Skills
A simple guide to Claude Code Skills: what they are, and how to build your own.
Start with What a Skill Actually Is →Basics3 questions
What a Skill Actually Is
The core idea behind a Claude Code Skill: a saved packet of know-how that gets pulled out only when the matching kind of task comes up.
How Claude Decides to Use One
Two ways a Skill gets used: asking for it by name, or Claude recognizing the task fits it from a short description.
The Anatomy of a Skill File
What a Skill actually looks like on disk: a folder, a short frontmatter block, and a body of plain instructions.
Intermediate3 questions
Writing a Description That Actually Triggers
The one-line description is the only thing evaluated before a skill's full instructions load, so vague ones quietly never get used.
Keeping the Main File Lean, Reference Files Deep
A pattern for skills that outgrow one page: a short main file that points to deeper reference files, loaded only when actually needed.
Skills vs. Subagents vs. Just Asking
Three different tools for three different needs: saved instructions, an isolated helper, or simply explaining what you want this once.
Advanced3 questions
Scoping a Skill: Personal, Project, or Team
Where a skill lives changes who benefits from it: a personal toolbox, a project-specific one, or a shared one everyone on a team gets.
Avoiding Overlap and Trigger Confusion
What happens when two skills could both plausibly apply to the same task, and how a clear boundary in each description prevents the mix-up.
Testing and Refining a Skill
How to actually tell whether a skill is working: it triggers when it should, stays quiet when it shouldn't, and stays easy to read.