name: claude-skills

description: Meta-skill for creating, optimizing, and managing Claude Skills. Use when building new skills from documentation, converting domain expertise into AI capabilities, structuring skill files, or learning skill development best practices. This is the foundational skill that generates other skills.

Claude Skills Meta-Skill

The definitive guide to creating production-grade Claude Skills. This meta-skill teaches Claude how to transform any domain knowledge into structured, reusable AI capabilities.

When to Use This Skill

This skill should be triggered when:

Creating a new Claude Skill from scratch
Converting documentation, APIs, or domain knowledge into a Skill
Optimizing or restructuring existing Skills
Learning Skill architecture patterns and best practices
Debugging or troubleshooting Skill behavior
Understanding YAML frontmatter and Skill metadata
Building multi-file Skills with references, scripts, and assets

Quick Reference

Skill Directory Structure

skill-name/
├── SKILL.md              # Required: Main instructions with YAML frontmatter
├── references/           # Optional: Detailed documentation files
│   ├── index.md          # Navigation index for references
│   ├── api.md            # API documentation
│   └── examples.md       # Code examples
├── scripts/              # Optional: Helper scripts and automation
│   └── setup.sh          # Setup/installation scripts
└── assets/               # Optional: Templates, configs, media
    └── templates/        # Boilerplate files

YAML Frontmatter Specification

---
name: skill-name                    # Required: lowercase, hyphens, unique
description: Complete description   # Required: What it does + when to trigger
---

Production SKILL.md Template

---
name: my-skill
description: [Purpose] + [Trigger conditions]. Use when [specific scenarios].
---

# [Skill Name] Skill

[One-paragraph overview]

## When to Use This Skill

This skill should be triggered when:
- [Trigger 1]
- [Trigger 2]
- [Trigger 3]

## Quick Reference

### Common Patterns

**Pattern 1:** [Name]

[language] [code]


### Example Code Patterns

**Example 1** ([language]):

[language] [complete working example]


## Reference Files

This skill includes documentation in `references/`:
- **[file.md]** - [Description]

## Working with This Skill

### For Beginners
[Getting started guidance]

### For Specific Features
[How to find detailed information]

## Resources

### references/
[Description]

### scripts/
[Description]

### assets/
[Description]

Core Concepts

What is a Skill?

A Skill is a folder containing instructions, scripts, and resources that Claude loads dynamically to improve performance on specialized tasks.

Skills teach Claude to:

Apply domain-specific knowledge consistently
Follow organization-specific workflows
Work with specific APIs, file formats, or tools
Automate complex multi-step processes

Skill Activation Triggers

Skills activate based on:

Explicit mention: "Use the [skill-name] skill to..."
Description matching: Task matches skill's description keywords
Context relevance: Task domain aligns with skill's purpose

Creating Production-Grade Skills

Step 1: Define Scope

Answer before writing:

What specific problem does this skill solve?
What triggers should activate this skill?
What are the boundaries (what it should NOT do)?

Step 2: Gather Source Material

Collect:

Official documentation
API references
Code examples and patterns
Common errors and solutions

Step 3: Structure the SKILL.md

Critical sections:

YAML frontmatter with comprehensive description
"When to Use This Skill" with specific triggers
"Quick Reference" with common patterns
Code examples that are complete and working
Reference file pointers

Step 4: Create Reference Files

references/index.md:

# [Skill Name] Documentation Index

## Quick Links
- Getting Started → `getting_started.md`
- API Reference → `api.md`
- Examples → `examples.md`

Step 5: Add Scripts and Assets

# scripts/setup.sh
#!/bin/bash
echo "Setting up [skill-name]..."

Best Practices

Description Writing

# ❌ Too vague
description: Helps with databases

# ✅ Comprehensive
description: PostgreSQL database development including SQL queries, schema design, performance optimization. Use when working with PostgreSQL, writing SQL, or managing databases.

Trigger Conditions

# ❌ Vague
- Working with code

# ✅ Specific
- Writing PostgreSQL queries or stored procedures
- Designing database schemas or indexes
- Optimizing slow queries

Code Examples

# ❌ Incomplete

sql SELECT * FROM users


# ✅ Complete with context
**Example: Paginated query with filtering**

sql SELECT id, username, email, created_at FROM users WHERE status = 'active' ORDER BY created_at DESC LIMIT 20 OFFSET 0;

Skill Patterns by Category

API/Library Skills

## Quick Reference

### Authentication

python client = APIClient(api_key="your-key")


### Common Operations

python

Create

resource = client.create(name="example")

List

resources = client.list(limit=10)

Delete

client.delete(resource_id)


### Error Handling

python try:

result = client.operation()

except APIError as e:

print(f"Error {e.code}: {e.message}")

Framework Skills

## Project Structure

my-project/ ├── src/ ├── tests/ └── config/


## Common Commands

bash framework init my-project framework dev framework build

Domain Knowledge Skills

## Core Concepts

### Concept 1
[Explanation]

### Concept 2
[Explanation]

## Decision Framework

When to use Approach A:
- [Condition 1]
- [Condition 2]

When to use Approach B:
- [Condition 1]
- [Condition 2]

Generating Skills from Source Material

Transformation Process

Source Material
      ↓
Extract: concepts, patterns, examples, edge cases, errors
      ↓
Structure: YAML → When to Use → Quick Reference → Details
      ↓
Create: references/index.md + categorized docs
      ↓
Production-Grade Skill

Generation Prompt

When creating a skill from source material:

Create a production-grade Claude Skill:

1. Analyze source material
2. Extract core concepts and patterns
3. Create SKILL.md with:
   - Comprehensive description (purpose + triggers)
   - Specific "When to Use" conditions
   - Quick Reference with code patterns
   - Complete working examples
4. Create references/index.md
5. Organize detailed docs in references/

Platform Integration

Claude Code

# Add marketplace
/plugin marketplace add anthropics/skills

# Install
/plugin install example-skills@anthropic-agent-skills

# Use
"Use the PDF skill to extract tables from report.pdf"

Claude.ai

Navigate to Claude.ai (paid plan)
Upload custom skill folder
Reference in conversations

Claude API

See: https://docs.claude.com/en/api/skills-guide

Troubleshooting

Skill Not Activating

Check description includes trigger keywords
Verify name is lowercase with hyphens
Ensure valid YAML (no tabs)
Try explicit: "Use the [skill-name] skill to..."

Inconsistent Behavior

Add more specific trigger conditions
Include more code examples
Make instructions unambiguous
Add explicit constraints

Reference Files

This skill includes documentation in references/:

README.md - Official Anthropic Skills repository documentation
index.md - Documentation index and quick links

Working with This Skill

For Creating New Skills

Follow the 5-step process in "Creating Production-Grade Skills"

For Optimizing Existing Skills

Review "Best Practices" and compare against your skill

For Understanding Architecture

Read "Core Concepts" for foundational understanding

Resources

references/

Official Anthropic documentation
Navigation index

scripts/

create-skill.sh - Quick skill directory generator

assets/

template-minimal.md - Minimal template
template-complete.md - Full production template

Notes

Skills are portable across Claude Code, Claude.ai, and API
The description field is critical for reliable activation
Code examples should be complete and immediately usable
This skill generates other production-grade skills

SKILL.md 8.5 KB History Raw