Skill Creator
This skill wraps Anthropic's official skill-creator with local context.
Skill Types
User skills (~/.claude/skills/<name>/):
- Portable across all projects
- General-purpose utilities (file-nav, code-search, github, etc.)
- NOT tied to any specific repository
Project skills (.claude/skills/<name>/ in repo root):
- Repository-specific knowledge and workflows
- Codebase conventions, testing patterns, deployment procedures
- Only available within that project
Workflow
1. Determine Skill Type
Before creating a skill, clarify with the user:
- User skill: "Should this skill be available across all your projects?"
- Project skill: "Is this specific to the current repository?"
If unclear, ask using AskUserQuestion.
2. Fetch Upstream Guidance
For skill creation best practices, fetch Anthropic's skill-creator:
WebFetch: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/anthropics/skills/main/skills/skill-creator/SKILL.md
For specific patterns:
- Workflows:
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/anthropics/skills/main/skills/skill-creator/references/workflows.md - Output patterns:
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/anthropics/skills/main/skills/skill-creator/references/output-patterns.md
3. Create the Skill
Apply upstream guidance with these local defaults:
| Skill Type | Path |
|---|---|
| User | ~/.claude/skills/<skill-name>/SKILL.md |
| Project | .claude/skills/<skill-name>/SKILL.md |
4. Key Reminders
From upstream skill-creator (fetch for full details):
- Concise is key: Context window is shared; only add what Claude doesn't know
- Progressive disclosure: SKILL.md body < 500 lines; use
references/for details - Frontmatter description: Must include "when to use" - body loads AFTER triggering
- No extra docs: No README.md, CHANGELOG.md, etc.
Existing User Skills
Reference for patterns:
~/.claude/skills/
├── clj-symbols/ # Clojure symbol navigation
├── code-rename/ # Symbol renaming
├── code-search/ # ripgrep patterns
├── code-symbols/ # ast-grep symbol finding
├── file-nav/ # fd file navigation
├── github/ # gh CLI operations
└── playwright/ # Browser automation