skill-creatorlisted

# Authoring a new Claude Code skill Skills are reusable, discoverable instructions Claude loads when it detects the right context. A good skill is narrow, triggered by a clear pattern, and short enough to read in one pass. ## When to write a new skill Write a new skill only when ALL of these are true: 1. You have hit the same pattern at least 3 times. One-offs belong in a prompt or memory, not a skill. 2. No existing skill covers it. Search `~/.claude/skills/` and the bundled plugin skills first. 3. The pattern is general enough to apply across projects, or it is project-specific AND lives under that project's `.claude/skills/`. 4. You can write a one-sentence `Use when ...` trigger. If you cannot, the skill is too vague. If a memory entry, a CLAUDE.md note, or a one-shot prompt would do the job, prefer that. ## SKILL.md structure Every skill lives at `skills/<name>/SKILL.md` (kebab-case directory). The file has a YAML front matter block followed by markdown. ``` --- name: <kebab-case-name> description: Use when <trigger>. <One short sentence on what it does.> --- # <Human title> <One-paragraph summary.> ## When to trigger - Bullet list of concrete patterns. ## Workflow 1. Steps Claude should follow. 2. Be specific. No fluff. ## Red flags - Patterns that mean STOP and reconsider. ## References - Pointers to other skills, docs, files. ``` Target 100-250 lines of markdown. Below 80 lines usually means the skill is too thin to deserve its own file; above 500 lines