Skill Creator

Automates creation of Claude Code skills through interactive guidance, template generation, and quality validation.

When to Use

Trigger Phrases:

• "create a new skill for [purpose]"
• "generate a skill called [name]"
• "scaffold a [type] skill"
• "set up a new skill"

Use Cases:

• Creating new skills from scratch
• Following Claudex marketplace standards
• Learning skill structure through examples

Quick Decision Matrix

User Request	Mode	Action
"create skill for [purpose]"	Guided	Interactive creation
"create [type] skill"	Quick Start	Template-based
"skill like [existing]"	Clone	Copy pattern
"validate skill"	Validate	Quality check

Mode 1: Guided Creation (Default)

Use when: User wants full guidance and customization

Process:

1. Gather basic info (name, description, author)
2. Define purpose, category, triggers
3. Assess complexity → determine skill type
4. Customize directory structure
5. Select pattern (mode-based, phase-based, validation, data-processing)
6. Generate files from templates
7. Run quality validation
8. Provide installation and next steps

Workflow: workflow/guided-creation.md

Mode 2: Quick Start

Use when: User specifies skill type directly (minimal, standard, complex)

Process:

1. Confirm skill type
2. Gather minimal required info
3. Generate with standardized defaults
4. Flag ALL customization points

Advantages: Fast, minimal questions Trade-off: More TODO sections to customize

Mode 3: Clone & Modify

Use when: User wants to base skill on existing one

Process:

1. Read existing skill's structure
2. Extract organizational pattern (not content)
3. Generate new skill with same structure
4. Clear example-specific content

Advantages: Proven structure, familiar patterns

Mode 4: Validation Only

Use when: User wants to check existing skill quality

Process:

1. Read existing skill files
2. Run quality checklist
3. Generate validation report
4. Offer to fix issues automatically

Use Case: Before submission, after modifications

Skill Types

Type	Complexity	Directories	Pattern
Minimal	Low	SKILL.md, README.md only	phase-based
Standard	Medium	+ data/, examples/	phase-based or validation
Complex (mode)	High	+ modes/, templates/	mode-based
Complex (data)	High	+ scripts/, data/	data-processing

Generated Files

Required (all skills):

• SKILL.md - Main skill manifest (with YAML frontmatter)
• README.md - User documentation
• CHANGELOG.md - Version history

Optional (based on type):

• modes/ - Mode-specific workflows
• data/ - Reference materials
• examples/ - Example outputs
• templates/ - Reusable templates
• scripts/ - Automation scripts

Note: plugin.json is NOT required. The marketplace.json is the single source of truth for plugin metadata.

Quality Validation

Validates against data/quality-checklist.md:

• File existence (all required files)
• Syntax (YAML frontmatter, JSON)
• Content completeness
• Security (no secrets)
• Naming conventions (kebab-case)
• Quality grade (A-F)

Success Criteria

• All required files generated (SKILL.md, README.md, CHANGELOG.md)
• Valid YAML frontmatter with name and description
• name matches directory name (Anthropic spec requirement)
• No security issues (no secrets in files)
• Kebab-case naming (lowercase + hyphens only)
• Version 0.1.0 for new skills
• Description includes capabilities AND trigger context
• Quality grade C or better

Reference Materials

Templates

• templates/SKILL.md.j2 - Main manifest with frontmatter
• templates/README.md.j2 - User documentation
• templates/CHANGELOG.md.j2 - Version history

Patterns

• patterns/mode-based.md - Multi-mode skills
• patterns/phase-based.md - Sequential workflows
• patterns/validation.md - Audit skills
• patterns/data-processing.md - Data analysis

Reference Data

• data/categories.yaml - Valid categories
• data/skill-types.yaml - Type definitions
• data/quality-checklist.md - Validation criteria

Examples

• examples/minimal-skill/
• examples/standard-skill/
• examples/complex-skill/

Quick Commands

# Check existing skills
ls ~/.claude/skills/

# View skill structure
tree ~/.claude/skills/[skill-name]/

# Validate frontmatter syntax
head -20 ~/.claude/skills/[skill-name]/SKILL.md

# Run marketplace validation
python3 scripts/validate-skills.py

Error Handling

Error	Solution
Name exists	Suggest alternatives or confirm overwrite
Invalid name	Explain kebab-case, provide corrected suggestion
Permission denied	Check ~/.claude/skills/ write access
Template fails	Fallback to manual creation with guidance

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Version: 0.1.0 | Author: Connor