dev-skillify

Create Custom Skill

Guide the user through creating a new custom skill that formalizes a reusable workflow.

What You're Building

A custom skill is a SKILL.md file in .claude/skills/custom-{slug}/ with the custom- prefix. It has:

• YAML frontmatter with name and description (the description is what Claude matches against user requests)
• A workflow Claude follows when the skill is invoked
• Optional helper scripts or templates inside the skill folder

Custom skills are gitignored (the custom- prefix triggers this) — they're personal to your workspace. If the user ever wants to publish the skill for others, it would need a non-custom- name and an entry in .claude/rules/skills.md; mention this only if it comes up.

When to Use This Skill

• The user says "create a skill", "new skill", "add a skill"
• The user describes a workflow they want to reinvoke with one command
• The user wants to formalize an ad-hoc process before it's lost

When NOT to Use

• The workflow is one-off and won't be repeated → don't skill it
• A skill for this already exists → use it instead (check with ls .claude/skills/)
• The task needs its own agent, not just a workflow → use create-agent
• The user wants a new slash command without a workflow → use create-command

Step 1: Understand the Skill

Ask the user:

1. What is the trigger? When should Claude reach for this skill? (e.g., "review this PR for security", "generate a daily standup note")
2. What slug? Short, kebab-case. The final folder will be custom-{slug}/. Suggest one if the user doesn't have preference.
3. What does it do? The actual workflow — step by step.
4. What does it produce? File, report, summary, side effect — be explicit.
5. What inputs does it need? Args passed in, files it reads, external APIs, etc.
6. Any anti-patterns? Things the skill should explicitly NOT do (helps Claude stay focused).

If any answer is vague, push back once before writing. A skill built on fuzzy triggers won't get invoked correctly.

Step 2: Generate the SKILL.md

Create .claude/skills/custom-{slug}/SKILL.md:

---
name: custom-{slug}
description: "{one-line — what it does and when to use it. Include 2-3 trigger phrases verbatim.}"
---

# {Skill Title}

{One paragraph — what this skill accomplishes and why it exists.}

## When to Use

- {Explicit trigger phrase 1}
- {Explicit trigger phrase 2}
- {Situation that should invoke this skill}

## When NOT to Use

- {Adjacent scenario that should go elsewhere}
- {Edge case the skill doesn't handle}

## Inputs

- {What the user must provide}
- {What the skill reads from the workspace}

## Workflow

### Step 1 — {name}
{What to do, which tools to use, what to produce.}

### Step 2 — {name}
{...}

### Step 3 — {name}
{...}

## Output

{What the user sees when the skill finishes. Be concrete: file path, summary format, side effects.}

## Anti-patterns

- Do NOT {thing the skill must never do}
- Do NOT {common failure mode}

## Pairs With

- {Other skill or agent that commonly runs before/after}

Description field is critical — that's what Claude matches against user requests. Make it specific and include trigger phrases verbatim. Vague descriptions mean the skill never fires.

Step 3: Add Helper Scripts (Optional)

If the skill needs reusable logic (Python, shell, templates), put them next to SKILL.md:

.claude/skills/custom-{slug}/
├── SKILL.md
├── scripts/
│   └── helper.py
└── templates/
    └── report.md

Reference them from the workflow with relative paths: .claude/skills/custom-{slug}/scripts/helper.py.

Don't add scripts unless the workflow actually needs them — most skills are just the SKILL.md.

Step 4: Verify

Run a quick check:

ls -la .claude/skills/custom-{slug}/SKILL.md
head -5 .claude/skills/custom-{slug}/SKILL.md  # confirm frontmatter is valid

Then tell the user:

• Skill created: custom-{slug}
• Path: .claude/skills/custom-{slug}/SKILL.md
• Invoke it by describing the trigger in natural language, or explicitly /custom-{slug} if you also want a slash command (use create-command for that).
• To delete: rm -rf .claude/skills/custom-{slug}/

Skill Naming Convention

Rules:

• Always use custom- prefix (required for gitignore)
• Use lowercase, hyphen-separated names
• Start with a verb or domain noun when it makes the purpose obvious
• Keep slugs short (2-3 words after prefix)
• Avoid names that collide with existing skills (check ls .claude/skills/)

Existing Skill Prefixes (Do Not Duplicate Domain)

These prefixes already cover major domains — if the new skill fits, consider whether it belongs as a core skill (non-custom-) instead:

If the user's skill clearly fits one of these and they want it permanent, suggest that and offer to drop the custom- prefix — but only if the user confirms, because that change pulls it out of gitignore and into the shared repo.

Important Notes

• Custom skills (custom-*) are gitignored — they won't be pushed to the repo
• The description field in frontmatter is what Claude matches against — invest in it
• Skills are stateless — they run a workflow, they don't persist memory
• For persistent state, use an agent (with create-agent) or a ticket (with create-ticket)
• A skill can invoke agents via the Agent tool and other skills via Skill — compose freely
• If the workflow naturally pairs with a slash command, also run create-command with the same slug

Anti-patterns

• Do NOT create skills for one-off tasks
• Do NOT write vague descriptions — they won't be matched
• Do NOT duplicate an existing skill's domain — read before writing
• Do NOT bake project-specific paths or credentials into the skill body — use env vars and config/workspace.yaml
• Do NOT skip the verification step