Karma Skill Creator

Create well-structured Claude Code skills for the Karma ecosystem.

Skill Creation Process

1. Understand the skill with concrete examples
2. Plan reusable skill contents (references, assets)
3. Initialize the skill directory structure
4. Write the skill (implement resources and SKILL.md)
5. Iterate based on real usage

Step 1: Understand the Skill

Ask the user for concrete examples of how the skill will be used:

• “What should this skill do? Can you give 2-3 example prompts?”
• “What would a user say that should trigger this skill?”
• “What Karma-specific context does this need?” (grants, funding maps, ecosystem data)

Step 2: Plan Reusable Contents

For each example, identify what reusable resources would help:

Step 3: Initialize the Skill

Create the skill directory under skills/:

skills/<skill-name>/
├── SKILL.md          # Required
├── references/       # Optional
└── assets/           # Optional

Naming rules:

• kebab-case, lowercase letters, digits, and hyphens only
• Max 64 characters
• Descriptive: grant-milestone-tracker, not tracker

Step 4: Write the Skill

SKILL.md Structure

---
name: skill-name
description: What the skill does and when to use it. Include specific triggers.
---

The body contains instructions Claude will follow. Key principles:

Concise is key. Claude is already smart — only add what it doesn’t know. Challenge each paragraph: “Does this justify its token cost?”

Set appropriate freedom levels:

• High freedom (text instructions): multiple valid approaches, context-dependent
• Medium freedom (pseudocode/parameterized scripts): preferred pattern with some variation
• Low freedom (exact scripts): fragile operations, consistency critical

Progressive disclosure: Keep SKILL.md under 500 lines. Split into reference files when approaching this limit.

Design Patterns

Consult these guides based on your skill’s needs:

• Multi-step processes: See workflows.md for sequential and conditional patterns
• Output format/quality: See output-patterns.md for template and example patterns

What NOT to Include

• README.md, CHANGELOG.md, or other auxiliary docs
• “When to use” sections in the body (put this in the frontmatter description)
• Setup/testing procedures
• Information Claude already knows

Step 5: Iterate

1. Use the skill on real tasks
2. Note struggles or inefficiencies
3. Update SKILL.md or resources

Primary focus areas for skills:

• Grants management (milestones, reporting)
• Funding maps (cross-ecosystem funding flows)
• Ecosystem growth (metrics, community health)