Skills Guide

Create a Skill

VerifiedSafe

Create a new skill following Anthropic's best practices. Use when creating or updating a skill or command.

Download and use
Sby Skills Guide Bot
DevelopmentIntermediate
7/23/2026
Claude Code
#skill-creation#best-practices#claude-commands#meta

Recommended for

Backend developerClaude CodeCode reviewFrontend developerFullstack developerRefactoring

Automated summary

Creates or updates a skill (slash command) for Claude Code following best practices.

Strengths

  • Structured process with built-in checklist
  • References official best practices guide
  • Clear guidance on file placement
  • Handles size limits and dependencies

Limitations

  • Specific to Claude Code ecosystem
  • Requires prior knowledge of .claude files
  • Does not cover external tool creation
When to use it

When you need to create a new slash command skill or update an existing one in a Claude project.

When not to use it

For general configuration tasks or modifications unrelated to Claude skills.

Security analysis

Safe
Quality score80/100

The skill only instructs reading a documentation file and creating skill files within the project's .claude directory; no destructive actions, network calls, or exfiltration are involved.

No concerns found

How this analysis is made

Examples

Create a deploy skill
Create a new skill called deploy that runs deployment scripts with rollback capability.
Update existing test skill
Update my test skill in .claude/commands/test.md to include database setup and teardown steps.

name: create-skill description: > Create a new skill (slash command) following Anthropic's best practices. Use when the user wants to create a new skill, command, or update an existing one. Reads the best practices guide first to ensure quality. argument-hint: <skill-name> <description of what it should do>

Create a Skill

Before creating or modifying any skill, read the best practices guide:

Read .claude/references/skills-best-practices.md first.

Process

  1. Understand what the skill should do — ask for concrete usage examples if unclear
  2. Plan what resources it needs (scripts, references, assets)
  3. Check if similar functionality already exists in .claude/commands/
  4. Create the skill following these principles:
    • YAML frontmatter with name and comprehensive description (this is the trigger)
    • Body under 500 lines — split to references/ if approaching limit
    • Move large inline content (scripts, API docs, schemas) to .claude/references/
    • Use imperative form in instructions
    • Only include what Claude doesn't already know
  5. Verify the skill works by mentally walking through a usage scenario

Checklist

  • [ ] Frontmatter description includes "when to use" triggers
  • [ ] Body is concise — no redundant explanations
  • [ ] Large content moved to reference files with clear pointers
  • [ ] disable-model-invocation: true if the skill should only be user-triggered (deploy, commit, destructive actions)
  • [ ] No extraneous files (README, CHANGELOG, etc.)

Where to Place Skills

  • Project-specific: .claude/commands/<name>.md (legacy) or .claude/skills/<name>/SKILL.md
  • Personal: ~/.claude/skills/<name>/SKILL.md

For this project, use .claude/commands/<name>.md for consistency with existing commands.

From the file to a first result

The download contains exactly the content displayed on this page. This copy may differ from the latest version in the source repository.

View the source and supporting files

This download contains SKILL.md only. Any scripts, references, templates and dependencies are not included. Get the required files from the source, preserving their directory structure, before continuing.

1. Download the file

Download SKILL.md

From the root of a test project, save the file as .skill-downloads/create-a-skill-mrx3y0g5/SKILL.md, or use the command below. This folder is for inspecting the skill before installation.

Command for macOS/Linux or WSL: requires a POSIX shell and curl. On Windows without WSL, use the download button and create the folder manually.

mkdir -p '.skill-downloads/create-a-skill-mrx3y0g5' && curl --fail --show-error --location 'https://skills-guides.com/api/skills/create-a-skill-mrx3y0g5/download' --output '.skill-downloads/create-a-skill-mrx3y0g5/SKILL.md.part' && mv '.skill-downloads/create-a-skill-mrx3y0g5/SKILL.md.part' '.skill-downloads/create-a-skill-mrx3y0g5/SKILL.md'

2. Check prerequisites

Read SKILL.md before using it. If it references scripts or external services, inspect them and prepare the required access in your test environment.

No recognized prerequisites section in this file. This does not mean it is self-contained: libraries, tools and access requirements may be mentioned elsewhere in the content or source repository.

The platforms on this page are catalog indications. The paths below follow tool documentation; they do not prove this skill has been run in those tools. No minimum tool version is confirmed for this listing.

3. Load the skill

After inspection, copy the complete folder into your project using one of the commands below, then open a new tool session. The command stops if a folder with the same name already exists: compare the files before replacing it.

Claude Code
test -f '.skill-downloads/create-a-skill-mrx3y0g5/SKILL.md' && test -s '.skill-downloads/create-a-skill-mrx3y0g5/SKILL.md' && mkdir -p '.claude/skills' && test ! -e '.claude/skills/create-skill' && cp -R '.skill-downloads/create-a-skill-mrx3y0g5' '.claude/skills/create-skill'

OpenSkills

OpenSkills must already be installed. The local install/read procedure is checked with OpenSkills 1.5.0, which requires Node.js ≥ 20.6.0. Catalog slugs are not resolved automatically.

Official OpenSkills installation
openskills install './.skill-downloads/create-a-skill-mrx3y0g5'

openskills read 'create-a-skill-mrx3y0g5'

Reading should display the installed file content and its base directory. It does not run the skill or install its dependencies.

For an agent that reads AGENTS.md, then sync the index. This command changes AGENTS.md: review the diff before using it.

openskills sync

Manual method or another tool: attach SKILL.md to a conversation, or open it in an agent that can read files. Include any required supporting resources. No universal folder is recognized by every tool.

4. Try a first task

Use a short, synthetic input: an API endpoint, a small document or an interface brief. In a new conversation, attach the file or give the agent its path, then adapt this request:

Read .skill-downloads/create-a-skill-mrx3y0g5/SKILL.md and apply its instructions to this example: [describe a test input]. Identify any missing files, dependencies or access. Produce the result requested by the skill without inventing data or running unreviewed scripts.

Expected result: output matching the skill instructions, or a precise list of missing prerequisites. A read confirmation alone does not validate a first use. If an external resource is unavailable, that path remains untested.

Related skills

React Hook Form Best Practices

Development

Master React Hook Form: avoid anti-patterns, manage subscriptions, and handle reset, dirty state, and controlled inputs correctly.

Claude CodeCursorWindsurf+2intermediateSafe 108,623
Skills Guide Bot

Emotion to Mantine Migration

Development

Migrate Emotion styled-components to Mantine components with style props and CSS modules. Use when converting .styled.tsx files or removing @emotion imports.

Claude CodeCursorWindsurf+1intermediateSafe 48,981
Skills Guide Bot

Scope Creep Detector

Development

Analyzes git diffs against a stated intent to detect scope creep, unrelated files, broad PRs, and oversized changes, then suggests keep, split, or justify actions.

Claude CodeCursorCodexintermediateSafe 135,015
Skills Guide Bot