skill-development
Guidance for creating effective, discoverable skills for Claude Code plugins with progressive disclosure and strong triggering.
- Create skills in the plugin's
skills/directory with SKILL.md (required) and optionalreferences/,examples/, andscripts/subdirectories for progressive context loading - Write frontmatter descriptions in third person with specific trigger phrases users would say (e.g., "This skill should be used when the user asks to 'create a hook', 'validate tool use'...")
- Keep SKILL.md lean (1,500–2,000 words) using imperative/infinitive form; move detailed patterns, API docs, and advanced techniques to
references/files loaded only when needed - Include working examples in
examples/and utility scripts inscripts/; reference all supporting files clearly in SKILL.md so Claude knows where to find additional information
Skill Development for Claude Code Plugins
This skill provides guidance for creating effective skills for Claude Code plugins.
About Skills
Skills are modular, self-contained packages that extend Claude's capabilities by providing specialized knowledge, workflows, and tools. Think of them as "onboarding guides" for specific domains or tasks—they transform Claude from a general-purpose agent into a specialized agent equipped with procedural knowledge that no model can fully possess.
What Skills Provide
- Specialized workflows - Multi-step procedures for specific domains
- Tool integrations - Instructions for working with specific file formats or APIs
- Domain expertise - Company-specific knowledge, schemas, business logic
- Bundled resources - Scripts, references, and assets for complex and repetitive tasks
Anatomy of a Skill
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