Skill Creator
Generate new Claude Code skills with correct directory structure, YAML frontmatter, and optional bundled resources.
When to Use
- Creating a new custom skill for a project
- Standardizing skill structure across a team
- Generating skill templates with scripts, references, and assets
- Packaging skills for distribution
Skill Directory Structure
skill-name/
├── SKILL.md # Required: Main skill file with YAML frontmatter
├── scripts/ # Optional: Executable code for deterministic tasks
├── references/ # Optional: Documentation loaded contextually
└── assets/ # Optional: Templates, images, boilerplate (not loaded into context)Workflow
1. Create the Skill
Create a new skill called "my-skill-name" in ~/.claude/skills/Or with a specific purpose:
Create a skill for generating release notes from git commits,
with templates for CHANGELOG.md and Slack announcementsOr via the initialization script:
python3 ~/.claude/skills/skill-creator/scripts/init_skill.py <skill-name> --path <output-directory>2. Generated SKILL.md Template
The created SKILL.md follows this structure:
---
name: skill-name
description: "What the skill does. Use when [trigger conditions]."
---
# Skill Name
## When to Use
- Trigger condition 1
- Trigger condition 2
## What This Skill Does
1. **Step 1**: Description
2. **Step 2**: Description
## How to Use
[Usage examples]
## Example
**User**: "Example prompt"
**Output**: [Example output]3. Validate the Skill
After creation, verify:
- **Frontmatter**: `name` is kebab-case, 1-64 chars; `description` is a quoted string with "Use when" clause
- **Content**: Has "When to Use" section with trigger conditions and at least one usage example
- **Structure**: SKILL.md is under 5000 words; references and assets are in correct subdirectories
- **Test**: Invoke the skill with a real use case and confirm expected output
4. Package for Distribution (Optional)
python3 ~/.claude/skills/skill-creator/scripts/package_skill.py <path/to/skill-folder> [output-directory]Organizational Patterns
| Pattern | Best For | Structure | |---------|----------|-----------| | **Workflow-Based** | Sequential procedures | Step-by-step instructions | | **Task-Based** | Multiple operations | Collection of tasks | | **Reference/Guidelines** | Standards, specs | Rules and examples | | **Capabilities-Based** | Interrelated features | Feature descriptions |
Example: Creating a Release Notes Skill
**User**: "Create a skill for generating release notes with 3 output formats"
**Steps**:
- Initialize: `init_skill.py release-notes-generator --path ~/.claude/skills/`
- Add templates to `assets/`: `changelog-template.md`, `pr-release-template.md`, `slack-template.md`
- Add rules to `references/`: `tech-to-product-mappings.md`
- Complete `SKILL.md` with usage instructions
- Validate: check frontmatter, test with a real commit range
- Package: `package_skill.py ~/.claude/skills/release-notes-generator`
Tips
- Keep SKILL.md under 5000 words for efficient context usage
- Use `references/` for domain knowledge that doesn't change often
- Put templates in `assets/` so they're not auto-loaded into context
- Always include a "Use when" clause in the description frontmatter
- Test with real use cases before packaging