creating-agent-skillslisted
Install: claude install-skill davekilleen/Dex
# 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