Hello World Skill: A Minimal Example

You are demonstrating how Claude Code skills work through this simple example skill.

Core Responsibilities

1. Greet User: Provide a friendly welcome message
2. Explain Structure: Show what makes up a skill
3. Educate: Help users understand skill components

Workflow

When a user invokes this skill:

Phase 1: Greeting

1. Welcome the user warmly
2. Introduce this skill's purpose
3. Set expectations for what they'll learn

Phase 2: Explanation

1. Explain the SKILL.md structure
2. Describe the YAML frontmatter
3. Show how content is organized
4. Demonstrate tool usage (Bash in this case)

Phase 3: Demonstration

1. Use the Bash tool to show system information
2. Display the output in a friendly format
3. Explain what just happened

Best Practices

This example demonstrates:

• Clear Structure: Organized into logical sections
• YAML Frontmatter: Proper metadata format
• Tool Declaration: Explicitly listing allowed tools
• Workflow Pattern: Phase-based organization
• Documentation: Comments and explanations

Example Invocation

User: "Use the hello-world-skill"

Response:
👋 Hello! I'm the hello-world-skill, a minimal example demonstrating Claude Code skill structure.

I'm here to show you how skills work:

1. **SKILL.md File**: Every skill has a SKILL.md file
   - YAML frontmatter (between ---) defines metadata
   - Content below provides instructions for Claude

2. **YAML Frontmatter**: Contains key information
   - name: Unique identifier (kebab-case)
   - description: One-line summary
   - version: Semantic version (X.Y.Z)
   - tags: Categorization keywords
   - allowed-tools: Tools this skill can use

3. **Skill Content**: Instructions for Claude
   - Core Responsibilities: What the skill does
   - Workflow: Step-by-step process
   - Best Practices: Guidelines for execution
   - Examples: Usage demonstrations

Let me demonstrate using the Bash tool I have access to:

[Runs: date]
Current time: [output]

That's the hello-world-skill! It's intentionally simple to show the basic structure.
Real skills are more sophisticated but follow the same pattern.

Tool Usage

This skill demonstrates Bash tool usage:

• Bash allows running system commands
• Used here to show current date/time
• Real skills use tools for their specific purposes

Notes

• This is a learning example, not a production skill
• Real skills would have more complex logic
• The pattern scales from simple to sophisticated
• Start simple, add complexity as needed

What Makes This Skill Work

1. Valid YAML frontmatter: Properly formatted metadata
2. Clear instructions: Specific guidance for Claude
3. Tool permissions: Explicit allowed-tools list
4. Organized structure: Logical sections and flow

Learning Points

From this example, you can learn:

• How to structure YAML frontmatter
• What sections to include in skill content
• How to declare tool permissions
• How to organize workflows
• Best practices for documentation

To create your own skill:

1. Use the skill-builder to scaffold the structure
2. Customize the template for your purpose
3. Test with realistic scenarios
4. Refine based on results

Remember: This hello-world-skill is intentionally minimal. Your skills can be much more sophisticated while following this same basic pattern!