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Skill Creator

  • 1.3k installs
  • 629 repo stars
  • Updated November 20, 2025
  • freshtechbro/claudedesignskills

This is a copy of skill-creator by composiohq - installs and ranking accrue to the original listing.

skill-creator is an agent skill that authors, refines, and packages reusable agent skills with consistent SKILL.md structure for developers who want repeatable agent instructions instead of one-off prompt dumps.

About

skill-creator in freshtechbro/claudedesignskills guides developers through creating reusable agent skills with a standardized SKILL.md layout rather than ad-hoc prompt fragments. The workflow covers structuring skill metadata, writing activation triggers, documenting constraints, and packaging supporting files so Claude Code, Cursor, and similar agents can load the skill reliably. Developers reach for skill-creator when they have proven instructions they want to promote into a versioned, shareable skill artifact the whole team can invoke by name. The skill emphasizes consistent frontmatter, clear when-to-use boundaries, and packaging patterns that survive repeated agent sessions. It fits greenfield skill authoring from scratch rather than distilling an already-finished chat transcript. Common triggers include create a new skill, package agent instructions, standardize SKILL.md format, and publish reusable agent workflows to a skills repository.

  • Guides creation of SKILL.md packages with triggers, constraints, and handoffs other agents can follow
  • Supports iterative improvement loops typical of skill-creator workflows (draft → test → tighten invokeWhen)
  • Fits solo builders maintaining a personal or team skill library alongside application code
  • Pairs naturally with brainstorming and writing-plans skills when turning ideas into installable procedures
  • Apache 2.0 licensed packaging suitable for fork-and-customize skill repos

Skill Creator by the numbers

  • 1,304 all-time installs (skills.sh)
  • +90 installs in the week ending Jul 29, 2026 (Skillselion tracking)
  • Security screen: LOW risk (skills.sh audit)
  • Data as of Jul 31, 2026 (Skillselion catalog sync)
npx skills add https://github.com/freshtechbro/claudedesignskills --skill skill-creator

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Listed on Skillselion
Installs1.3k
repo stars629
Security audit3 / 3 scanners passed
Last updatedNovember 20, 2025
Repositoryfreshtechbro/claudedesignskills

How do you author a reusable agent SKILL.md?

Author, refine, and package reusable agent skills when you want consistent SKILL.md structure instead of one-off prompt dumps.

Who is it for?

Developers creating new agent skills from scratch who need consistent SKILL.md structure across a skills repository.

Skip if: Distilling a just-completed multi-step chat into a skill when workflow-skill-creator is the better fit.

When should I use this skill?

User asks to create a new agent skill, author SKILL.md, package reusable agent instructions, or standardize skill structure from scratch.

What you get

Packaged agent skill directory with SKILL.md frontmatter, activation rules, and supporting reference files.

  • SKILL.md file
  • Packaged skill directory

Files

SKILL.mdMarkdownGitHub ↗

Skill Creator

This skill provides guidance for creating effective skills.

About Skills

Skills are modular, self-contained packages that extend Claude's capabilities by providing specialized knowledge, workflows, and tools. Think of them as "onboarding guides" for specific domains or tasks—they transform Claude from a general-purpose agent into a specialized agent equipped with procedural knowledge that no model can fully possess.

What Skills Provide

1. Specialized workflows - Multi-step procedures for specific domains 2. Tool integrations - Instructions for working with specific file formats or APIs 3. Domain expertise - Company-specific knowledge, schemas, business logic 4. Bundled resources - Scripts, references, and assets for complex and repetitive tasks

Anatomy of a Skill

Every skill consists of a required SKILL.md file and optional bundled resources:

skill-name/
├── SKILL.md (required)
│   ├── YAML frontmatter metadata (required)
│   │   ├── name: (required)
│   │   └── description: (required)
│   └── Markdown instructions (required)
└── Bundled Resources (optional)
    ├── scripts/          - Executable code (Python/Bash/etc.)
    ├── references/       - Documentation intended to be loaded into context as needed
    └── assets/           - Files used in output (templates, icons, fonts, etc.)
SKILL.md (required)

Metadata Quality: The name and description in YAML frontmatter determine when Claude will use the skill. Be specific about what the skill does and when to use it. Use the third-person (e.g. "This skill should be used when..." instead of "Use this skill when...").

Bundled Resources (optional)
Scripts (scripts/)

Executable code (Python/Bash/etc.) for tasks that require deterministic reliability or are repeatedly rewritten.

  • When to include: When the same code is being rewritten repeatedly or deterministic reliability is needed
  • Example: scripts/rotate_pdf.py for PDF rotation tasks
  • Benefits: Token efficient, deterministic, may be executed without loading into context
  • Note: Scripts may still need to be read by Claude for patching or environment-specific adjustments
References (references/)

Documentation and reference material intended to be loaded as needed into context to inform Claude's process and thinking.

  • When to include: For documentation that Claude should reference while working
  • Examples: references/finance.md for financial schemas, references/mnda.md for company NDA template, references/policies.md for company policies, references/api_docs.md for API specifications
  • Use cases: Database schemas, API documentation, domain knowledge, company policies, detailed workflow guides
  • Benefits: Keeps SKILL.md lean, loaded only when Claude determines it's needed
  • Best practice: If files are large (>10k words), include grep search patterns in SKILL.md
  • Avoid duplication: Information should live in either SKILL.md or references files, not both. Prefer references files for detailed information unless it's truly core to the skill—this keeps SKILL.md lean while making information discoverable without hogging the context window. Keep only essential procedural instructions and workflow guidance in SKILL.md; move detailed reference material, schemas, and examples to references files.
Assets (assets/)

Files not intended to be loaded into context, but rather used within the output Claude produces.

  • When to include: When the skill needs files that will be used in the final output
  • Examples: assets/logo.png for brand assets, assets/slides.pptx for PowerPoint templates, assets/frontend-template/ for HTML/React boilerplate, assets/font.ttf for typography
  • Use cases: Templates, images, icons, boilerplate code, fonts, sample documents that get copied or modified
  • Benefits: Separates output resources from documentation, enables Claude to use files without loading them into context

Progressive Disclosure Design Principle

Skills use a three-level loading system to manage context efficiently:

1. Metadata (name + description) - Always in context (~100 words) 2. SKILL.md body - When skill triggers (<5k words) 3. Bundled resources - As needed by Claude (Unlimited*)

*Unlimited because scripts can be executed without reading into context window.

Skill Creation Process

To create a skill, follow the "Skill Creation Process" in order, skipping steps only if there is a clear reason why they are not applicable.

Step 1: Understanding the Skill with Concrete Examples

Skip this step only when the skill's usage patterns are already clearly understood. It remains valuable even when working with an existing skill.

To create an effective skill, clearly understand concrete examples of how the skill will be used. This understanding can come from either direct user examples or generated examples that are validated with user feedback.

For example, when building an image-editor skill, relevant questions include:

  • "What functionality should the image-editor skill support? Editing, rotating, anything else?"
  • "Can you give some examples of how this skill would be used?"
  • "I can imagine users asking for things like 'Remove the red-eye from this image' or 'Rotate this image'. Are there other ways you imagine this skill being used?"
  • "What would a user say that should trigger this skill?"

To avoid overwhelming users, avoid asking too many questions in a single message. Start with the most important questions and follow up as needed for better effectiveness.

Conclude this step when there is a clear sense of the functionality the skill should support.

Step 2: Planning the Reusable Skill Contents

To turn concrete examples into an effective skill, analyze each example by:

1. Considering how to execute on the example from scratch 2. Identifying what scripts, references, and assets would be helpful when executing these workflows repeatedly

Example: When building a pdf-editor skill to handle queries like "Help me rotate this PDF," the analysis shows:

1. Rotating a PDF requires re-writing the same code each time 2. A scripts/rotate_pdf.py script would be helpful to store in the skill

Example: When designing a frontend-webapp-builder skill for queries like "Build me a todo app" or "Build me a dashboard to track my steps," the analysis shows:

1. Writing a frontend webapp requires the same boilerplate HTML/React each time 2. An assets/hello-world/ template containing the boilerplate HTML/React project files would be helpful to store in the skill

Example: When building a big-query skill to handle queries like "How many users have logged in today?" the analysis shows:

1. Querying BigQuery requires re-discovering the table schemas and relationships each time 2. A references/schema.md file documenting the table schemas would be helpful to store in the skill

To establish the skill's contents, analyze each concrete example to create a list of the reusable resources to include: scripts, references, and assets.

Step 3: Initializing the Skill

At this point, it is time to actually create the skill.

Skip this step only if the skill being developed already exists, and iteration or packaging is needed. In this case, continue to the next step.

When creating a new skill from scratch, always run the init_skill.py script. The script conveniently generates a new template skill directory that automatically includes everything a skill requires, making the skill creation process much more efficient and reliable.

Usage:

scripts/init_skill.py <skill-name> --path <output-directory>

The script:

  • Creates the skill directory at the specified path
  • Generates a SKILL.md template with proper frontmatter and TODO placeholders
  • Creates example resource directories: scripts/, references/, and assets/
  • Adds example files in each directory that can be customized or deleted

After initialization, customize or remove the generated SKILL.md and example files as needed.

Step 4: Edit the Skill

When editing the (newly-generated or existing) skill, remember that the skill is being created for another instance of Claude to use. Focus on including information that would be beneficial and non-obvious to Claude. Consider what procedural knowledge, domain-specific details, or reusable assets would help another Claude instance execute these tasks more effectively.

Start with Reusable Skill Contents

To begin implementation, start with the reusable resources identified above: scripts/, references/, and assets/ files. Note that this step may require user input. For example, when implementing a brand-guidelines skill, the user may need to provide brand assets or templates to store in assets/, or documentation to store in references/.

Also, delete any example files and directories not needed for the skill. The initialization script creates example files in scripts/, references/, and assets/ to demonstrate structure, but most skills won't need all of them.

Update SKILL.md

Writing Style: Write the entire skill using imperative/infinitive form (verb-first instructions), not second person. Use objective, instructional language (e.g., "To accomplish X, do Y" rather than "You should do X" or "If you need to do X"). This maintains consistency and clarity for AI consumption.

To complete SKILL.md, answer the following questions:

1. What is the purpose of the skill, in a few sentences? 2. When should the skill be used? 3. In practice, how should Claude use the skill? All reusable skill contents developed above should be referenced so that Claude knows how to use them.

Step 5: Packaging a Skill

Once the skill is ready, it should be packaged into a distributable zip file that gets shared with the user. The packaging process automatically validates the skill first to ensure it meets all requirements:

scripts/package_skill.py <path/to/skill-folder>

Optional output directory specification:

scripts/package_skill.py <path/to/skill-folder> ./dist

The packaging script will:

1. Validate the skill automatically, checking:

  • YAML frontmatter format and required fields
  • Skill naming conventions and directory structure
  • Description completeness and quality
  • File organization and resource references

2. Package the skill if validation passes, creating a zip file named after the skill (e.g., my-skill.zip) that includes all files and maintains the proper directory structure for distribution.

If validation fails, the script will report the errors and exit without creating a package. Fix any validation errors and run the packaging command again.

Step 6: Iterate

After testing the skill, users may request improvements. Often this happens right after using the skill, with fresh context of how the skill performed.

Iteration workflow: 1. Use the skill on real tasks 2. Notice struggles or inefficiencies 3. Identify how SKILL.md or bundled resources should be updated 4. Implement changes and test again

Related skills

How it compares

Pick skill-creator for new skills from scratch; pick workflow-skill-creator when packaging a workflow that already completed in the current session.

FAQ

What does skill-creator produce?

skill-creator produces a packaged agent skill with a consistent SKILL.md file, activation triggers, and supporting references so coding agents load repeatable instructions instead of one-off prompt text.

When should developers use skill-creator?

skill-creator fits greenfield skill authoring when developers want standardized SKILL.md structure for a new reusable agent capability, not when distilling an already completed workflow transcript.

Is Skill Creator safe to install?

skills.sh reports 3 of 3 security scanners passed. Review the Security Audits panel on this page before installing in production.

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