creating-slash-commands

Creating Slash Commands for Claude Code

This skill guides you through creating custom slash commands—shortcuts that automate repetitive workflows, maintain team consistency, and save tokens by storing complex instructions externally.

Table of Contents

1. Core Workflow
   • Step 1: Choose Command Scope
   • Step 2: Create Command File
   • Step 3: Write Frontmatter
   • Step 4: Write Command Prompt

Output: A working slash command ready to use in Claude Code.

Core Workflow

Step 1: Choose Command Scope

Ask the user where to create the command:

Project Commands (.claude/commands/command-name.md)

• Shared with team via git, shows "(project)" in /help

Personal Commands (~/.claude/commands/command-name.md)

• Personal to you across all projects, shows "(user)" in /help

Step 2: Create Command File

Create a Markdown file named after your command:

# For project command
.claude/commands/command-name.md

# For personal command
~/.claude/commands/command-name.md

Naming conventions:

• Use lowercase with hyphens: fix-issue.md, deploy-check.md
• Keep names short and descriptive

Step 3: Write Frontmatter (Recommended)

⚠️ Complete this step as its own task. Reference guidelines/frontmatter-reference.md for comprehensive guidance when crafting your frontmatter.

Add YAML frontmatter at the top of the file:

---
description: Brief description of what the command does
argument-hint: [expected-arguments]
allowed-tools: Bash(git add:*), Bash(git commit:*)
---

Key fields:

• description: Shows in /help and enables SlashCommand tool discovery
• argument-hint: Helps users understand expected parameters
• allowed-tools: Required for bash execution (see guidelines/advanced-features.md)

Consult the guide: guidelines/frontmatter-reference.md contains all available fields, validation rules, and best practices.

Step 4: Write Command Prompt

⚠️ Complete this step as its own task. Reference guidelines/writing-effective-prompts.md for comprehensive guidance when crafting your command prompt.

Below the frontmatter, write clear, specific instructions:

---
description: Review code for security issues
---

Perform a comprehensive security review of the provided code.

Check for:
- SQL injection vulnerabilities
- Cross-site scripting (XSS)
- Authentication and authorization issues
- Sensitive data exposure

Provide specific recommendations for each issue found.

Consult the guide: guidelines/writing-effective-prompts.md contains prompt writing best practices and patterns.

---

Advanced Features

Once you've mastered the basic workflow, reference guidelines/advanced-features.md for:

• Arguments: Using $ARGUMENTS or $1, $2, $3 for dynamic commands
• File References: Including file contents with @filename
• Subdirectories: Organizing related commands by feature/domain
• Extended Thinking: Triggering deeper analysis with thinking keywords
• SlashCommand Tool: Enabling programmatic command invocation
• Tool Permissions: Configuring allowed-tools for commands that need specific tool access

Start simple with the core workflow above, then add these features as your needs grow.