Skill Creator

Create new Claude Code skills following the official format and best practices.

Quick Reference

Structure Guide - Directory format and file organization
Naming Rules - Skill naming requirements
Description Guide - Writing effective descriptions
Templates - Process, knowledge, and tool skill templates
Examples - Complete skill creation walkthroughs
Validation - Commands to validate new skills

When to Use

Creating a new reusable knowledge module
Adding specialized guidance for specific tasks
Building domain-specific expertise into Claude Code
Need to ensure proper skill format and structure

Required SKILL.md Format

Every skill requires a SKILL.md file with two parts:

YAML frontmatter (metadata between --- markers on line 1)
Markdown instructions (guidance for Claude)

---
name: skill-name
description: Brief description of what this skill does and when to use it
---

# Skill Title

## Instructions
Step-by-step guidance for Claude...

YAML Frontmatter Fields

Field	Required	Description
`name`	Yes	Lowercase letters, numbers, hyphens only (max 64 chars). Must match directory name.
`description`	Yes	What the skill does and when to use it (max 1024 chars). Claude uses this to match requests.
`allowed-tools`	No	Tools Claude can use without permission
`model`	No	Specific model to use
`context`	No	Set to `fork` for isolated sub-agent context

File Structure

skill-name/
├── SKILL.md              # Required - overview and navigation
├── reference.md          # Detailed docs - loaded when needed
├── examples.md           # Usage examples - loaded when needed
└── scripts/
    └── helper.sh         # Utility script - executed, not loaded

Best Practices

Keep SKILL.md under 250 lines - Use progressive disclosure
Write specific descriptions - Include trigger terms users would naturally use
Link supporting files - From SKILL.md using markdown links
Validate structure - Check YAML syntax and file organization

See naming.md for naming conventions and templates.md for ready-to-use templates.