🚨 MANDATORY: Invoke docs-management First

STOP - Before providing ANY response about output styles:

INVOKE docs-management skill

QUERY for the user's specific topic

BASE all responses EXCLUSIVELY on official documentation loaded

Skipping this step results in outdated or incorrect information.

Verification Checkpoint

Before responding, verify:

Did I invoke docs-management skill?

Did official documentation load?

Is my response based EXCLUSIVELY on official docs?

If ANY checkbox is unchecked, STOP and invoke docs-management first.

Overview

Central authority for Claude Code output styles. This skill uses 100% delegation to docs-management - it contains NO duplicated official documentation.

Architecture: Pure delegation with keyword registry. All official documentation is accessed via docs-management skill queries.

When to Use This Skill

Keywords: output styles, output style, concise style, verbose style, markdown style, code-sparse style, /output-style command, custom output styles, output style frontmatter, output style prompt, style switching, output behavior, response format, output formatting

Use this skill when:

Understanding available output styles
Selecting appropriate output style for a task
Creating custom output styles
Configuring output style frontmatter
Switching between output styles
Comparing output style behaviors
Customizing output format and verbosity

Keyword Registry for docs-management Queries

Use these keywords when querying docs-management skill for official documentation:

Output Style Fundamentals

Topic	Keywords
Overview	"output styles", "output style overview", "response formatting"
Built-in Styles	"built-in output styles", "default styles"
Custom Styles	"custom output styles", "creating output styles"

Built-in Styles

Topic	Keywords
Default Style	"default output style", "default style", "software engineering style"
Explanatory Style	"explanatory style", "explanatory output", "educational insights", "codebase insights"
Learning Style	"learning style", "learning output", "learn-by-doing", "TODO human markers", "collaborative coding"

Style Configuration

Topic	Keywords
Frontmatter	"output style frontmatter", "style YAML frontmatter"
Name Field	"output style name", "style naming"
Description Field	"output style description", "style description"
Keep Coding Instructions	"keep-coding-instructions", "coding instructions", "software engineering prompts"
Style File Location	"output style file location", "~/.claude/output-styles", ".claude/output-styles", "user level styles", "project level styles"

Style Management

Topic	Keywords
Switching Styles	"/output-style command", "switch output style", "change style"
Style Selection	"select output style", "choose style", "style recommendations"
Style Comparison	"compare output styles", "style differences", "style comparison"

Use Cases

Topic	Keywords
Task-Based Selection	"output style use cases", "when to use styles"
Coding Tasks	"output style coding", "code-focused style"
Documentation Tasks	"output style documentation", "writing-focused style"
Learning Tasks	"output style learning", "educational style"

Comparisons to Related Features

Topic	Keywords
vs CLAUDE.md	"output styles vs CLAUDE.md", "system prompt vs user message", "output style CLAUDE.md difference"
vs append-system-prompt	"output styles vs append-system-prompt", "system prompt modification", "--append-system-prompt"
vs Agents	"output styles vs agents", "output style agent difference", "sub-agents vs output styles"
vs Skills	"output styles vs skills", "stored prompts vs stored system prompts"

Custom Style Development

Topic	Keywords
Creating Styles	"create custom output style", "new output style"
Style Templates	"output style template", "style starting point"
Style Location	"output style file location", "where to save styles"
Style Testing	"test output style", "validate style"

Quick Decision Tree

What do you want to do?

Understand available styles -> Query docs-management: "built-in output styles", "output style overview"
Use default coding assistant -> Query docs-management: "default output style", "software engineering style"
Learn about the codebase -> Query docs-management: "explanatory style", "educational insights"
Learn by doing (hands-on) -> Query docs-management: "learning style", "TODO human markers", "learn-by-doing"
Switch output style -> Query docs-management: "/output-style command", "switch output style"
Create custom style -> Query docs-management: "create custom output style", "output style frontmatter"
Compare to related features -> Query docs-management: "output styles vs CLAUDE.md", "output styles vs agents"
Where to save style files -> Query docs-management: "output style file location", "~/.claude/output-styles"

Topic Coverage

Built-in Output Styles

Default: Standard software engineering assistant behavior
Explanatory: Adds educational "Insights" between tasks to help understand implementation choices
Learning: Collaborative learn-by-doing mode with TODO(human) markers for user contributions

Output Style Frontmatter

name field (optional - defaults to filename)
description field (optional - for UI display in /output-style menu)
keep-coding-instructions field (optional - default false, whether to keep coding instructions in system prompt)

Style Configuration Options

Default style configuration
Per-session style switching
Style persistence across sessions

/output-style Command

List available styles
Switch to different style
View current style
Style selection syntax

Custom Style Creation

File location for custom styles
Frontmatter structure
Prompt crafting for custom behavior
Testing and validation

Style Selection Criteria

Task-based recommendations
Verbosity preferences
Output format needs
Code vs explanation balance

Style Comparisons

Output Styles vs CLAUDE.md vs --append-system-prompt (system prompt modification approaches)
Output Styles vs Agents (main loop vs specific tasks, different configuration options)
Output Styles vs Skills (stored system prompts vs stored prompts)
When to use each approach

Delegation Patterns

Standard Query Pattern

User asks: "What output styles are available?"

1. Invoke docs-management skill
2. Use keywords: "built-in output styles", "output style overview"
3. Load official documentation
4. Provide guidance based EXCLUSIVELY on official docs

Multi-Topic Query Pattern

User asks: "I want brief responses with less code"

1. Invoke docs-management skill with multiple queries:
   - "concise style", "brief responses"
   - "code-sparse style", "minimal code"
2. Synthesize guidance from official documentation

Troubleshooting Pattern

User reports: "My custom output style isn't working"

1. Invoke docs-management skill
2. Use keywords: "output style frontmatter", "create custom output style"
3. Check official docs for style configuration requirements
4. Guide user through proper style setup

Troubleshooting Quick Reference

Issue	Keywords for docs-management
Style not changing	"/output-style command", "switch output style"
Custom style not loading	"output style frontmatter", "style file location"
Too verbose responses	"concise style", "brief responses"
Not enough detail	"verbose style", "detailed responses"
Want formatted output	"markdown style", "formatted output"
Too much code in output	"code-sparse style", "minimal code"
Style selection guidance	"output style use cases", "style recommendations"

Repository-Specific Notes

This repository does not currently use custom output styles. Output style documentation is relevant for:

Understanding how output styles affect response behavior
Potential custom style creation for repository-specific workflows
Understanding style configuration for team preferences

When working with output style topics, always use the docs-management skill to access official documentation.

Auditing Output Styles

This skill provides the validation criteria used by the output-style-auditor agent for formal audits.

Audit Resources

Resource	Location	Purpose
Audit Framework	`references/audit-framework.md`	Query guides and scoring criteria

Scoring Categories

Category	Points	Key Criteria
File Structure	20	Correct location, .md extension
YAML Frontmatter	30	Required fields present and valid
Content Quality	30	Clear instructions, proper structure
Compatibility	20	Works with style switching, no conflicts

Thresholds: 85+ = PASS, 70-84 = PASS WITH WARNINGS, <70 = FAIL

Related Agent

The output-style-auditor agent (Haiku model) performs formal audits using this skill:

Auto-loads this skill via skills: output-customization
Uses audit framework and docs-management for rules
Generates structured audit reports
Invoked by /audit-output-styles command

External Technology Validation

When auditing output styles that reference external technologies (scripts, packages, runtimes), the auditor MUST validate claims using MCP servers before flagging findings.

Technologies Requiring MCP Validation:

.NET/C# scripts: Validate with microsoft-learn + perplexity
Node.js/npm packages: Validate with context7 + perplexity
Python scripts/packages: Validate with context7 + perplexity
Shell scripts: Validate with perplexity
Any version-specific claims: ALWAYS validate with perplexity

Validation Rule:

Never flag a technology usage as incorrect without first:

Querying appropriate MCP server(s) for current documentation
Verifying with perplexity for recent changes (especially .NET 10+)
Documenting MCP sources in the finding

Stale Data Warning:

microsoft-learn can return cached/outdated documentation
ALWAYS pair microsoft-learn with perplexity for version verification
Trust perplexity for version numbers and recently-released features

References

Official Documentation (via docs-management skill):

Primary: "output-styles" documentation
Related: "settings", "configuration", "terminal-config"

Repository-Specific:

Output style settings: .claude/settings.json (outputStyle setting)

Version History

v1.1.0 (2025-11-27): Content accuracy fixes
- Fixed built-in styles (Default, Explanatory, Learning - not concise/verbose/markdown/code-sparse)
- Fixed frontmatter fields (keep-coding-instructions, not "prompt")
- Added "Comparisons to Related Features" section (vs CLAUDE.md, vs Agents, vs Slash Commands)
- Added file location keywords (~/.claude/output-styles, .claude/output-styles)
- Updated decision tree with correct styles
- Updated topic coverage with accurate descriptions
v1.0.0 (2025-11-26): Initial release
- Pure delegation architecture
- Comprehensive keyword registry
- Quick decision tree
- Topic coverage for all output style features
- Troubleshooting quick reference

Last Updated

Date: 2025-11-28 Model: claude-opus-4-5-20251101

output-customization

Output Styles Meta Skill