Skill Authoring

Skill Authoring

Overview

Writing skills IS Test-Driven Development applied to process documentation.

Write test cases (pressure scenarios with subagents), watch them fail (baseline behavior), write the skill (documentation), watch tests pass (agents comply), and refactor (close loopholes).

Core principle: If you didn't watch an agent fail without the skill, you don't know if the skill teaches the right thing.

Official guidance: For Anthropic's official skill authoring best practices, see anthropic-best-practices.md.

What is a Skill?

A skill is a modular, self-contained package that extends Claude's capabilities with specialized knowledge, workflows, and tools. Skills transform Claude from a general-purpose agent into a specialized agent equipped with procedural knowledge.

Skills are: Reusable techniques, patterns, tools, reference guides Skills are NOT: Narratives about how you solved a problem once

Skill Structure

skill-name/
├── SKILL.md (required)
│   ├── YAML frontmatter (name, description)
│   └── Markdown instructions
└── Bundled Resources (optional)
    ├── scripts/     - Executable code
    ├── references/  - Documentation loaded as needed
    └── assets/      - Files used in output

Progressive Disclosure

Skills use a three-level loading system:

1. Metadata (name + description) - Always in context (~100 words)
2. SKILL.md body - When skill triggers (<5k words)
3. Bundled resources - As needed by Claude

TDD Mapping for Skills

When to Create a Skill

Create when:

• Technique wasn't intuitively obvious
• You'd reference this again across projects
• Pattern applies broadly (not project-specific)
• Others would benefit

Don't create for:

• One-off solutions
• Standard practices well-documented elsewhere
• Project-specific conventions (put in CLAUDE.md)

Skill Creation Process

Step 1: Understand with Concrete Examples

Understand how the skill will be used through examples:

• "What functionality should this skill support?"
• "What would a user say that should trigger this skill?"
• "Can you give examples of how this skill would be used?"

Step 2: Plan Reusable Contents

Analyze each example to identify:

1. Scripts that would be rewritten repeatedly
2. References that would need rediscovery each time
3. Assets that would be copied or modified

Step 3: Initialize the Skill

Run the initialization script:

python scripts/init_skill.py <skill-name> --path <output-directory>

The script creates:

• SKILL.md template with frontmatter
• Example directories: scripts/, references/, assets/

Step 4: Write with TDD (RED-GREEN-REFACTOR)

RED Phase - Baseline Testing:

• Run pressure scenarios WITHOUT the skill
• Document exact failures and rationalizations verbatim
• Identify which pressures trigger violations

GREEN Phase - Write Minimal Skill:

• Address specific baseline failures observed
• Run same scenarios WITH skill
• Verify agent now complies

REFACTOR Phase - Close Loopholes:

• Capture new rationalizations verbatim
• Add explicit counters for each loophole
• Build rationalization table
• Re-test until bulletproof

See @testing-skills-with-subagents.md for complete testing methodology.

Step 5: Package for Distribution

python scripts/package_skill.py <path/to/skill-folder> [output-directory]

The script validates and creates a distributable .skill file.

Step 6: Iterate

After testing on real tasks:

1. Notice struggles or inefficiencies
2. Identify needed updates
3. Apply TDD cycle again

SKILL.md Structure

Frontmatter (YAML):

• name: Hyphen-case, max 64 characters
• description: Third-person, max 1024 characters, starts with "Use when..."

CRITICAL: Description = When to Use, NOT What the Skill Does

# ❌ BAD: Summarizes workflow - Claude may follow this instead of reading skill
description: Use when executing plans - dispatches subagent per task with code review

# ✅ GOOD: Just triggering conditions
description: Use when executing implementation plans with independent tasks

Body Structure:

# Skill Name

## Overview
Core principle in 1-2 sentences.

## When to Use
Symptoms and use cases (bullets)

## Core Pattern
Before/after comparison or workflow

## Quick Reference
Table for scanning common operations

## Common Mistakes
What goes wrong + fixes

Claude Search Optimization (CSO)

Rich Description Field

• Start with "Use when..."
• Include concrete triggers, symptoms, situations
• Write in third person
• NEVER summarize the skill's workflow

Keyword Coverage

• Error messages: "Hook timed out", "race condition"
• Symptoms: "flaky", "hanging", "zombie"
• Tools: Actual commands, library names

Token Efficiency

Target word counts:

• Frequently-loaded skills: <200 words
• Other skills: <500 words

Techniques:

• Reference --help for tool flags
• Cross-reference other skills
• Compress examples
• Eliminate redundancy

The Iron Law

NO SKILL WITHOUT A FAILING TEST FIRST

This applies to NEW skills AND EDITS to existing skills.

No exceptions:

• Not for "simple additions"
• Not for "just adding a section"
• Not for "documentation updates"

Bundled Resources

scripts/

Executable code for deterministic reliability or repeatedly rewritten tasks.

Available scripts:

• scripts/init_skill.py - Initialize new skill from template
• scripts/package_skill.py - Package skill for distribution
• scripts/quick_validate.py - Validate skill structure

references/

Documentation loaded as needed into context.

Available references:

• references/validation-checklist.md - Complete validation checklist
• references/workflows.md - Workflow design patterns
• references/output-patterns.md - Output format patterns

assets/

Files used in output (templates, images, fonts).

Meta-Skill Derivatives

Meta-skills provide foundational patterns that language or domain-specific skills extend. This pattern enables knowledge reuse while allowing specialization.

Meta-Skill Hierarchy

meta-<pattern>-<focus>           # Foundational patterns
└── <domain>-<pattern>-<focus>   # Specialized derivative

Examples:

Creating a Derivative Skill

Step 1: Reference the Meta-Skill

In the derivative's SKILL.md, explicitly reference the parent:

## This Skill Extends

This skill extends `meta-library-dev` with Rust-specific patterns.
For foundational concepts (API design, versioning, testing strategies),
see the meta-skill first.

## This Skill Adds

- Rust-specific: Cargo.toml configuration, feature flags
- Rust idioms: Ownership patterns in public APIs
- Rust tooling: rustdoc, cargo publish, crates.io

Step 2: Determine What to Add

Derivatives should add domain-specific content in these categories:

Step 3: Avoid Duplication

Do NOT repeat content from the meta-skill. Instead:

• Reference sections: "See meta-library-dev → Versioning Strategy"
• Extend with specifics: "In addition to semver (see meta-skill), Rust uses..."
• Override only when necessary: "Unlike the general pattern, Rust prefers..."

Derivative Naming Convention

<domain>-<pattern>-<focus>

Where:
- domain   = language, platform, or service (rust, aws, k8s)
- pattern  = what the skill covers (lib, sdk, cli, api)
- focus    = audience (dev, ops, eng, nub, xec)

Valid derivative names:

• rust-lib-dev (Rust library development)
• python-sdk-dev (Python SDK development)
• go-cli-ops (Go CLI operations)

Derivative Template

---
name: <domain>-<pattern>-<focus>
description: Use when developing <domain> <pattern>s. Extends meta-<pattern>-<focus> with <domain>-specific tooling, idioms, and ecosystem patterns.
---

# <Domain> <Pattern> Development

<Domain>-specific patterns for <pattern> development. This skill extends
`meta-<pattern>-<focus>` with <domain> tooling, idioms, and ecosystem practices.

## This Skill Extends

- `meta-<pattern>-<focus>` - Foundational <pattern> patterns

## This Skill Adds

- <Domain> tooling: [list tools]
- <Domain> idioms: [list patterns]
- <Domain> ecosystem: [list libraries, registries]

## <Domain>-Specific Tooling

[Package manager, build tools, testing frameworks]

## <Domain> Idioms

[Language-specific patterns that differ from general guidance]

## Ecosystem

[Common libraries, registries, community practices]

## Quick Reference

| Task | <Domain> Command |
|------|------------------|
| Create project | `<command>` |
| Build | `<command>` |
| Test | `<command>` |
| Publish | `<command>` |

## References

- `meta-<pattern>-<focus>` - Foundational patterns
- [<Domain> documentation](url)

When to Create Meta vs Derivative

Additional Resources

Core Documentation

• anthropic-best-practices.md - Official Anthropic guidance
• testing-skills-with-subagents.md - TDD testing methodology
• persuasion-principles.md - Psychology of bulletproofing

Visualization

• graphviz-conventions.dot - Graphviz style rules
• render-graphs.js - Render skill flowcharts to SVG

Examples

• examples/CLAUDE_MD_TESTING.md - Full test campaign example

Common Rationalizations

Quick Reference

The Bottom Line

Creating skills IS TDD for process documentation.

Same Iron Law: No skill without failing test first. Same cycle: RED (baseline) → GREEN (write skill) → REFACTOR (close loopholes). Same benefits: Better quality, fewer surprises, bulletproof results.