Skill Authoring Guide

Core Principle: Context Window is a Public Good

The context window is shared across system prompts, conversation history, skill metadata, and user requests. Challenge each piece of information:

• "Does Claude really need this explanation?"
• "Does this paragraph justify its token cost?"

Default assumption: Claude is already very smart. Only add context Claude doesn't already have. Prefer concise examples over verbose explanations.

Progressive Disclosure

Skills use three-level loading to manage context efficiently: