Skill New

skill-new

Create a new skill folder with a properly formatted SKILL.md, placed according to the current project's layout.

When NOT to use

Triggers for activation live in the frontmatter when_to_use field. Do NOT activate for editing existing skills — only for creating new ones.

Inputs to collect

Before writing files, make sure you have:

1. name — lowercase, hyphen-separated, unique among existing skills. Derive from the user's request if obvious; otherwise ask.
2. description — one or two sentences describing what the skill does. Keep it concise; trigger conditions go in when_to_use. Ask the user if unclear.
3. when_to_use — trigger conditions that tell the agent when to activate this skill: phrases the user might say, file types, project shapes. The agent matches against description + when_to_use combined, so be concrete. Ask the user if unclear.
4. Body content — the steps the agent should follow when the skill activates. Ask the user for the procedure if they haven't described it.

Determine the target directory

Look at where existing SKILL.md files live in the project and follow the same convention. Common layouts:

• skills/<name>/SKILL.md — most common multi-skill repo
• .claude/skills/<name>/SKILL.md — Claude-specific project layout
• <name>/SKILL.md at repo root — flat layout

If no existing skills are found, default to skills/<name>/SKILL.md.

Steps

1. Determine the target directory using the rule above.
2. Verify the target path does not already exist. If it does, stop and ask whether to overwrite or pick a different name.
3. Create the directory.
4. Write SKILL.md using the template below.
5. Report the created path.

SKILL.md template

---
name: <name>
description: >-
  <one or two sentences: what the skill does>
when_to_use: >-
  <triggers: phrases the user might say, file types, project shapes>
---

# <Human-readable title>

<One-paragraph summary of what the skill does.>

## Steps

1. <First action>
2. <Second action>
3. <Final action>

Rules

• Don't add scripts/ or references/ subfolders unless the skill actually needs them — keep the scaffold minimal.
• Don't write a per-skill README; SKILL.md is the documentation.
• Frontmatter name must match the folder name.