Skill Creator

Skill Creator

An interactive guide for creating, validating, and packaging new Claude skills. This skill helps you build high-quality skills that extend Claude's capabilities with specialized knowledge, workflows, or tool integrations.

What Are Skills?

Skills are modular capabilities that extend Claude's functionality. Each skill packages:

• Instructions: Step-by-step guidance for completing specific tasks
• Metadata: Name and description for automatic discovery
• Resources: Optional scripts, templates, and reference documentation

Skills use progressive disclosure - only loading what's needed when needed - to minimize token usage while maximizing capability.

When to Use This Skill

Use the skill-creator when you need to:

• Create a new skill from scratch
• Validate an existing skill against Claude's requirements
• Package a skill for distribution
• Update a skill to meet current standards
• Learn skill best practices and requirements

Skill Creation Workflow

Step 1: Understand the Need

Ask clarifying questions to understand:

1. Purpose: What task or domain will this skill address?
2. Scope: Is it simple (just instructions) or complex (with scripts/references)?
3. Platform: Which Claude surfaces should it target? (Claude.ai, API, Claude Code, or all)
4. Automation: Should it be automatically invoked or user-triggered?

Example questions:

• "What specific problem does this skill solve?"
• "Will the skill need helper scripts or just provide guidance?"
• "Should Claude use this skill proactively when users mention [topic]?"
• "Does the skill need platform-specific features (like network access)?"

Step 2: Design the Skill

Based on the requirements, plan:

Directory Structure Options:

Option A: Simple Skill (Instructions only)

skill-name/
└── SKILL.md

Option B: Skill with Scripts

skill-name/
├── SKILL.md
└── scripts/
    ├── __init__.py
    ├── helper1.py
    └── helper2.py

Option C: Complex Skill (Full featured)

skill-name/
├── SKILL.md
├── scripts/
│   ├── __init__.py
│   └── utilities.py
└── references/
    ├── specification.md
    └── examples.md

Naming Convention:

• Lowercase letters, numbers, and hyphens only
• Maximum 64 characters
• Cannot contain "anthropic" or "claude"
• Descriptive and concise (e.g., git-helper, api-tester, doc-writer)

Step 3: Write SKILL.md

Every skill must have a SKILL.md file with this structure:

---
name: skill-name
description: Brief description of what this skill does and when to use it (max 1024 chars)
---

# Skill Title

## Overview
What the skill does and why it's useful.

## When to Use This Skill
Specific scenarios where this skill should be invoked.

## Instructions

### Step 1: [First Action]
Detailed guidance for the first step...

### Step 2: [Second Action]
Detailed guidance for the second step...

### Step N: [Final Action]
Detailed guidance for completion...

## Best Practices
Tips for optimal results.

## Common Issues
Troubleshooting guidance.

## Examples
Concrete examples of the skill in action.

Critical Requirements:

✅ Required YAML Frontmatter

---
name: skill-name          # lowercase, hyphens, max 64 chars
description: What it does and when to use it  # max 1024 chars
---

✅ Description Best Practices

• Explain WHAT the skill does
• Explain WHEN to use it
• Use action-oriented language (e.g., "Use when...", "MUST be used for...")
• Be specific about capabilities
• Maximum 1024 characters
• No XML tags

✅ Content Organization

• Clear hierarchy with headings
• Step-by-step instructions
• Concrete examples
• Platform-specific guidance if needed

Step 4: Add Supporting Resources (Optional)

Scripts (Python recommended):

• Use for deterministic operations
• Validate, transform, or package data
• Generate templates or boilerplate
• Follow security best practices (see references/skill-specification.md)

Example script structure:

#!/usr/bin/env python3
"""
Brief description of what this script does.
"""
import argparse
from pathlib import Path
from typing import Tuple

def main() -> int:
    """Main entry point."""
    parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description="...")
    # ... argument parsing ...

    try:
        result = do_work(args)
        print(f"Success: {result}")
        return 0
    except Exception as e:
        print(f"Error: {e}", file=sys.stderr)
        return 1

if __name__ == "__main__":
    sys.exit(main())

Reference Documentation:

• Technical specifications
• API documentation
• Database schemas
• Best practices guides
• Example templates

References are loaded on-demand, so include comprehensive details without worrying about token cost.

Step 5: Validate the Skill

Use the validation script to ensure compliance:

python .claude-plugin/scripts/validate_skill.py path/to/skill/

The validator checks:

• ✅ YAML frontmatter format
• ✅ Required fields (name, description)
• ✅ Naming conventions
• ✅ Description length and format
• ✅ No XML tags or restricted terms
• ✅ File structure

Fix any errors before proceeding.

Step 6: Test the Skill

1. Place the skill in the appropriate location:

   • Project-level: .claude/skills/skill-name/
   • User-level: ~/.claude/agents/skill-name.md (for single-file skills)
   • Plugin: .claude-plugin/ (for distribution)

2. Invoke the skill and verify:

   • Instructions are clear and actionable
   • Scripts execute correctly
   • References load when needed
   • Platform-specific features work as expected

3. Iterate based on results:

   • Clarify ambiguous instructions
   • Fix script bugs
   • Add missing examples
   • Improve error handling

Step 7: Package for Distribution (Optional)

To share the skill:

python .claude-plugin/scripts/package_skill.py path/to/skill/ --output skill-name.zip

This creates a distributable package including:

• SKILL.md
• All scripts and references
• Metadata/manifest
• Installation instructions

Platform-Specific Considerations

Claude.ai

• Scope: User-specific (not shared across workspace)
• Network: Varies by user/admin settings
• Distribution: Upload through Skills UI
• Best for: Personal productivity, individual workflows

Claude API

• Scope: Workspace-wide accessible
• Network: No access by default
• Dependencies: Pre-configured only, no dynamic installation
• Best for: Programmatic workflows, enterprise deployments

Claude Code

• Scope: Project-level (.claude/skills/) or user-level (~/.claude/agents/)
• Network: Full access available
• Dependencies: Can install packages as needed
• Best for: Development workflows, technical tasks

Include platform notes when relevant:

## Platform Notes

### Claude Code
This skill requires network access to fetch API data. It works best in Claude Code where network access is available by default.

### Claude API
Note: This skill requires pre-configured API keys via environment variables.

Best Practices

Token Efficiency

• Keep SKILL.md focused on essential instructions
• Move detailed specs to reference files
• Use progressive disclosure (load references only when needed)
• Aim for 30-50 tokens when skill is inactive (just frontmatter)

Discoverability

• Write descriptions that clearly explain when to use the skill
• Use action-oriented language: "Use PROACTIVELY when..."
• Include relevant keywords in the description
• Be specific about capabilities

Quality

• Test thoroughly before distributing
• Include concrete examples
• Provide troubleshooting guidance
• Handle errors gracefully
• Validate all user inputs

Security

• Never execute arbitrary code (no eval/exec)
• Validate file paths (prevent traversal attacks)
• Sanitize user inputs
• Use allowlists over denylists
• Follow principle of least privilege

Maintainability

• Use clear, descriptive names
• Document all functions and scripts
• Keep skills focused on a single purpose
• Version your skills for tracking changes
• Write clear error messages

Validation Rules Reference

Load the complete specification when needed:

Read .claude-plugin/references/skill-specification.md

Key rules:

• Name: lowercase, hyphens, max 64 chars, no "anthropic"/"claude"
• Description: non-empty, max 1024 chars, no XML tags
• Frontmatter: Valid YAML between --- delimiters
• Files: UTF-8 encoding, reasonable sizes
• Scripts: Executable, proper permissions, type-safe

Example: Creating a Simple Skill

User Request: "Create a skill to help format commit messages"

Skill Creator Response:

1. Clarify requirements:

   • "Should it validate existing commits or generate new ones?"
   • "Do you want specific commit types enforced (feat, fix, docs)?"
   • "Should it integrate with git commands or just provide guidance?"

2. After getting answers, create the skill:

---
name: commit-formatter
description: Format git commit messages according to Conventional Commits specification. Use when writing commit messages or validating commit history.
---

# Commit Formatter

Helps create well-formatted git commit messages following Conventional Commits.

## When to Use This Skill
- Writing new commit messages
- Validating existing commits
- Learning commit message best practices

## Instructions

### Step 1: Determine Commit Type
Choose the appropriate type:
- **feat**: New feature
- **fix**: Bug fix
- **docs**: Documentation only
- **style**: Code style (formatting, missing semicolons)
- **refactor**: Code change that neither fixes a bug nor adds a feature
- **perf**: Performance improvement
- **test**: Adding or updating tests
- **chore**: Maintenance tasks

### Step 2: Write Subject Line
Format: `<type>(<scope>): <subject>`
- Scope is optional but recommended (e.g., api, ui, auth)
- Subject is lowercase, no period at end
- Keep under 50 characters

### Step 3: Add Body (Optional)
- Wrap at 72 characters
- Explain what and why, not how
- Separate from subject with blank line

### Step 4: Add Footer (Optional)
- Breaking changes: `BREAKING CHANGE: <description>`
- Issue references: `Closes #123`

## Examples

**Simple commit**:

feat(auth): add OAuth2 login support

**With body**:

fix(api): handle null response from user service

The user service occasionally returns null when the user is not found. This commit adds proper null checking and returns a 404 status code.

**Breaking change**:

feat(api): redesign authentication endpoints

BREAKING CHANGE: The /auth endpoint now requires POST instead of GET. Update all clients to use POST with JSON body.

Closes #456

3. Validate the skill:

python .claude-plugin/scripts/validate_skill.py .claude/skills/commit-formatter/

4. Test it:
   • Ask Claude to help format a commit
   • Verify the guidance is clear and actionable
   • Check examples are helpful

Troubleshooting

Skill Not Being Invoked Automatically

Problem: Claude doesn't use the skill even when relevant.

Solutions:

• Improve the description with clearer trigger phrases
• Add "Use PROACTIVELY when..." to the description
• Mention the skill explicitly: "Use the [skill-name] skill to..."

Validation Errors

Problem: Validator reports errors.

Solutions:

• Check YAML formatting (use --- delimiters)
• Verify name follows conventions (lowercase, hyphens only)
• Ensure description is under 1024 characters
• Remove any XML tags from text
• Check file encoding is UTF-8

Scripts Not Executing

Problem: Python scripts fail or aren't found.

Solutions:

• Verify script has execute permissions: chmod +x script.py
• Check shebang line: #!/usr/bin/env python3
• Ensure dependencies are installed
• Test script independently before integrating
• Check file paths are correct (use Path from pathlib)

Cross-Platform Issues

Problem: Skill works on one platform but not another.

Solutions:

• Check platform constraints (network access, dependencies)
• Use pathlib for file paths (not os.path)
• Avoid platform-specific assumptions
• Test on all target platforms
• Add platform-specific guidance in SKILL.md

Getting Help

For detailed technical specifications:

Read .claude-plugin/references/skill-specification.md

For platform-specific guidance:

Read .claude-plugin/references/platform-differences.md

For more examples:

Read .claude-plugin/references/skill-examples.md

Creating the Skill Automatically

When you're ready, I'll:

1. Create the directory structure at the specified location
2. Generate SKILL.md with proper frontmatter and content
3. Add scripts if requested (using the python-dev agent for quality)
4. Create reference files if needed
5. Validate the entire skill
6. Package if for distribution if requested

Just tell me what skill you want to create, and I'll guide you through the process!

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