Skill Creator

What a Skill Is

A skill is a concise, task-focused guide that tells Claude how to perform a specific job consistently.

SKILL.md Format

Frontmatter:

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

Body:

• Use imperative instructions.
• Keep it short and procedural.
• Include only information Claude needs to execute the task.

Creation Checklist

1. Identify target tasks and example user prompts.
2. Write the frontmatter description to cover when the skill should trigger.
3. Draft a minimal workflow in the body.
4. Add 1–3 concise examples if they clarify steps.
5. Remove anything not essential to the workflow.

Rules

• Do not overexplain the “why” (unless explicitly prompted), only show the “how” of skills.
• Prefer compact code snippets over long explanations.
• Do not strictly follow the structure reference pages, simplify and group.
• Keep the main SKILL.md compact and to the point. For more specialized information, co-locate *.md files (sub-skills) next to the SKILL.md. These should not include frontmatter. Reference them like this in the SKILL.md top-level:

[For HTTP clients](../effect-handbook/sections/30-http-server.md)
[For HTTP middleware](../effect-handbook/topics/http-middleware.md)
[For streaming](../effect-handbook/topics/stream.md)

Minimal Template

---
name: skill-name
description: One sentence describing what it does and when to use it.
---

# Skill Name

## Workflow

1. Step one.
2. Step two.
3. Step three.

## Examples

- "Example user prompt"