuinely needs augmentation

Do NOT create if:

Task is complex but not specialized
One-off operation unlikely to recur
Base model can handle it reasonably
Similar capability already exists locally

Creation process:

Research the domain
- Use WebSearch to understand the technology/domain
- Read official documentation
- Identify key concepts, APIs, patterns
Design the skill
- Determine what instructions Claude needs
- Identify any scripts or references required
- Plan the skill structure
Create the skill files

Create directory: .claude/skills/<skill-name>/

Create SKILL.md with:
```
---
name: skill-name
description: Clear description of what it does and when to use it.
---
```
Add body with:
- When to use
- Step-by-step instructions
- Examples
- Any required setup
Add supporting files if needed
- scripts/ for automation
- references/ for documentation
- templates/ for boilerplate
Inform the user

I've created a custom skill for [domain] based on my research. I can now [list capabilities]. Let me help with your task.

Examples

Example 1: Skill exists in registry

User: "I want to build beautiful frontend interfaces"

Claude thinking:
- This is a specialized design skill request
- Search: "frontend design ui interface"
- Found: frontend-design with 45k stars
- High relevance + high quality = credible match

Claude action:
npx claude-plugins skills install @anthropics/claude-code/frontend-design --local

Claude response:
"I've learned frontend-design - expertise in creating distinctive, production-grade interfaces. Let me help you build something beautiful..."

Example 2: Proactive discovery

User: "Help me integrate OpenSea's API to list NFTs"

Claude thinking:
- NFT marketplace API = specialized domain
- I should check for existing skills
- Search: "opensea nft api marketplace"
- Found: opensea-api with good ratings

Claude action:
npx claude-plugins skills install @creator/skills/opensea-api --local

Claude response:
"I've equipped myself with OpenSea API expertise. I can now help you authenticate, list items, fetch collections, and handle marketplace transactions. Let's set up your NFT listing..."

Example 3: No match - create skill

User: "I need to work with Acme Corp's proprietary data format"

Claude thinking:
- Very specialized/proprietary domain
- Search: "acme corp data format"
- No credible matches found
- This is genuinely specialized, not just complex
- User likely needs this repeatedly
- I should create a skill

Claude action:
1. WebSearch for Acme Corp documentation
2. Research the data format specification
3. Create .claude/skills/acme-data-handler/SKILL.md

Claude response:
"I've created a custom skill for Acme Corp data formats based on their documentation. I can now parse, validate, and transform Acme data files. Let me help with your specific task..."

Example 4: Don't over-activate

User: "Write a binary search implementation"

Claude thinking:
- This is a standard algorithm
- Base model handles this perfectly
- Not specialized, just programming
- No skill needed

Claude action:
Proceed directly with the task without skill search.

Troubleshooting

npx command fails

If npx claude-plugins isn't available, fall back to manual installation:

Fetch the skill's rawFileUrl from the API response
Use WebFetch to get the SKILL.md content
Check for references to scripts/ or other files
Manually create the skill directory and files in .claude/skills/

No search results

Try broader keywords
Try synonyms or related terms
If still no results, consider creating a custom skill

Multiple good matches

Prefer:

Higher star count
More specific description
More recent updates (check updatedAt)

Install the best match and mention alternatives exist if user wants different approach.

Quality Checklist

Before auto-installing, verify:

Description clearly matches user's need
No security red flags in description
Reasonable popularity (stars/installs)
Source is from GitHub (trusted platform)

Before creating a skill, verify:

No existing skill covers this
Task is genuinely specialized
Skill would be reusable
I have enough information to create useful instructions

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