Writing skills

Skill cmtkdot/claude-development/skills/writing-skills

Use when creating or updating SKILL.md files. Triggers: create skill, new skill, SKILL.md template, skill frontmatterFrom its SKILL.md

Install

npx -y skills add cmtkdot/claude-development --skill writing-skills

Assembled from the repository path, not quoted from the project. Check it against their README if it does not work.

One thing to look at

1 stars1 stars. Stars are a popularity signal and not a quality one, but at this level it is likely that nobody has read this closely except its author, and you would be relying on your own review.

SKILL.md

3.6 KB, as published. Nobody here has run it

Writing Skills

Before creating skills, check latest docs: /docs skills for current syntax and best practices.

Skills extend Claude's capabilities. Create a SKILL.md file with instructions, and Claude adds it to its toolkit.

Quick Start

Create a skill directory with a SKILL.md:

mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills/my-skill

Write the SKILL.md:

---
name: my-skill
description: Use when doing X. Triggers on Y, Z keywords.
---

Instructions for Claude when this skill is active.

Skill Locations

Location	Path	Scope
Personal	`~/.claude/skills/<name>/SKILL.md`	All your projects
Project	`.claude/skills/<name>/SKILL.md`	This project only
Plugin	`<plugin>/skills/<name>/SKILL.md`	Where plugin enabled

Frontmatter Reference

Required:

name: Lowercase, numbers, hyphens (max 64 chars)
description: Starts with "Use when..." - triggers automatic loading

Optional:

argument-hint: Hint for autocomplete (e.g., [filename])
disable-model-invocation: true = only user can invoke via /name
user-invocable: false = hide from slash menu, Claude-only
allowed-tools: Tools Claude can use without permission
model: Model to use (sonnet, opus, haiku)
context: fork to run in isolated subagent
agent: Agent type when context: fork (Explore, Plan, general-purpose, or custom)
hooks: Lifecycle hooks (PreToolUse, PostToolUse, Stop)

String Substitutions

Variable	Description
`$ARGUMENTS`	All arguments passed when invoking
`$ARGUMENTS[N]` or `$N`	Specific argument by index (0-based)
`${CLAUDE_SESSION_ID}`	Current session ID

Example:

---
name: fix-issue
description: Fix a GitHub issue
---

Fix GitHub issue #$ARGUMENTS following our coding standards.

Dynamic Context Injection

Use !command`` to run shell commands before the skill loads:

---
name: pr-summary
description: Summarize current PR
---

## Current state
- Diff: !`git diff main`
- Branch: !`git branch --show-current`

Summarize the changes above.

Skill Structure

my-skill/
├── SKILL.md           # Main instructions (required, <500 lines)
├── references/        # Detailed docs loaded when needed
└── scripts/           # Scripts Claude can execute

Keep SKILL.md focused. Reference supporting files for details:

For API details, see [reference.md](reference.md)

Best Practices

Description is key: Claude uses it to decide when to load the skill
Keep it lean: Under 500 lines, use references for details
Be specific: Direct instructions, not general guidelines
Test it: Invoke with /skill-name to verify behavior

Examples

Read-only analysis skill:

---
name: code-review
description: Use when reviewing code for quality issues
allowed-tools: Read, Grep, Glob
---

Review the specified files for quality issues...

Forked research skill:

---
name: deep-research
description: Use when researching a topic thoroughly
context: fork
agent: Explore
---

Research $ARGUMENTS thoroughly...

User-only deployment skill:

---
name: deploy
description: Deploy to production
disable-model-invocation: true
---

Deploy the application...

Related Components

Skills: hook-development, ecosystem-analysis
Used by agents: skill-creator, agent-creator