claude-howto/05-skills

Skills Examples

This folder contains example skills for Claude Code. Skills are reusable, model-invoked capabilities that Claude automatically detects and uses.

Installation

Copy skill folders to your skills directory:

# For personal skills
cp -r code-review ~/.claude/skills/

# For project skills
cp -r code-review /path/to/project/.claude/skills/

Available Skills

1. Code Review Skill

Location: code-review/

Purpose: Comprehensive code review with security, performance, and quality analysis

Contents:

• SKILL.md - Main skill definition
• scripts/analyze-metrics.py - Code metrics analyzer
• scripts/compare-complexity.py - Complexity comparison tool
• templates/review-checklist.md - Review checklist
• templates/finding-template.md - Finding documentation template

Usage: Automatically invoked when user asks to review code

User: "Review this React component"

Claude: [Automatically loads Code Review Skill]
        [Analyzes code against checklist]
        [Runs metrics scripts]
        [Provides comprehensive review]

2. Brand Voice Skill

Location: brand-voice/

Purpose: Ensure consistent brand voice in all communications

Contents:

• SKILL.md - Brand guidelines and tone rules
• templates/email-template.txt - Email format
• templates/social-post-template.txt - Social media format
• tone-examples.md - Example messages in brand voice

Usage: Automatically invoked when creating marketing copy or customer communications

3. Documentation Generator Skill

Location: doc-generator/

Purpose: Generate comprehensive API documentation from source code

Contents:

• SKILL.md - Documentation standards and structure
• generate-docs.py - Python script to extract API docs from code

Usage: Automatically invoked when creating or updating API documentation

How Skills Work

Skills are:

• Auto-invoked - Claude detects when to use them based on user request
• Reusable - Define once, use across projects
• Packaged - Include instructions, scripts, and templates
• Metadata-driven - YAML frontmatter defines when to use

Skill Structure

skill-name/
├── SKILL.md          # Main skill definition (required)
├── scripts/          # Helper scripts (optional)
│   └── helper.py
├── templates/        # Document templates (optional)
│   └── template.md
└── README.md         # Usage documentation (optional)

SKILL.md Format

---
name: Skill Name
description: What this skill does
version: "1.0.0"
tags:
  - category
  - use-case
when_to_use: When users ask to...
---

# Skill Instructions

Detailed instructions for Claude on how to execute this skill.

Skill Discovery

Claude automatically:

1. Scans available skills
2. Matches user request to skill metadata
3. Loads relevant skill instructions
4. Executes skill with full context

When to Use Skills

Scenario	Use Skill	Why
Repeated workflow	✅ Yes	Standardize process
Domain expertise	✅ Yes	Package knowledge
Quality standards	✅ Yes	Ensure consistency
One-time task	❌ No	Not worth packaging
Simple request	❌ No	Use slash command

Skills vs Other Features

Feature	Invocation	Best For
Skills	Auto-invoked	Automated workflows
Slash Commands	Manual (/cmd)	Quick shortcuts
Subagents	Auto-delegated	Task distribution
Memory	Auto-loaded	Long-term context

Creating Custom Skills

1. Create skill directory structure
2. Write SKILL.md with metadata and instructions
3. Add scripts and templates as needed
4. Test by copying to skills directory
5. Refine based on usage

Best Practices

Do's ✅

• Use clear, descriptive names
• Include comprehensive instructions
• Add concrete examples
• Document when to use the skill
• Package related scripts and templates
• Test with real scenarios

Don'ts ❌

• Don't create skills for one-time tasks
• Don't duplicate existing functionality
• Don't make skills too broad
• Don't forget metadata in SKILL.md
• Don't skip examples

Making Scripts Executable

chmod +x code-review/scripts/*.py
chmod +x doc-generator/*.py

Example Usage Scenarios

Code Review Workflow

User: "Review this authentication module for security issues"

Claude:
1. Detects "review" + "security" keywords
2. Loads Code Review Skill
3. Runs security checklist
4. Executes analyze-metrics.py
5. Provides detailed review with finding template

Brand Voice Check

User: "Write an email announcing our new feature"

Claude:
1. Detects marketing/communication request
2. Loads Brand Voice Skill
3. Applies brand guidelines
4. Uses email template
5. Ensures consistent tone

API Documentation

User: "Generate API docs for this endpoint"

Claude:
1. Detects API documentation request
2. Loads Documentation Generator Skill
3. Runs generate-docs.py if needed
4. Follows documentation structure
5. Creates comprehensive docs with examples

Additional Resources

• Skills Cookbook
• Claude Code Skills Guide
• Skill Development Best Practices