Skill Creator
DevelopmentGuide for creating effective skills that extend Claude's capabilities with specialized knowledge, workflows, or tool integrations.
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 tasks
Skill Structure
skill-name/
├── SKILL.md (required)
│ ├── YAML frontmatter metadata
│ │ ├── name: (required)
│ │ └── description: (required)
│ └── Markdown instructions
└── Bundled Resources (optional)
├── scripts/ - Executable code
├── references/ - Documentation
└── assets/ - Templates, icons, etc.
Resource Types
- Scripts: Executable code for deterministic reliability or repeated operations
- References: Documentation loaded into context as needed
- Assets: Files used in output (templates, images, fonts)
Progressive Disclosure
Skills use a three-level loading system to manage context efficiently:
- Level 1: SKILL.md metadata and core instructions (always loaded)
- Level 2: Reference files loaded on demand
- Level 3: Scripts and assets executed or copied as needed