skill-creator
Guide for creating effective skills. This skill should be used when users want to create a new skill (or update an existing skill) that extends Claude's capabilities with specialized knowledge, workflows, or tool integrations.
78
67%
Does it follow best practices?
Impact
99%
1.17xAverage score across 3 eval scenarios
Passed
No known issues
Optimize this skill with Tessl
npx tessl skill review --optimize ./plugins/all-skills/skills/skill-creator/SKILL.mdQuality
Discovery
57%Based on the skill's description, can an agent find and select it at the right time? Clear, specific descriptions lead to better discovery.
The description adequately communicates when to use the skill with an explicit 'Use when' clause, but falls short on specificity—it doesn't describe the concrete actions involved in skill creation (e.g., writing frontmatter, defining descriptions, structuring content). The trigger terms are decent but could include more natural variations users might say.
Suggestions
Add specific concrete actions like 'write YAML frontmatter, define skill descriptions, structure markdown content, configure trigger terms' to replace the vague 'specialized knowledge, workflows, or tool integrations'.
Include additional trigger term variations such as 'SKILL.md', 'skill file', 'skill template', 'write a skill', or 'define a skill' to improve matching coverage.
| Dimension | Reasoning | Score |
|---|---|---|
Specificity | The description says 'creating effective skills' and mentions 'specialized knowledge, workflows, or tool integrations' but these are abstract concepts, not concrete actions. It doesn't list specific things like 'write YAML frontmatter, define trigger terms, structure markdown sections.' | 1 / 3 |
Completeness | It answers both 'what' (guide for creating effective skills that extend Claude's capabilities) and 'when' (when users want to create a new skill or update an existing skill). The 'when' clause is explicit with 'This skill should be used when...'. | 3 / 3 |
Trigger Term Quality | Includes some relevant terms like 'create a new skill', 'update an existing skill', and 'skill' which users might naturally say. However, it misses variations like 'SKILL.md', 'skill file', 'write a skill', 'skill template', or 'skill description'. | 2 / 3 |
Distinctiveness Conflict Risk | The concept of 'creating skills' is fairly distinct, but the vague language around 'specialized knowledge, workflows, or tool integrations' could overlap with general documentation or configuration skills. The core trigger of 'create a skill' is reasonably distinctive though. | 2 / 3 |
Total | 8 / 12 Passed |
Implementation
77%Reviews the quality of instructions and guidance provided to agents. Good implementation is clear, handles edge cases, and produces reliable results.
This is a well-structured, actionable skill with a clear 6-step workflow and concrete examples. Its main weakness is verbosity in the introductory sections—the 'About Skills' overview and anatomy breakdown explain concepts that Claude likely already knows or could be moved to reference files. The workflow itself is strong with good validation checkpoints and iteration guidance.
Suggestions
Move the 'About Skills' section (What Skills Provide, Anatomy of a Skill, Progressive Disclosure Design Principle) to a references/skill-anatomy.md file and reference it from SKILL.md, keeping only the essential procedural content inline.
Trim explanatory text that describes what skills are conceptually—Claude already understands modular knowledge packages. Focus the body on the 'how' rather than the 'what' and 'why'.
| Dimension | Reasoning | Score |
|---|---|---|
Conciseness | The skill contains some unnecessary explanation (e.g., the 'About Skills' section explaining what skills are and what they provide is largely conceptual knowledge Claude already possesses). However, the procedural steps and examples are reasonably efficient. The 'What Skills Provide' list and 'Progressive Disclosure Design Principle' sections add context that could be trimmed. | 2 / 3 |
Actionability | The skill provides concrete, executable commands (init_skill.py, package_skill.py with exact CLI syntax), specific examples for each resource type, clear questions to ask users, and a well-defined step-by-step creation process. The guidance is specific enough to be directly followed. | 3 / 3 |
Workflow Clarity | The 6-step process is clearly sequenced with explicit conditions for skipping steps, validation built into the packaging step (Step 5), and a feedback loop in Step 6 (iterate). The packaging script includes automatic validation with error reporting and a retry mechanism, which serves as a proper checkpoint before distribution. | 3 / 3 |
Progressive Disclosure | The skill is a monolithic document with no references to external files for detailed content. The 'About Skills' conceptual section and detailed anatomy breakdown could be moved to a references file, keeping SKILL.md focused on the procedural workflow. The skill also references scripts (init_skill.py, package_skill.py) but no bundle files were provided to verify their existence. | 2 / 3 |
Total | 10 / 12 Passed |
Validation
90%Checks the skill against the spec for correct structure and formatting. All validation checks must pass before discovery and implementation can be scored.
Validation — 10 / 11 Passed
Validation for skill structure
| Criteria | Description | Result |
|---|---|---|
frontmatter_unknown_keys | Unknown frontmatter key(s) found; consider removing or moving to metadata | Warning |
Total | 10 / 11 Passed | |
- Repository
- davepoon/buildwithclaude
- Commit
d065ead
- Reviewed
Table of Contents
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