create-skill-file_skill

Overview

This skill guides Claude to create well-structured skill files following proven best practices. It provides clear rules for naming, frontmatter, section organization, and examples so skills are easy to discover and execute. The goal is concise, actionable guidance that produces consistent, testable skill documents.

How this skill works

The skill inspects a skill directory and its frontmatter, validates naming and description conventions, and recommends a minimal, layered document structure with examples and scripts where appropriate. It enforces clarity by identifying missing trigger scenarios, workflow steps, and runnable examples, and suggests splitting long documents into referenced subfiles.

When to use it

• You need a new skill file that other agents can discover and trigger reliably
• You are standardizing naming and frontmatter across many skills
• You want to convert a long procedural doc into a concise, layered skill document
• You must add runnable examples, scripts, or a checklist to an existing skill
• You need to verify trigger keywords and activation scenarios are present

Best practices

• Use a lowercase, hyphenated name (verb-ing + noun) that matches the directory
• Write a concise third-person description with trigger keywords and scenarios
• Keep the main document focused (200–500 lines); move deep details to one-level subfiles
• Include a clear "when to use" section with 3–5 trigger scenarios and keywords
• Provide at least two input/output examples and runnable scripts with usage and error handling

Example use cases

• Create a new skill file to convert CSV files to Excel with charts and sample inputs
• Audit an existing skill file for missing trigger phrases and insufficient examples
• Refactor a long how-to into a top-level summary plus referenced templates and scripts
• Add a pre-deployment checklist and sample commands for a build-and-test workflow
• Draft a script template with shebang, docstring, arguments, and exit codes