Why can't I use colons in my skill description?

Colons often trigger YAML quoting requirements or syntax errors in frontmatter. This skill rephrases descriptions to avoid colons while maintaining clear, informative language.

Does this skill work for both skills and agents?

Yes, it can write or rewrite frontmatter descriptions for any Claude Code skill or agent to ensure they follow the standardized implementation patterns.

What is the significance of the 1024-character limit?

Claude Code may truncate tool descriptions in certain contexts. Front-loading the most important information ensures the AI understands the tool's primary purpose and triggers immediately.

Can this skill help with existing plugin validation?

Yes, it is specifically designed to resolve issues found by the plugin_validator.py script, such as forbidden multiline indicators or invalid YAML formatting.

Skill Frontmatter Optimizer

Name: Skill Frontmatter Optimizer
Author: Jamie-BitFlight

byJamie-BitFlight

•

Developer Tools

Optimizes and formats frontmatter description fields for Claude Code skills to ensure syntax compatibility and tool discovery.

This skill automates the process of writing or rewriting YAML frontmatter descriptions for Claude Code skills and agents, ensuring they adhere to strict formatting requirements. It helps developers avoid common pitfalls like multi-line strings or colons that break YAML parsing, while optimizing content for AI tool selection by front-loading critical information within the first 1024 characters. It is an essential utility for developers creating new plugins who need to ensure their tools are correctly identified and invoked by the Claude Code environment.

Key Features

01Front-loads critical functionality details for optimal tool selection

0218 GitHub stars

03Optimizes descriptions for the 1024-character truncation window

04Standardizes metadata to ensure Claude Code compatibility

05Enforces single-line YAML description formatting without multiline indicators

06Eliminates syntax-breaking colons through smart rephrasing

Use Cases

01Refactoring long skill descriptions to improve AI invocation accuracy

02Generating compliant metadata for newly developed Claude Code skills

03Correcting YAML syntax errors in existing skill frontmatter files

What are Skills?·How to Install

Install with 🐟 Skill.Fish

npx skillfish add jamie-bitflight/claude_skills write-frontmatter-description

For use in Claude.ai and ChatGPT

Download Skill