Create Skill

Create Skill

Generates a complete Claude Code skill from a description or requirements document. Conducts an adaptive interview to understand the skill's purpose, classifies it into one of 5 structural types, spawns a Sonnet sub-agent to generate the files, validates with anthropic-validator, and presents the scaffold with architectural decisions.

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When to Use This Skill

Load this skill when the user request matches ANY of these patterns:

| Trigger Pattern | Example User Request | |-----------------|---------------------| | Skill creation | "Create a new skill", "Make a skill for X" | | Scaffolding | "Scaffold a skill", "Set up a new skill" | | Generation | "Generate a skill that does X" | | Skill design | "Design a skill for X", "I need a skill that does X" |

DO NOT use for:

• Editing existing skills (edit directly)
• Creating standalone sub-agents (use create-subagent)
• Debugging skill issues (use issue-debugging)
• Validating existing skills (use anthropic-validator)

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Dependencies

| Category | Files | Requirement | When to Load | |----------|-------|-------------|--------------| | Decision framework | references/decision-framework.md | REQUIRED | Load at Stage 0 for interview + classification | | Content guidance | references/content-guidance.md | REQUIRED | Include in Stage 2 generator prompt | | Skill templates | references/template-*.md | REQUIRED | Load the matching template at Stage 2 | | Agent template | references/agent-template.md | REQUIRED | Include in Stage 2 prompt when template = pipeline | | Agent conventions | references/agent-conventions.md | REQUIRED | Include in Stage 2 prompt when template = pipeline | | Diagnostic template | templates/diagnostic-output.yaml | REQUIRED | Use at Stage 6 | | Subagent prompting | subagent-prompting skill | REQUIRED | Load at Stage 0 for 4-part prompt template |

Fallback behavior:

• If a template file is missing: Use the closest available template, note mismatch in diagnostics
• If content-guidance is missing: Proceed without it, note in diagnostics (output quality will be lower)

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Usage

/create-skill 
/create-skill --doc 

Arguments:

• `` — Free-text description of the desired skill, or a skill name to start from
• --doc — Path to a requirements document. Extracts interview answers from it instead of asking fresh.

Examples:

• /create-skill a skill that audits dependency versions — Start from description
• /create-skill --doc plans/task-briefs/P5.4-create-skill.md — Start from requirements doc
• /create-skill changelog-generator — Start from a name

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Mandatory Execution Checklist (BINDING)

Every item below is mandatory. No deviations. No substitutions. No skipping.

This skill uses a 6-stage pipeline. You are the orchestrator. Follow every item in order. Do NOT return to the user until all applicable items are checked.

• [ ] Stage 0 — Pre-Flight: Arguments parsed (description, name, or --doc)
• [ ] Stage 0 — Pre-Flight: Decision framework and content guidance loaded
• [ ] Stage 0 — Pre-Flight: Adaptive interview conducted (1-2 rounds via AskUserQuestion)
• [ ] Stage 1 — Classify: Three decisions made (context mode, sub-agent pattern, supporting files)
• [ ] Stage 1 — Classify: Classification presented to user and confirmed via AskUserQuestion
• [ ] Stage 2 — Generate: Sonnet sub-agent spawned via Task tool (you do NOT generate the files yourself)
• [ ] Stage 2 — Generate: Generated files verified to exist in working directory
• [ ] Stage 2 — Generate: If pipeline template — sub-agent files generated in {working-directory}/agents/
• [ ] Stage 3 — Validate: /anthropic-validator invoked via Skill tool (manual review is NOT a substitute)
• [ ] Stage 3 — Validate: If pipeline template — /anthropic-validator invoked on each sub-agent file
• [ ] Stage 3 — Validate: Validator output read and findings counted
• [ ] Stage 3 — Validate: Manual checks completed (single-line description, no unnecessary files)
• [ ] Stage 4 — Refine: If validation found critical/high issues, Sonnet sub-agent spawned to fix (max 2 retries)
• [ ] Stage 5 — Deploy: Skill files deployed from working directory to target directory
• [ ] Stage 5 — Deploy: If pipeline template — sub-agent files deployed to .claude/agents/
• [ ] Stage 5 — Deploy: Working directory cleaned up
• [ ] Stage 5 — Present: Post-generation summary presented with architectural decisions
• [ ] Stage 5 — Present: If pipeline template — sub-agent permissions communicated
• [ ] Stage 5 — Present: Next steps communicated (this is a scaffold, not production-ready output)
• [ ] Stage 6 — Diagnostics: Diagnostic YAML written to $PROJECT_DIR/logs/diagnostics/

---

Pipeline

// create-skill pipeline
PreFlight(args)                              // Stage 0: Orchestrator — parse input, adaptive interview
|> Classify(interview_answers)               // Stage 1: Orchestrator — three independent decisions
|> Generate(classification, template, examples) // Stage 2: Sonnet sub-agent — produce skill files
|> Validate(generated_output)                // Stage 3: Orchestrator — run anthropic-validator
|> Refine(validator_findings)                // Stage 4: Sonnet sub-agent (conditional, max 2 retries)
|> DeployAndPresent(working_dir, target_dir)  // Stage 5: Orchestrator — deploy to target + post-generation summary
|> Diagnostics()                             // Stage 6: Orchestrator — write YAML

---

Stage Definitions

Stage 0: Pre-Flight (Orchestrator)

Stage 0: Pre-Flight
├── Parse arguments (description, name, or --doc path)
├── Load references/decision-framework.md
├── Load references/content-guidance.md
├── Load subagent-prompting skill
├── If --doc provided:
│   ├── Read the requirements document
│   ├── Extract answers to Q1-Q5 from the document
│   └── Present extracted answers to user for confirmation via AskUserQuestion
├── If no --doc:
│   └── AskUserQuestion: Present all 5 core questions from decision-framework.md
│       ├── Q1: What does this skill do? (concrete invocation examples)
│       ├── Q2: Needs conversation history, or can run in isolation?
│       ├── Q3: Orchestrates multiple distinct operations?
│       ├── Q4: How much domain-specific reference content? (None/Some/Extensive)
│       └── Q5: Produces structured output matching a specific format?
├── If complexity detected in answers:
│   └── AskUserQuestion: Follow-up questions per decision-framework.md
│       ├── Q6: Do operations depend on each other's output?
│       ├── Q7: Do workers need direct communication?
│       ├── Q8: Error handling between stages?
│       └── Q9-Q10: Context-specific follow-ups
├── Determine target directory for generated skill
│   └── Default: skills/{skill-name}/ (or user-specified path)
├── Set working directory: tmp/create-skill/{skill-name}/
│   └── All generation and refinement happens here to avoid .claude/ edit approval storms
│       Files are deployed to the target directory only after validation passes (Stage 5)
└── Token budget check (warn if >30% consumed)

Interview behavior: Maximum 2 AskUserQuestion rounds. Present Q1-Q5 together in round 1. Follow-ups (if needed) in round 2. Do NOT ask questions one at a time.

Stage 1: Classify (Orchestrator)

Apply the three-decision classification from references/decision-framework.md:

Stage 1: Classify
├── Decision A: Context Mode
│   ├── Needs conversation history → inline (no fork)
│   ├── Isolated multi-step work → context: fork
│   └── Simple guideline/knowledge → inline (warn if fork requested)
├── Decision B: Sub-Agent Pattern
│   ├── Single operation → no sub-agents
│   ├── Multiple dependent operations → sequential Task tool
│   ├── Multiple independent operations → parallel Task tool
│   └── Direct worker communication → Agent Teams (experimental warning)
├── Decision C: Supporting Files
│   ├── No references, no templates → vanilla SKILL.md
│   ├── Domain references needed → add references/
│   ├── Structured output format → add templates/
│   └── Deterministic code needed → add scripts/
├── Map decisions → template (1 of 5 from decision-framework.md)
└── Present classification to user via AskUserQuestion:
    ├── "Context: {inline/fork} — {reason}"
    ├── "Sub-agents: {none/sequential/parallel/AT} — {reason}"
    ├── "Supporting files: {list} — {reason}"
    ├── "Template: {template name}"
    └── "Proceed with generation? [Yes / Adjust]"

MANDATORY: Wait for user confirmation before proceeding to Stage 2. If user selects "Adjust", re-classify with their feedback.

Stage 2: Generate (Sonnet sub-agent)

Stage 2: Generate
├── Read the selected template from references/template-{type}.md
├── Construct prompt using 4-part template (GOAL/CONSTRAINTS/CONTEXT/OUTPUT):
│   ├── GOAL: Generate a complete, structurally correct skill matching the
│   │   classification. The skill must activate reliably and instruct clearly.
│   ├── CONSTRAINTS:
│   │   ├── Follow the template structure exactly
│   │   ├── Description MUST be a single line (multi-line breaks discovery)
│   │   ├── Description MUST use "Use when..." trigger framing
│   │   ├── Include "When to Use" table with ≥3 trigger patterns
│   │   ├── Include "DO NOT use for" section with ≥2 anti-triggers
│   │   ├── If skill has sub-agents: include Pre-Flight Gate with MUST/MUST NOT
│   │   ├── If skill has sub-agents: include subagent-prompting in skills: dependency
│   │   ├── Do NOT add unnecessary files (no README, CHANGELOG, LICENSE)
│   │   ├── Do NOT use emojis in generated content
│   │   └── Keep total SKILL.md under target line count for the type
│   │       (simple: 150, reference-heavy: 200, pipeline: 400, script: 400, research: 400)
│   ├── CONTEXT:
│   │   ├── Classification from Stage 1 (all three decisions + template)
│   │   ├── User's interview answers (concrete examples from Q1)
│   │   ├── Selected template: references/template-{type}.md
│   │   ├── Content guidance: references/content-guidance.md
│   │   ├── If pipeline template: references/agent-template.md (sub-agent file structure)
│   │   ├── If pipeline template: references/agent-conventions.md (system-prompt register, frontmatter)
│   │   ├── Instruction: "Read 1-2 existing skills of the same type from the
│   │   │   codebase for structural reference (use Glob to find skills/*/SKILL.md)"
│   │   ├── If pipeline template: "Read 1-2 existing agents from .claude/agents/*.md
│   │   │   for sub-agent structural reference"
│   │   ├── Target output directory (final deployment location)
│   │   └── Working directory: tmp/create-skill/{skill-name}/
│   └── OUTPUT:
│       ├── Write SKILL.md to {working-directory}/SKILL.md
│       ├── Write reference files to {working-directory}/references/ (if applicable)
│       ├── Write template files to {working-directory}/templates/ (if applicable)
│       ├── Write script files to {working-directory}/scripts/ (if applicable)
│       ├── If pipeline template: Write sub-agent files to {working-directory}/agents/
│       │   ├── One .md file per pipeline stage: {skill-name}-{stage-name}.md
│       │   ├── Each sub-agent follows agent-template.md structure
│       │   ├── Each sub-agent uses system-prompt register (agent-conventions.md)
│       │   └── Orchestrating SKILL.md references sub-agents by Task(subagent_type="{name}")
│       └── Return summary: list of files created with line counts
├── Spawn: Task(description="Generate skill files", subagent_type="general-purpose",
│          model="sonnet", prompt=...)
├── Read generator output (file list + summary)
└── Verify files were created (Glob for {working-directory}/**)

Stage 3: Validate (Orchestrator)

Stage 3: Validate
├── FIRST: Invoke /anthropic-validator (this is the PRIMARY validation — NOT optional)
│   ├── Use the Skill tool: Skill(skill="anthropic-validator", args="{working-directory}/")
│   ├── Do NOT substitute manual review for this step
│   └── Do NOT proceed past this node until the Skill tool has been invoked
├── If pipeline template: Also validate each sub-agent file in {working-directory}/agents/
│   └── Run /anthropic-validator on each {skill-name}-{stage-name}.md
├── Read validator output
├── Check for critical/high findings:
│   ├── 0 critical AND 0 high → proceed to Stage 5 (skip Stage 4)
│   └── Any critical or high → proceed to Stage 4 (refine)
├── THEN: Manual checks (these supplement the validator, they do NOT replace it)
│   ├── Check description is single-line (read SKILL.md, verify no multiline description)
│   ├── If pipeline template: Check each sub-agent uses system-prompt register
│   └── Check no unnecessary files (no README.md, CHANGELOG.md, etc.)
└── Stage 3 exit gate:
    ├── [ ] /anthropic-validator was invoked via the Skill tool (not manual review)
    ├── [ ] Validator output was read and findings counted
    └── If either is unchecked, Stage 3 is NOT complete — go back and invoke the validator

Stage 4: Refine (Sonnet sub-agent, conditional, max 2 retries)

This stage only runs if Stage 3 found critical or high issues.

Stage 4: Refine (attempt {N} of 2)
├── Construct prompt using 4-part template:
│   ├── GOAL: Fix all critical and high findings from anthropic-validator
│   ├── CONSTRAINTS:
│   │   ├── Only fix the specific issues identified — do not restructure
│   │   ├── Preserve the existing skill content and structure
│   │   └── Description must remain single-line
│   ├── CONTEXT:
│   │   ├── Validator findings (critical and high items with descriptions)
│   │   ├── Current generated files (read from working directory)
│   │   └── Content guidance: references/content-guidance.md
│   └── OUTPUT: Edit files in {working-directory}/ to fix findings
├── Spawn: Task(description="Fix validator findings", subagent_type="general-purpose",
│          model="sonnet", prompt=...)
├── Re-run Stage 3 (validate)
├── If still failing after 2 retries:
│   └── Proceed to Stage 5 with caveats noted
└── Token budget check

Stage 5: Deploy & Present (Orchestrator)

Stage 5: Deploy & Present
├── Deploy skill: Move skill files from {working-directory}/ to {target-directory}/
│   ├── Copy directory tree preserving structure (SKILL.md, references/, templates/, scripts/)
│   └── This is the ONLY point where skill files are written to the final location
├── If pipeline template: Deploy sub-agents
│   ├── Move {working-directory}/agents/*.md to .claude/agents/
│   └── Each sub-agent file: .claude/agents/{skill-name}-{stage-name}.md
├── Clean up: Remove {working-directory}/ after successful copy
├── Read all generated files for summary
├── Present to user:
│   ├── "Generated skill at: {target-directory}/"
│   ├── If pipeline: "Generated sub-agents at: .claude/agents/"
│   ├── "Files created:"
│   │   └── List each file with line count (skill files + sub-agent files)
│   ├── "Architectural decisions:"
│   │   ├── "Context: {fork/inline} — {reason}"
│   │   ├── "Sub-agents: {none/sequential/parallel/AT} — {reason}"
│   │   └── "Supporting files: {list} — {reason}"
│   ├── "Skill type: {template used}"
│   ├── "Validation: {pass/fail with details}"
│   ├── If caveats: "Unresolved issues: {list}"
│   ├── If pipeline: "Sub-agent permissions to configure:"
│   │   └── {List tool permissions for each sub-agent that must be added to settings.json}
│   └── "Next steps:"
│       ├── "1. Review and customize the generated instructions"
│       ├── "2. Test activation by asking Claude to invoke it"
│

…

## Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

- **Author:** [ashaykubal](https://github.com/ashaykubal)
- **Source:** [ashaykubal/essential-agents-skills](https://github.com/ashaykubal/essential-agents-skills)
- **License:** MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.