Use Skills

IF A SKILL APPLIES TO YOUR TASK, YOU DO NOT HAVE A CHOICE. YOU MUST USE IT.

This is not negotiable. This is not optional. You cannot rationalize your way out of this.

How to Access Skills

In Claude Code: Use the Skill tool. When you invoke a skill, its content is loaded and presented to you—follow it directly. Never use the Read tool on skill files.

In other environments: Check your platform's documentation for how skills are loaded.

Using Skills

The Rule

Invoke relevant or requested skills BEFORE any response or action. Even a 1% chance a skill might apply means that you should invoke the skill to check. If an invoked skill turns out to be wrong for the situation, you don't need to use it.

digraph skill_flow {
    "User message received" [shape=doublecircle];
    "Might any skill apply?" [shape=diamond];
    "Invoke Skill tool" [shape=box];
    "Announce: 'Using [skill] to [purpose]'" [shape=box];
    "Has checklist?" [shape=diamond];
    "Create TodoWrite todo per item" [shape=box];
    "Follow skill exactly" [shape=box];
    "Respond (including clarifications)" [shape=doublecircle];

    "User message received" -> "Might any skill apply?";
    "Might any skill apply?" -> "Invoke Skill tool" [label="yes, even 1%"];
    "Might any skill apply?" -> "Respond (including clarifications)" [label="definitely not"];
    "Invoke Skill tool" -> "Announce: 'Using [skill] to [purpose]'";
    "Announce: 'Using [skill] to [purpose]'" -> "Has checklist?";
    "Has checklist?" -> "Create TodoWrite todo per item" [label="yes"];
    "Has checklist?" -> "Follow skill exactly" [label="no"];
    "Create TodoWrite todo per item" -> "Follow skill exactly";
}

Red Flags

These thoughts mean STOP—you're rationalizing:

Skill Priority

When multiple skills could apply, use this order:

1. Process skills first (brainstorming, debugging) - these determine HOW to approach the task
2. Implementation skills second (frontend-design, mcp-builder) - these guide execution

"Let's build X" → brainstorming first, then implementation skills. "Fix this bug" → debugging first, then domain-specific skills.

Skill Types

Rigid (TDD, debugging): Follow exactly. Don't adapt away discipline.

Flexible (patterns): Adapt principles to context.

The skill itself tells you which.

User Instructions

Instructions say WHAT, not HOW. "Add X" or "Fix Y" doesn't mean skip workflows.

Planning & Implementation Workflow

When starting work that involves creating or changing functionality, follow this workflow:

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    STARTING NEW WORK?                           │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                              │
                              ▼
              ┌───────────────────────────────┐
              │ Are requirements clear?       │
              └───────────────────────────────┘
                     │              │
                    NO             YES
                     │              │
                     ▼              ▼
         ┌─────────────────┐   ┌─────────────────┐
         │ /brainstorming  │   │ Does a plan     │
         │                 │   │ file exist?     │
         │ Explore intent, │   │ (gi_*.md)       │
         │ design approach │   └─────────────────┘
         └─────────────────┘          │       │
                  │                  NO      YES
                  ▼                   │       │
         ┌─────────────────┐         │       │
         │ Outputs design  │         │       │
         │ to doc/plans/   │         │       │
         └─────────────────┘         │       │
                  │                  │       │
                  ▼                  ▼       │
         ┌─────────────────────────────┐    │
         │      /issue-planning        │    │
         │                             │    │
         │ Create detailed plan in     │    │
         │ doc/plans/issues/gi_*.md    │    │
         └─────────────────────────────┘    │
                        │                   │
                        └─────────┬─────────┘
                                  ▼
         ┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
         │  Is it a discrete issue (gi_*.md)  │
         │  or a larger plan?                  │
         └─────────────────────────────────────┘
                     │              │
             gi_*.md issue    larger plan
                     │              │
                     ▼              ▼
         ┌─────────────────┐  ┌─────────────────┐
         │/executing-issues│  │ /executing-plans│
         └─────────────────┘  └─────────────────┘
                     │              │
                     └──────┬───────┘
                            ▼
         ┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
         │       /pre-deploy-validation        │
         │                                     │
         │ Before pushing to production        │
         └─────────────────────────────────────┘

Quick Reference

Workflow Tips

• Always start with /brainstorming if requirements are fuzzy or you're exploring options
• Skip to /issue-planning if you already know what to build
• Skip to /executing-issues if a plan file already exists
• Use /executing-plans for multi-issue architecture work (e.g., migrations, refactors)

Complete Skill Catalog

Planning & Execution (Sequential Workflow)

Implementation Process (Use During Coding)

Note: software-architecture is a reference skill — consult it while coding. test-driven-development is a process skill — follow it strictly.

Code Review (After Implementation)

Domain Expert Reviewers (Validation)

These skills activate read-only reviewers who provide feedback without making edits. Use them to validate work from different perspectives.

Mandatory reviews:

• UI/Frontend changes → Always invoke /operational-hydrologist (they are the end users)
• Model/forecast changes → Always invoke /hydrological-modeller
• Deployment/server changes → Always invoke /hydromet-sysadmin

Typical workflow: After implementation, invoke the relevant reviewer(s) for domain-specific feedback before deployment.

Technical Reference (Domain-Specific Guidance)

Meta Skills

Skill Combinations

Common skill sequences for different work types:

New Feature:

/brainstorming → /issue-planning → /test-driven-development → /executing-issues → /requesting-code-review → /pre-deploy-validation

Bug Fix:

/test-driven-development → /requesting-code-review → /pre-deploy-validation

Documentation:

/documentation → /hydrological-modeller (for technical review)

Model Changes:

/brainstorming → /issue-planning → /test-driven-development → /hydrological-modeller (review) → /pre-deploy-validation

UI/Frontend Changes (dashboard, visualizations):

/brainstorming → /issue-planning → /test-driven-development → /operational-hydrologist (REQUIRED) → /pre-deploy-validation

Deployment/CI Changes:

/cicd-master → /hydromet-sysadmin (review) → /pre-deploy-validation