creating-agent-skills

# Creating Agent Skills This skill teaches how to create effective Claude Code Skills following Anthropic's official specification. ## Core Principles ### 1. Skills Are Prompts All prompting best practices apply. Be clear, be direct. Assume Claude is smart - only add context Claude doesn't have. ### 2. Standard Markdown Format Use YAML frontmatter + markdown body. **No XML tags** - use standard markdown headings. ```markdown --- name: my-skill-name description: What it does and when to use it --- # My Skill Name ## Quick Start Immediate actionable guidance... ## Instructions Step-by-step procedures... ## Examples Concrete usage examples... ``` ### 3. Progressive Disclosure Keep SKILL.md under 500 lines. Split detailed content into reference files. Load only what's needed. ``` my-skill/ ├── SKILL.md # Entry point (required) ├── reference.md # Detailed docs (loaded when needed) ├── examples.md # Usage examples └── scripts/ # Utility scripts (executed, not loaded) ``` ### 4. Effective Descriptions The description field enables skill discovery. Include both what the skill does AND when to use it. Write in third person. **Good:** ```yaml description: Extracts text and tables from PDF files, fills forms, merges documents. Use when working with PDF files or when the user mentions PDFs, forms, or document extraction. ``` **Bad:** ```yaml description: Helps with documents ``` ## Skill Structure ### Required Frontmatter ...