Claude Skills Meta-Skill

Turn scattered domain material into a Skill that is reusable, maintainable, and reliably activatable:

• SKILL.md as the entrypoint (triggers, constraints, patterns, examples)

• references/ for long-form evidence and navigation

• optional scripts/ and assets/ for scaffolding and templates

When to Use This Skill

Trigger this meta-skill when you need to:

• Create a new Skill from scratch from docs/specs/repos

• Refactor an existing Skill (too long, unclear, inconsistent, misfires)

• Design reliable activation (frontmatter + triggers + boundaries)

• Extract a clean Quick Reference from large material

• Split long content into navigable references/

• Add a quality gate and a validator

Not For / Boundaries

This meta-skill is NOT:

• A domain Skill by itself (it builds domain Skills)

• A license to invent external facts (if the material does not prove it, say so and add a verification path)

• A substitute for required inputs (if inputs are missing, ask 1-3 questions before proceeding)

Quick Reference

Deliverables (What You Must Produce)

Your output MUST include:

• A concrete directory layout (typically skills/<skill-name>/ )

• An actionable SKILL.md with decidable triggers, boundaries, and reproducible examples

• Long-form docs moved to references/ with a references/index.md

• A pre-delivery checklist (Quality Gate)

Recommended Layout (Minimal -> Full)

skill-name/ |-- SKILL.md # Required: entrypoint with YAML frontmatter |-- references/ # Optional: long-form docs/evidence/index | -- index.md # Recommended: navigation index |-- scripts/ # Optional: helpers/automation -- assets/ # Optional: templates/configs/static assets

The truly minimal version is just SKILL.md (you can add references/ later).

YAML Frontmatter (Required)

name: skill-name description: "What it does + when to use (activation triggers)."

Frontmatter rules:

• name MUST match ^[a-z][a-z0-9-]*$ and SHOULD match the directory name

• description MUST be decidable (not "helps with X") and include concrete trigger keywords

Minimal SKILL.md Skeleton (Copy/Paste)

name: my-skill description: "[Domain] capability: includes [capability 1], [capability 2]. Use when [decidable triggers]."

my-skill Skill

One sentence that states the boundary and the deliverable.

When to Use This Skill

Trigger when any of these applies:

• [Trigger 1: concrete task/keyword]
• [Trigger 2]
• [Trigger 3]

Not For / Boundaries

• What this skill will not do (prevents misfires and over-promising)
• Required inputs; ask 1-3 questions if missing

Quick Reference

Common Patterns

Pattern 1: one-line explanation

[command/snippet you can paste and run]

Examples

Example 1

- Input:

- Steps:

- Expected output / acceptance:

Example 2

Example 3

References

- references/index.md
: navigation

- references/...
: long-form docs split by topic

Maintenance

- Sources: docs/repos/specs (do not invent)

- Last updated: YYYY-MM-DD

- Known limits: what is explicitly out of scope

### Authoring Rules (Non-negotiable)

1. Quick Reference is for short, directly usable patterns
   - Keep it <= 20 patterns when possible.
   - Anything that needs paragraphs of explanation goes to `references/`.
2. Activation must be decidable
   - Frontmatter `description` should say "what + when" with concrete keywords.
   - "When to Use" must list specific tasks/inputs/goals, not vague help text.
   - "Not For / Boundaries" is mandatory for reliability.
3. No bluffing on external details
   - If the material does not prove it, say so and include a verification path.

### Workflow (Material -> Skill)

Do not skip steps:
1. Scope: write MUST/SHOULD/NEVER (three sentences total is fine)
2. Extract patterns: pick 10-20 high-frequency patterns (commands/snippets/flows)
3. Add examples: >= 3 end-to-end examples (input -> steps -> acceptance)
4. Define boundaries: what is out-of-scope + required inputs
5. Split references: move long text into `references/` + write `references/index.md`
6. Apply the gate: run the checklist and the validator

### Quality Gate (Pre-delivery Checklist)

Minimum checks (see `references/quality-checklist.md` for the full version):
1. `name` matches `^[a-z][a-z0-9-]*$` and matches the directory name
2. `description` states "what + when" with concrete trigger keywords
3. Has "When to Use This Skill" with decidable triggers
4. Has "Not For / Boundaries" to reduce misfires
5. Quick Reference is <= 20 patterns and each is directly usable
6. Has >= 3 reproducible examples
7. Long content is in `references/` and `references/index.md` is navigable
8. Uncertain claims include a verification path (no bluffing)
9. Reads like an operator's manual, not a documentation dump

Validate locally:

```bash
# From repo root (basic validation)
./skills/claude-skills/scripts/validate-skill.sh skills/<skill-name>

# From repo root (strict validation)
./skills/claude-skills/scripts/validate-skill.sh skills/<skill-name> --strict

# From skills/claude-skills/ (basic validation)
./scripts/validate-skill.sh ../<skill-name>

# From skills/claude-skills/ (strict validation)
./scripts/validate-skill.sh ../<skill-name> --strict

Tools & Templates

Generate a new Skill skeleton:

# From repo root (generate into ./skills/)
./skills/claude-skills/scripts/create-skill.sh my-skill --full --output skills

# From skills/claude-skills/ (generate into ../ i.e. ./skills/)
./scripts/create-skill.sh my-skill --full --output ..

# Minimal skeleton
./skills/claude-skills/scripts/create-skill.sh my-skill --minimal --output skills

Templates:

- assets/template-minimal.md

- assets/template-complete.md

Examples

Example 1: Create a Skill from Docs

- Input: an official doc/spec + 2-3 real code samples + common failure modes

- Steps:

- Run create-skill.sh
 to scaffold skills/<skill-name>/

- Write frontmatter description
 as "what + when"

- Extract 10-20 high-frequency patterns into Quick Reference

- Add >= 3 end-to-end examples with acceptance criteria

- Put long content into references/
 and wire references/index.md

- Run validate-skill.sh --strict
 and iterate

Example 2: Refactor a "Doc Dump" Skill

- Input: an existing SKILL.md
 with long pasted documentation

- Steps:

- Identify which parts are patterns vs. long-form explanation

- Move long-form text into references/
 (split by topic)

- Rewrite Quick Reference as short copy/paste patterns

- Add or fix Examples until they are reproducible

- Add "Not For / Boundaries" to reduce misfires

Example 3: Validate and Gate a Skill

- Input: skills/<skill-name>/

- Steps:

- Run validate-skill.sh
 (non-strict) to get warnings

- Fix frontmatter/name mismatches and missing sections

- Run validate-skill.sh --strict
 to enforce the spec

- Run the scoring rubric in references/quality-checklist.md
 before shipping

References

Local docs:

- references/index.md

- references/skill-spec.md

- references/quality-checklist.md

- references/anti-patterns.md

- references/README.md
 (upstream official reference)

External (official):

- https://support.claude.com/en/articles/12512176-what-are-skills

- https://support.claude.com/en/articles/12512180-using-skills-in-claude

- https://support.claude.com/en/articles/12512198-creating-custom-skills

- https://docs.claude.com/en/api/skills-guide

Maintenance

- Sources: local spec files in skills/claude-skills/references/
 + upstream official docs in references/README.md

- Last updated: 2025-12-14

- Known limits: validate-skill.sh
 is heuristic; strict mode assumes the recommended section headings