Skill Author

How to write a Claude Code skill that belongs in this library. Follow this standard exactly — every skill in dogfooded-skills was reviewed against it before merge.

What Is a Skill?

A skill is a markdown file at .claude/skills/<skill-name>/SKILL.md. It is loaded into Claude's context when invoked via the Skill tool or referenced in CLAUDE.md. It is not a prompt — it is a runbook: concrete commands, decision tables, and explicit gotchas that turn Claude into a domain expert.

A skill is NOT:

• A README explaining what a tool does
• A collection of examples for the user to read
• A configuration file
• A vague list of things to consider

A skill IS:

• Step-by-step instructions Claude executes, not reads
• Real commands with real flags, not pseudocode
• The authoritative source of truth for one capability