Skillify

Skillify

Transforms a useful concept observed in an external tool / framework / methodology / article into a self-contained Claude Code skill — without adopting the source tool itself.

When to use this skill

Use skillify when:

• A tool has a great idea but its full install is too invasive (Ruflo's SPARC, plugin systems, hook patterns, memory architectures…)
• A blog post / paper describes a workflow worth keeping (Hamel's eval rubric, an Anthropic engineering pattern, a SPARC-like methodology…)
• The user says "I want to keep this idea but not the whole tool"

Don't use skillify when:

• The concept is already trivially covered by an existing skill (check first)
• The concept needs runtime/daemon/database (it's a service, not a skill)
• The user wants to actually adopt the tool itself (just install it then)

Heuristic: skillify vs adopt-as-tool

Skillify	Adopt as tool
Concept fits in 100-300 lines of SKILL.md	Needs runtime/daemon
Source tool has friction you want to skip	Source tool is mature & cohesive
You want reversibility	You want fail-fast on the whole thing
1-2 users (you)	Team adoption

If the user is unsure, ask via AskUserQuestion before proceeding.

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The 5-step procedure

Track each step with TodoWrite from the start. Don't skip — each step de-risks the next.

Step 1 — Spot

Confirm what concept the user wants to skillify. If <argument-hint> is vague, ask:

• What's the idea (1 sentence)?
• Where did you see it (URL, repo, doc, conversation)?
• Why does it resonate (what problem does it solve for you)?

If the source is online, WebFetch the relevant page(s) to anchor on facts. If it's from a tool you tested, read the existing memory note (memory/<tool>_learnings*.md if present).

Step 2 — Isolate

Separate the idea (keep) from the packaging (drop).

For each concept, list explicitly:

• ✅ What we keep: the core mechanic, decision rule, mental model, sequence
• ❌ What we drop: deps, runtime, lock-in, naming/branding, sidecar features

Output: a 5-10 bullet "spec" of what the skill must do. If you can't articulate it in bullets, you don't understand it well enough yet — go back to Step 1.

Step 3 — Re-implement

Write a fresh SKILL.md at .claude/skills/<kebab-name>/SKILL.md. Don't copy-paste from the source — write it from understanding.

Required frontmatter:

---
name: <kebab-name>
description: <when-to-use sentence ≤200 chars, includes trigger phrases>
argument-hint: <if it takes args>
allowed-tools: <minimal set needed>
---

Body structure (adapt as fits):

• When to use / When not to use (mirror this very SKILL.md)
• The procedure (numbered steps, with TodoWrite tracking if multi-phase)
• Examples (1-2 short, concrete)
• Anti-patterns (what to avoid)

Cap target: under 250 lines. If it exceeds, split into companion files (e.g. examples.md, references.md) referenced from SKILL.md.

Step 4 — Document install paths

Create .claude/skills/<kebab-name>/INSTRUCTIONS.md next to SKILL.md with three install paths:

1. Project-local (default): the skill lives in this repo, available only when Claude Code is invoked here.
2. User-global: cp -r .claude/skills/<kebab-name> ~/.claude/skills/ to make it available across all projects.
3. Symlink for live edits: ln -s "$(pwd)/.claude/skills/<kebab-name>" ~/.claude/skills/<kebab-name> so iterating in the project also updates the global version.

Step 5 — Save the learning

Update or create a memory note under ~/.claude/projects/<project>/memory/ :

• If a <tool>_learnings_to_apply.md exists (e.g. ruflo_learnings_to_apply.md), mark this learning as ✅ done with a link to the skill path.
• If the source is new (a blog post, a fresh tool), create a new memory note with the source URL, the kept/dropped breakdown, and the skill path.
• Update MEMORY.md index with the new memory.

Then propose a quick commit: feat(skill): add <kebab-name> skill (skillified from <source>).

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Examples

SPARC (skillified from Ruflo, 2026-05-08): the SPARC methodology was bundled inside Ruflo's invasive install. We kept the methodology (Specification → Pseudocode → Architecture → Refinement → Completion) and dropped Ruflo. Result: .claude/skills/sparc/SKILL.md. Usage: /sparc add user authentication.

Two install paths (skillified from Ruflo's docs, hypothetical): Ruflo offers a "lite" plugin install vs a "full" npx ruflo init. The pattern of offering both modes is itself worth keeping. Could be skillified as /install-paths that audits a tool you're shipping and ensures it offers a lite mode.

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Anti-patterns

• ❌ Skillifying things that should be a script, a config file, or a memory note instead. If there's no decision logic the skill would guide Claude through, it's not a skill.
• ❌ Copy-pasting the source's SKILL.md text wholesale. Re-implement from understanding — that's what de-risks lock-in.
• ❌ Skipping Step 5 (memory). Without it, the skillify origin is lost; in 6 months no one remembers where the idea came from.
• ❌ Creating skills with overlapping descriptions. Before you write, Glob ~/.claude/skills/**/SKILL.md and read existing descriptions to avoid trigger collisions.
• ❌ Skills > 500 lines. Split or simplify.