Claude Code Skill Management Expert

Expert knowledge for managing Claude Code skills and commands using the centralized repository pattern with $CLAUDE_METADATA.

Supporting Documentation

This skill is split across multiple files for maintainability. Read these as needed:

• symlinking-guide.md - Linking skills/commands to projects, recommended global skills, setup methods
• updating-and-syncing.md - Updating existing skills, syncing projects with global changes
• repository-organization.md - Directory layout, naming conventions, documentation requirements
• version-control.md - Git workflows, team collaboration, Claude's git restrictions
• troubleshooting.md - Broken symlinks, activation issues, common fixes
• best-practices.md - Focused skills, maintenance cadence, templates
• quick-reference.md - Cheat-sheet commands, common workflows, repository maintenance, summary

When to Use This Skill

• Creating new global skills or commands
• Setting up skills for a new project
• Synchronizing projects with updated global skills
• Organizing the centralized skill repository
• Troubleshooting skill discovery or activation issues
• Understanding the skill lifecycle

Environment Setup

Required Environment Variable

$CLAUDE_METADATA must be set to your centralized skills directory.

Check if set:

echo $CLAUDE_METADATA
# Should output your claude_data directory path

If not set, add to ~/.zshrc (or ~/.bashrc):

export CLAUDE_METADATA="$HOME/path/to/claude_data"  # Adjust to your actual path

Apply immediately:

source ~/.zshrc  # or source ~/.bashrc

Verify Directory Structure

ls -la $CLAUDE_METADATA/
# Should show:
# ├── skills/       # Global skills
# ├── commands/     # Global commands
# ├── hooks/        # Claude Code hooks (symlinked to ~/.claude/hooks/)
# ├── README.md
# └── QUICK_REFERENCE.md

Complete Setup from Scratch

If setting up a centralized skill repository for the first time:

1. Create directory structure:

   mkdir -p $CLAUDE_METADATA/{skills,commands}
   cd $CLAUDE_METADATA
   

2. Set environment variable (add to ~/.zshrc or ~/.bashrc):

   echo 'export CLAUDE_METADATA="$HOME/path/to/claude_data"  # Adjust to your actual path' >> ~/.zshrc
   source ~/.zshrc
   

3. Verify setup:

   echo $CLAUDE_METADATA
   # Should output your claude_data directory path
   

4. Create initial documentation:

   # Create README and QUICK_REFERENCE
   # (use templates from claude-skill-management skill)
   

5. Initialize git (recommended):

   cd $CLAUDE_METADATA
   git init
   git add .
   git commit -m "Initial centralized skill repository"
   

6. Create your first skill:

   mkdir -p $CLAUDE_METADATA/skills/my-first-skill
   # Create SKILL.md with frontmatter
   

7. Link to first project:

   cd ~/Workdir/my-project
   mkdir -p .claude/skills
   ln -s $CLAUDE_METADATA/skills/my-first-skill .claude/skills/
   

Environment variable best practices:

• Use $HOME not hardcoded paths for portability
• Source shell config after adding: source ~/.zshrc
• Verify in new terminals: echo $CLAUDE_METADATA
• Document for team members in README.md

---

Creating New Skills

Step 1: Create Skill Directory

mkdir -p $CLAUDE_METADATA/skills/your-skill-name

Naming conventions:

• Use kebab-case (lowercase with hyphens)
• Be descriptive but concise
• Examples: galaxy-tool-wrapping, python-testing, docker-workflows

Step 2: Create SKILL.md with Frontmatter

cat > $CLAUDE_METADATA/skills/your-skill-name/SKILL.md << 'EOF'
---
name: your-skill-name
description: Brief description that helps Claude decide when to activate this skill (1-2 sentences)
---

# Your Skill Name

Detailed instructions for Claude when this skill is activated.

## When to Use This Skill

- Specific use case 1
- Specific use case 2
- Specific use case 3

## Core Concepts

### Concept 1

Explanation and examples...

### Concept 2

Explanation and examples...

## Best Practices

- Practice 1
- Practice 2

## Common Issues and Solutions

### Issue 1

**Problem:** Description
**Solution:** How to fix it

## Examples

### Example 1: Task Name

Description and code examples...
EOF

Frontmatter fields:

• name (required): Must match directory name
• description (required): Clear, concise description for activation
• version (optional): Semantic versioning (e.g., 1.0.0)
• dependencies (optional): Required tools/packages

Step 3: Add Supporting Files (Optional)

# Add detailed reference documentation
cat > $CLAUDE_METADATA/skills/your-skill-name/reference.md << 'EOF'
# Reference Documentation

Detailed technical information, API references, etc.
EOF

# Add examples directory
mkdir -p $CLAUDE_METADATA/skills/your-skill-name/examples

# Add templates directory
mkdir -p $CLAUDE_METADATA/skills/your-skill-name/templates

Step 4: Test the Skill

# Create a test project
mkdir -p /tmp/test-skill-project/.claude/skills

# Symlink the new skill
ln -s $CLAUDE_METADATA/skills/your-skill-name /tmp/test-skill-project/.claude/skills/your-skill-name

# Start Claude Code in test project
cd /tmp/test-skill-project
# Tell Claude: "Use the your-skill-name skill to [test task]"

---

Creating New Commands

Step 1: Choose or Create Category Directory

# Use existing category
ls $CLAUDE_METADATA/commands/
# Or create new category
mkdir -p $CLAUDE_METADATA/commands/your-category

Common categories:

• vgp-pipeline/ - VGP workflow commands
• git-workflows/ - Git-related commands
• testing/ - Testing-related commands
• deployment/ - Deployment commands

Step 2: Create Command File

cat > $CLAUDE_METADATA/commands/your-category/command-name.md << 'EOF'
---
name: command-name
description: Brief description shown in /help
---

Your command prompt here. This will be expanded when the user types /command-name.

You can include:
- Multi-line instructions
- Variable references: {{variable_name}}
- Markdown formatting
- Code blocks

Example:
Check the status of all workflows for species {{species_name}}.
Show me which workflows are complete, running, or failed.
EOF

Naming conventions:

• Use kebab-case
• Start with verb: check-status, debug-failed, update-skills
• Be specific: deploy-production not just deploy

Step 3: Test the Command

# Symlink to test project
ln -s $CLAUDE_METADATA/commands/your-category/command-name.md /tmp/test-project/.claude/commands/

# Start Claude Code and test
# Type: /command-name

---

Command Help System

Viewing Command Documentation

Use /command-help to view documentation for Claude Code commands (similar to --help in traditional CLI tools):

# List all available commands
/command-help list

# Show specific command help
/command-help share-project

# Show full details including implementation steps
/command-help share-project --full

Command Help Implementation

Location: $CLAUDE_METADATA/commands/global/command-help.md

Features:

• Lists global and project commands with descriptions
• Shows usage, parameters, and examples
• Can display full implementation steps with --full flag
• Searches in both global and project command directories

Command Frontmatter Format

Commands should include frontmatter for the help system:

---
description: Brief one-line description
usage: /command-name [arguments]
parameters: |
  arg1: Description of argument 1
  arg2: Description of argument 2
examples: |
  /command-name example1
  /command-name example2 --option
---

[Command implementation steps...]

Creating Help-Enabled Commands

Template for new commands:

---
name: my-command
description: Brief description of what this command does
usage: /my-command [required-arg] [optional-arg]
parameters: |
  required-arg: Description of required argument
  optional-arg: (Optional) Description of optional argument
examples: |
  /my-command basic-example
  /my-command advanced-example --flag
---

# Command Implementation

Step 1: [First step description]

Step 2: [Second step description]

[Continue with detailed steps...]

Best practices for command documentation:

1. Keep description to 1 line (shows in list view)
2. Document all parameters clearly
3. Provide realistic examples
4. Include expected output in steps
5. Note any prerequisites or dependencies

---

For additional details, see the supporting files listed at the top of this document:

• Symlinking and project setup: symlinking-guide.md
• Updating and syncing: updating-and-syncing.md
• Repository organization: repository-organization.md
• Version control and git: version-control.md
• Troubleshooting: troubleshooting.md
• Best practices: best-practices.md
• Quick reference and workflows: quick-reference.md