claude-skills-overview-2026
This skill uses Claude hooks which can execute code automatically in response to events. Review carefully before installing.
Claude Code Skills System - Complete Reference (March 2026)
Skills extend what Claude can do. Create a SKILL.md file with instructions, and Claude adds it to its toolkit. Claude uses skills when relevant, or you can invoke one directly with /skill-name.
To create or improve skills using a guided workflow, load the
/plugin-creator:skill-creatorskill.
Skills and slash commands are now unified - they are the same system. A file at .claude/commands/review.md and a skill at .claude/skills/review/SKILL.md both create /review and work identically. If a skill and a command share the same name, the skill takes precedence. Skills are the recommended approach as they support additional features like supporting files and advanced frontmatter options.
Portable skills? This reference covers Claude Code-specific features (hooks, context fork, model selection, invocation control). If you need to create skills that work across Claude Code, Cursor, Gemini CLI, OpenAI Codex, VS Code, and 20+ other agents, see the
../agentskills/SKILL.mdskill instead — it covers the portable subset of the format defined at agentskills.io.
Bundled Skills
Bundled skills ship with Claude Code and are available in every session. Unlike built-in commands (which execute fixed logic), bundled skills are prompt-based: they give Claude a detailed playbook and let it orchestrate work using its tools (spawn parallel agents, read files, adapt to your codebase).
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/simplify: Reviews recently changed files for code reuse, quality, and efficiency issues, then fixes them. Spawns three review agents in parallel (code reuse, code quality, efficiency), aggregates findings, and applies fixes. Pass optional text to focus:/simplify focus on memory efficiency. -
/batch <instruction>: Orchestrates large-scale changes across a codebase in parallel. Researches the codebase, decomposes work into 5–30 independent units, presents a plan for approval. Once approved, spawns one background agent per unit in an isolated git worktree, each implementing its unit, running tests, and opening a pull request. Requires a git repository.
More from jamie-bitflight/claude_skills
perl-lint
This skill should be used when the user asks to lint Perl code, run perlcritic, check Perl style, format Perl code, run perltidy, or mentions Perl Critic policies, code formatting, or style checking.
28brainstorming-skill
You MUST use this before any creative work - creating features, building components, adding functionality, modifying behavior, or when users request help with ideation, marketing, and strategic planning. Explores user intent, requirements, and design before implementation using 30+ research-validated prompt patterns.
17work-backlog-item
Use when working, planning, or closing a backlog item. Bridges backlog items to SAM planning with GitHub Issue/Project/Milestone tracking. No args: interactive browser. '#N': load from GitHub Issue #N. Title substring: auto-grooming, RT-ICA gate, GitHub sync, SAM planning. '--auto {title}': autonomous mode — no AskUserQuestion, derives data from research files, logs decisions. 'close {title}': dismiss without completion — reason required (duplicate, out_of_scope, superseded, wontfix, blocked). ADR-9. 'resolve {title}': mark DONE with evidence trail — summary required. ADR-9. 'setup-github': init labels, project, milestone. '--language' and '--stack' select Layer 1/2 profile. STOPS if item has Plan field or RT-ICA returns BLOCKED.
11hooks-guide
Cross-platform hooks reference for AI coding assistants — Claude Code, GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Windsurf, Amp. Covers hook authoring in Node.js CJS and Python, per-platform event schemas, inline-agent hooks and MCP in agent frontmatter, common JSON I/O, exit codes, best practices, and a fetch script to refresh docs from official sources. Use when writing, reviewing, or debugging hooks for any AI assistant.
11add-doc-updater
Add automated documentation updater to any Claude skill. Creates a Python sync script that downloads upstream docs, processes markdown for AI consumption, and maintains local cache with configurable refresh. Collects template variables, then delegates implementation through 5-phase workflow. Use when adding auto-updating reference documentation to plugins or skills.
11agent-browser
Browser automation CLI for AI agents. Use when the user needs to interact with websites, including navigating pages, filling forms, clicking buttons, taking screenshots, extracting data, testing web apps, or automating any browser task. Triggers include requests to "open a website", "fill out a form", "click a button", "take a screenshot", "scrape data from a page", "test this web app", "login to a site", "automate browser actions", or any task requiring programmatic web interaction.
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