What is a Claude Code Skill?

A specialized capability or reference guide that enhances Claude's behavior when performing specific tasks by providing domain-specific guidance and patterns.

How long should a SKILL.md file be?

To maintain token efficiency, SKILL.md files should ideally be under 500 lines, with the most frequently loaded context kept under 200 words.

What is Claude Search Optimization (CSO)?

CSO is the practice of optimizing skill descriptions with specific triggers, symptoms, and error messages so that Claude can accurately identify when a skill is relevant to the current task.

Why are gerunds used for skill names?

Using the gerund form (verb + -ing) like 'debugging-logs' describes active tasks clearly and maintains consistency with Anthropic's internal conventions for discovery.

Skill Creation & Optimization

Name: Skill Creation & Optimization
Author: pr-pm

bypr-pm

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Learning & Documentation

Standardizes the development of Claude Code skills to ensure they are discoverable, scannable, and highly effective for AI-driven development.

The Creating Skills skill provides a comprehensive framework for building high-quality specialized capabilities for Claude Code. It establishes rigorous standards for naming conventions, YAML frontmatter, and document structure, ensuring that custom skills are easily indexed and retrieved by Claude through Claude Search Optimization (CSO). By utilizing this skill, developers can transform one-off solutions into reusable, token-efficient patterns that improve the consistency and reliability of AI-assisted coding across entire organizations.

Key Features

01Tiered complexity guidelines for high vs. low freedom tasks

02Token-efficient documentation patterns to save context space

03Gerund-based naming conventions for active process clarity

0464 GitHub stars

05Claude Search Optimization (CSO) keyword strategies

06Standardized YAML frontmatter for enhanced AI discovery

Use Cases

01Building a team-wide library of reusable coding patterns

02Formalizing project-specific deployment and testing checklists

03Optimizing custom prompts and workflows for AI searchability

What are Skills?·How to Install

Install with 🐟 Skill.Fish

npx skillfish add pr-pm/prpm creating-skills

For use in Claude.ai and ChatGPT

Download Skill