Agent Skills Creator

Create skills that follow the Agent Skills open format. Covers the full lifecycle from pattern selection through validation and README update.

Reference Files

File	Read When
`references/format-specification.md`	Default: frontmatter constraints, directory structure, naming rules
`references/skill-patterns.md`	Choosing a pattern or need a structural template for a specific skill type
`references/quality-checklist.md`	Final validation before shipping

Choose a Skill Pattern

Pattern	When to use	Example	Key files
Simple/hub	Dispatch to 2-5 focused files by track	`ui-design`	SKILL.md + track files
Workflow	Multi-step process with progressive loading	`agents-md`, `review-pr`	SKILL.md + `references/`
Rules-based	Audit/lint with categorized rules	`typography-audit`, `docs-writing`	SKILL.md + `rules/`
Mixed	Workflow with conditional references	`multi-tenant-architecture`	SKILL.md + `references/`

Decision guide:

Auditing or linting against a checklist: rules-based
Guiding a multi-step process: workflow
Dispatching to different tracks by context: simple/hub
Unsure: start with workflow (most flexible)

Load references/skill-patterns.md for structural templates and skeletons of each pattern.

Creation Workflow

Copy this checklist to track progress:

Skill creation progress:
- [ ] Step 1: Choose skill pattern
- [ ] Step 2: Create directory and frontmatter
- [ ] Step 3: Write SKILL.md body
- [ ] Step 4: Add reference or rule files
- [ ] Step 5: Validate with quality checklist
- [ ] Step 6: Update README.md
- [ ] Step 7: Smoke-test installation

Step 1: Choose skill pattern

Use the pattern table above. Load references/skill-patterns.md for full templates.

Step 2: Create directory and frontmatter

Load references/format-specification.md for hard constraints.

Create skills/<name>/SKILL.md
Folder name must match name field (kebab-case)
name: max 64 chars, lowercase letters/numbers/hyphens, no "anthropic" or "claude"
description: max 1024 chars, third-person voice, include "Use when..." triggers with specific keywords

Step 3: Write SKILL.md body

Keep under 500 lines; split into reference files if longer
Only add context Claude does not already have
Use consistent terminology throughout
Include a copyable progress checklist for multi-step workflows
Include validation/feedback loops for quality-critical tasks

Step 4: Add reference or rule files

Workflow/mixed pattern: add references/ folder with focused files. Link each from SKILL.md with "Read when..." guidance in a table.

Rules-based pattern: add rules/ folder. See the rules folder section below.

Simple/hub pattern: add track files alongside SKILL.md. Link from a tracks table.

Key constraints:

References must be one level deep from SKILL.md (no chains)
Files over 100 lines need a table of contents at the top
Files are only loaded when explicitly listed in SKILL.md

Step 5: Validate

Load references/quality-checklist.md and run all applicable checks.

Step 6: Update README.md

Add a row to the Skills table:

| `<skill-name>` | <phase> | <one-line description> |

Phases used in this repo: Before coding, Project start, Design, Build, Design/dev, Writing/audit, Pre-ship, Pre-merge, Pre-launch, Architecture, Maintenance, Authoring.

Step 7: Smoke-test

Install and confirm files appear in the target directory:

cp -R skills/<name> ~/.claude/skills/
ls ~/.claude/skills/<name>/

Rules Folder Structure

For rules-based skills (audits, lints, checklists), create a rules/ folder with:

`rules/_sections.md`

Category map with impact levels. Format:

# Sections

This file defines all sections, their ordering, impact levels, and descriptions.
The section ID (in parentheses) is the filename prefix used to group rules.

---

## 1. Category Name (prefix)

**Impact:** CRITICAL | HIGH | MEDIUM-HIGH | MEDIUM | LOW-MEDIUM
**Description:** One sentence explaining why this category matters.

`rules/_template.md`

Template for individual rule files:

---
title: Rule Title Here
impact: MEDIUM
tags: tag1, tag2
---

## Rule Title Here

Brief explanation of the rule and why it matters.

**Incorrect (description of what's wrong):**

[code block with bad example]

**Correct (description of what's right):**

[code block with good example]

Individual rule files

Named <prefix>-<slug>.md where prefix matches the section ID
One rule per file
Each file follows the _template.md structure

SKILL.md priority table

Include a table mapping categories to prefixes and rule counts:

| Priority | Category | Impact | Prefix | Rules |
|----------|----------|--------|--------|-------|
| 1 | Category Name | CRITICAL | `prefix-` | N |

Anti-patterns

Dumping full specification into SKILL.md body (use reference files)
Creating reference-to-reference chains (keep one level deep)
Including time-sensitive content ("before August 2025, use...")
Restating what Claude already knows (how to write Markdown, general coding advice)
Using "I audit..." or "Use this to..." voice in descriptions (use third-person)
Adding README.md, CHANGELOG.md, or INSTALLATION_GUIDE.md to the skill folder
Dropping files in folders without linking them from SKILL.md

Related Skills

agents-md for auditing AGENTS.md/CLAUDE.md instruction files
docs-writing for documentation quality rules

agent-skills-creator