Add Skill (Meta Skill)

Create new Claude Code skills by fetching the latest official documentation and generating properly structured skill files.

Workflow

Step 1: Fetch Latest Documentation

Always fetch official docs first to ensure compliance with current spec:

WebFetch: https://code.claude.com/docs/en/skills Prompt: Extract skill file format, required fields, naming rules, and best practices

If WebFetch fails due to length, use WebSearch:

WebSearch: "Claude Code skills SKILL.md format site:code.claude.com"

Step 2: Gather Requirements

Ask user (use AskUserQuestion tool):

• Name: What should this skill be called? (lowercase, hyphens only)

• Purpose: What does it do? (1-2 sentences)

• Trigger: When should Claude use it? (keywords, scenarios)

• Complexity: Does it need scripts, or just instructions?

Step 3: Create Skill Structure

~/.claude/skills/{skill-name}/ ├── SKILL.md # Required: Main instructions ├── scripts/ # Optional: Executable code └── references/ # Optional: Detailed documentation

Step 4: Generate SKILL.md

Use this template:

name: {skill-name} description: {What it does}. Use when {trigger conditions}.

{Skill Title}

{Brief overview - what this skill helps accomplish}

When to Use

• {Scenario 1}
• {Scenario 2}

Instructions

{Step-by-step guidance for Claude to follow}

Examples

Input: {example user request} Output: {expected Claude behavior}

Step 5: Validate

Before creating, verify:

• Name: 1-64 chars, lowercase letters/numbers/hyphens only

• Name: No leading/trailing - , no consecutive --

• Description: States WHAT + WHEN clearly

• SKILL.md: Under 500 lines (put details in references/)

• Directory name matches name field exactly

Step 6: Create Files

mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills/{skill-name}

Write SKILL.md using Write tool

Step 7: Verify

ls -la ~/.claude/skills/{skill-name}/ cat ~/.claude/skills/{skill-name}/SKILL.md

Test with: claude --debug to check for loading errors.

Naming Rules

Rule Valid Invalid

Lowercase only my-skill

My-Skill

Hyphens OK test-runner

test_runner

Numbers OK v2-helper

No leading/trailing hyphen skill

-skill-

No consecutive hyphens my-skill

my--skill

1-64 characters a to 64 chars empty or 65+

Best Practices

• Description is key: Claude uses it to decide when to invoke the skill

• Progressive disclosure: Keep SKILL.md light, put reference docs in references/

• Always include examples: Shows expected input/output

• Scripts must be referenced: Mention them explicitly in SKILL.md

• Test immediately: Use claude /your-skill to verify

Quick Mode

For rapid creation, user can provide all info at once:

/add-skill name=my-skill purpose="Does X" trigger="when user asks for Y"

Parse and generate without interactive prompts.

Resources

• Official docs: https://code.claude.com/docs/en/skills

• Anthropic skills repo: https://github.com/anthropics/skills