skills-best-practices

Skills Best Practices

Comprehensive reference for building Agent Skills that follow Anthropic's official guidelines. Skills are folders containing instructions, scripts, and resources that teach Claude how to handle specific tasks. They follow the Agent Skills open standard.

Quick Start

A minimal skill is a directory with a SKILL.md file:

my-skill/
├── SKILL.md          # Required - instructions with YAML frontmatter
├── references/       # Optional - detailed docs loaded on demand
├── scripts/          # Optional - executable code
└── assets/           # Optional - templates, fonts, icons

Minimal SKILL.md:

---
name: my-skill-name
description: What it does. Use when [specific triggers].
---

# My Skill Name

[Instructions here]

Only name and description are required in frontmatter.

Core Design Principles

Progressive Disclosure (Most Important)

Skills load information in three levels to minimize token usage:

Level	When Loaded	Token Cost	Content
1: Metadata	Always (startup)	~100 tokens	name + description from frontmatter
2: Instructions	When skill triggers	<5k tokens (recommended)	SKILL.md body
3: Resources	As needed	Effectively unlimited	Bundled files, scripts

Keep SKILL.md under 500 lines. Move detailed docs to separate files and reference them:

## Advanced features
- **Form filling**: See [FORMS.md](FORMS.md)
- **API reference**: See [reference.md](reference.md)

Claude reads referenced files only when the task requires them.

Composability

Skills work alongside other skills. Don't assume yours is the only one loaded.

Portability

Skills work across Claude.ai, Claude Code, API, and Agent SDK without modification (if dependencies are available).

Writing the Description (Critical)

The description is the single most important field - it determines when your skill activates. Claude uses it to decide relevance from potentially 100+ available skills.

Rules

• Write in third person ("Processes files..." not "I help you process files...")
• Include WHAT it does + WHEN to use it
• Max 1024 characters, no XML angle brackets
• Be slightly "pushy" - Claude tends to undertrigger rather than overtrigger
• Include specific trigger phrases users would naturally say

Good vs Bad

# GOOD - specific, actionable, includes triggers
description: Extract text and tables from PDF files, fill forms, merge
  documents. Use when working with PDF files or when the user mentions
  PDFs, forms, or document extraction.

# BAD - too vague
description: Helps with documents.

# BAD - missing triggers
description: Creates sophisticated multi-page documentation systems.

More examples in references/description-guide.md.

Frontmatter Reference

Required Fields

Field	Rules
name	Kebab-case, max 64 chars, lowercase + numbers + hyphens only. No "claude" or "anthropic"
description	Non-empty, max 1024 chars, no XML tags. WHAT + WHEN

The agentskills.io standard and the Claude API require both fields. Claude Code is more lenient: name falls back to the directory name, and description falls back to the first markdown paragraph. Write both anyway for portability.

The spec also defines optional license, compatibility, and metadata fields. compatibility is capped at 500 characters and states environment requirements (intended product, system packages, network access).

Optional Fields (Claude Code)

Field	Purpose
argument-hint	Autocomplete hint, e.g. [issue-number]
when_to_use	Extra trigger context, appended to description in the skill listing
arguments	Named positional arguments for $name substitution (space-separated string or list)
disable-model-invocation	true = only user can invoke (for deploy, commit)
user-invocable	false = hidden from / menu (background knowledge)
allowed-tools	Pre-approves tools (no permission prompt); space-separated, e.g. Read Grep Glob. In the spec allowlist but tagged (Experimental)
disallowed-tools	Removes tools from Claude's pool while the skill is active; clears on your next message
model	Override model for this skill; accepts inherit. Lasts the current turn only
effort	Override effort level: low, medium, high, xhigh, max
context	fork = run in isolated subagent
agent	Subagent type when context: fork (e.g. Explore, Plan)
hooks	Hooks scoped to this skill's lifecycle
paths	Glob patterns limiting when skill activates

Publishing caveat: every field above except allowed-tools is Claude Code-specific. They work in Claude Code at runtime, but the official agentskills validate spec validator rejects them - it allows only name, description, license, compatibility, metadata, allowed-tools, with no relax flag. If your repo or CI runs that validator (most ClawHub-publishing repos do), a skill using these fields fails validation unless you strip them from the copy you validate/publish. The ClawHub registry itself tends to tolerate extra top-level fields on publish, but the reference validator in your pipeline will not. See Validate Against the Spec.

Naming Conventions

The name (and its folder) must: be 1-64 chars; use only lowercase letters, numbers, and hyphens; not start or end with a hyphen; not contain consecutive hyphens (--); and match the parent directory name. Anthropic surfaces also reject the reserved words claude and anthropic.

Prefer gerund form for clarity:

• processing-pdfs, analyzing-spreadsheets, managing-databases
• Also acceptable: pdf-processing, process-pdfs
• Avoid: helper, utils, tools, documents

Structuring Instructions

Be Concise

Claude is smart. Only add context it doesn't already have:

# GOOD (~50 tokens)
## Extract PDF text
Use pdfplumber for text extraction:
```python
import pdfplumber
with pdfplumber.open("file.pdf") as pdf:
    text = pdf.pages[0].extract_text()

BAD (~150 tokens)

Extract PDF text

PDF files are a common file format containing text and images. To extract text, you need a library. There are many available...

### Avoid Too Many Options

Don't present multiple approaches unless necessary. Give one default with an escape hatch:

```markdown
# BAD: "Use pypdf, or pdfplumber, or PyMuPDF, or pdf2image..."
# GOOD: "Use pdfplumber for text extraction. For scanned PDFs needing
#        OCR, use pdf2image with pytesseract instead."

Set Degrees of Freedom

• High freedom (text guidelines): Multiple approaches valid, context-dependent
• Medium freedom (pseudocode/templates): Preferred pattern exists, some variation OK
• Low freedom (exact scripts): Operations are fragile, consistency critical

Recommended SKILL.md Structure

# Skill Name

## Quick start
[Minimal working example]

## Workflow Decision Tree
[Route to the right approach based on task type]

## Detailed Instructions
[Step-by-step for each workflow]

## Examples
[Concrete input/output pairs]

## Troubleshooting
[Common errors and fixes]

Reference Files

Keep references one level deep from SKILL.md. "Depth" means the reference chain (a file linking to a file linking to a file), not filesystem nesting - a references/ subdirectory is fine. In a chain, Claude may preview files with partial reads (head) and miss content.

# BAD: Too deep
SKILL.md -> advanced.md -> details.md -> actual info

# GOOD: One level
SKILL.md -> advanced.md (contains the info directly)
SKILL.md -> reference.md (contains the info directly)

For reference files >100 lines, include a table of contents at the top. Watch file size too: a single reference of many hundreds of lines defeats progressive disclosure even at one level deep, because Claude loads the whole file for any subtopic. Split large references by subtopic so each task pulls only what it needs.

Patterns

Sequential Workflow

## Step 1: Analyze input
Run: `python scripts/analyze.py input.pdf`

## Step 2: Validate
Run: `python scripts/validate.py fields.json`
Fix any errors before continuing.

## Step 3: Execute
Run: `python scripts/process.py input.pdf fields.json output.pdf`

Conditional Workflow (Decision Tree)

## Workflow Decision Tree
**Creating new content?** -> Follow "Creation workflow"
**Editing existing content?** -> Follow "Editing workflow"
**Reviewing content?** -> Follow "Review workflow"

Feedback Loop

1. Make edits
2. Validate: `python scripts/validate.py`
3. If validation fails -> fix issues -> go to step 2
4. Only proceed when validation passes

Checklist Pattern (for complex tasks)

Copy this checklist and track progress:
- [ ] Step 1: Analyze input
- [ ] Step 2: Create plan
- [ ] Step 3: Validate plan
- [ ] Step 4: Execute
- [ ] Step 5: Verify output

More patterns in references/patterns.md.

Scripts

When your skill includes executable code:

• Solve, don't punt: Handle errors explicitly instead of letting them fail
• Justify constants: No magic numbers - document why each value was chosen
• Prefer execution over loading: Scripts run without entering context; only output consumes tokens
• Clarify intent: "Run analyze.py" (execute) vs "See analyze.py" (read as reference)
• List dependencies in SKILL.md and verify availability

Testing

Build Evaluations First

Create evaluations before writing extensive instructions - this proves the skill solves a real problem. Run Claude on representative tasks without the skill and document the failures; build ~3 scenarios that test those gaps; measure a baseline; then write the minimum instructions needed to pass. Iterate against the baseline.

Triggering Tests

Should trigger:
- "Help me set up a new project in [Service]"
- "I need to create a project" (paraphrased)

Should NOT trigger:
- "What's the weather?" (unrelated)
- "Write Python code" (too generic)

Functional Tests

Test normal operations, edge cases, and out-of-scope requests. Run the same request 3-5 times to check consistency.

Debug Triggering

Ask Claude: "When would you use the [skill-name] skill?" - it quotes the description back. Adjust based on what's missing.

Validate Against the Spec

Run the official Agent Skills validator before publishing:

uvx --from skills-ref agentskills validate path/to/skill

Exit 0 means valid. It checks SKILL.md format and enforces the spec's strict frontmatter allowlist (name, description, license, compatibility, metadata, allowed-tools). Most registries (e.g. ClawHub) and CI gates run this, so validating locally catches failures early. If you rely on Claude Code-only frontmatter (see the publishing caveat under Frontmatter Reference), strip those fields from the copy you validate.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Cause	Fix
Skill never loads	Description too vague	Add specific triggers and key terms
Skill loads for wrong tasks	Description too broad	Add negative triggers, be more specific
Instructions not followed	Too verbose or buried	Put critical instructions at top, use headers
Slow/degraded responses	SKILL.md too large	Move content to references/, keep under 500 lines
"Could not find SKILL.md"	Wrong filename	Must be exactly SKILL.md (case-sensitive)
"Invalid skill name"	Spaces or capitals	Use kebab-case: my-skill-name
Whole skill silently skipped at load	Description exceeds 1024 chars	Trim it - the loader rejects the file, not just the description
Frontmatter fails to parse	Triggers: (colon-space) or straight "quotes" inside an unquoted description value	Quote the whole value or remove the colon/quotes
A doc example runs a shell command	Literal !`cmd` in skill content executes even inside a code fence	Move the example to references/ or break the literal (see Security)

Distribution

Surface	How to Deploy
Claude.ai	Settings > Features > Upload zip
Claude Code (personal)	~/.claude/skills/<name>/SKILL.md
Claude Code (project)	.claude/skills/<name>/SKILL.md
Claude Code (plugin)	<plugin>/skills/<name>/SKILL.md
API	Upload via the Skill Management API, use via the Messages API
Enterprise	Managed settings (org-wide)

Skills don't sync across surfaces - deploy separately to each.

Using Skills with the API

Custom skills are uploaded through the Skill Management API; anthropic-type skills are pre-built by Anthropic. Both are used identically - pass them in the Messages API container parameter, each as {type, skill_id, version} where type is anthropic or custom. Up to 8 Skills per request, 30 MB max upload (all files combined), and all files must share a common root directory. Requires the code execution tool and the beta headers code-execution-2025-08-25 and skills-2025-10-02 (plus files-api-2025-04-14 for file upload/download).

Network access differs by surface. The API code execution environment has no network access and no runtime package installation - bundle dependencies or use pre-installed packages. On claude.ai, by contrast, Skills can install packages from npm and PyPI and pull from GitHub.

Further API details when you need them: a pause_turn stop reason signals a long-running Skill operation to resume; reuse a container across turns via container.id; Skill-generated files return file_id and are fetched via the Files API; changing the Skills list breaks prompt caching; and Skills are not ZDR-eligible (data is retained per the standard policy).

Security

• Only use skills from trusted sources
• No XML angle brackets in frontmatter (injection risk)
• Audit all bundled scripts and resources before using third-party skills
• Be cautious of skills that fetch from external URLs
• Documenting the !`command` injection syntax? The Claude Code loader executes it even inside a markdown code fence - it cannot tell a doc example from a directive. Keep such examples in references/ or break the literal (e.g. add a zero-width space) so a meta-skill about skills doesn't run shell commands on load

Additional References

• Description writing guide - detailed examples and anti-patterns
• Patterns and workflows - advanced patterns with MCP, subagents, iterative refinement
• Claude Code features - context:fork, dynamic injection, argument substitution
• Quality checklist - pre-upload validation checklist
• ClawHub publishing - metadata.openclaw schema, moderation pipeline, reason codes catalog, pre-publish checklist

Official Resources

• Agent Skills Spec
• Claude Code Skills Docs
• API Skills Guide
• Best Practices
• Anthropic Skills Repo
• Engineering Blog: Agent Skills
• Complete Guide PDF