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:
- Gather basic info (name, description, author)
- Define purpose, category, triggers
- Assess complexity → determine skill type
- Customize directory structure
- Select pattern (mode-based, phase-based, validation, data-processing)
- Generate files from templates
- Run quality validation
- 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:
- Confirm skill type
- Gather minimal required info
- Generate with standardized defaults
- 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:
- Read existing skill's structure
- Extract organizational pattern (not content)
- Generate new skill with same structure
- Clear example-specific content
Advantages: Proven structure, familiar patterns
Mode 4: Validation Only
Use when: User wants to check existing skill quality
Process:
- Read existing skill files
- Run quality checklist
- Generate validation report
- 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 documentationCHANGELOG.md- Version history
Optional (based on type):
modes/- Mode-specific workflowsdata/- Reference materialsexamples/- Example outputstemplates/- Reusable templatesscripts/- Automation scripts
Note:
plugin.jsonis 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
nameanddescription - [ ]
namematches 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 frontmattertemplates/README.md.j2- User documentationtemplates/CHANGELOG.md.j2- Version history
Patterns
patterns/mode-based.md- Multi-mode skillspatterns/phase-based.md- Sequential workflowspatterns/validation.md- Audit skillspatterns/data-processing.md- Data analysis
Reference Data
data/categories.yaml- Valid categoriesdata/skill-types.yaml- Type definitionsdata/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 |
Version: 0.1.0 | Author: Connor