gh-bbrowning-bbrowning-claude-marketplace-bbrowning-claude/skills/skill-builder/templates/skill-template.md

name, description

name	description
Gerund Form Processing Analyzing Creating	Third person specific description with key terms - max 1024 chars

[Skill Name]

[1-2 sentence overview of what this skill does and when to use it]

Overview

[Brief explanation of the skill's purpose and capabilities]

Prerequisites

[Optional: List what must exist or be true before using this skill]

• Prerequisite 1
• Prerequisite 2

Workflow

[Step-by-step instructions for accomplishing the task]

1. [Step name] [Description of what to do]

   # Example command if applicable
   

2. [Step name] [Description of what to do]

   • Sub-step if needed
   • Another sub-step

3. [Step name with validation] [Description]

   Verify:

   • Expected outcome 1
   • Expected outcome 2

Expected Output

[Describe or show the expected output format]

# Example output
{
  "field": "value"
}

Validation

[How to verify the task was completed successfully]

• Validation checkpoint 1
• Validation checkpoint 2

Examples

Example 1: [Scenario Name]

Input:

[Example input]

Process: [What to do with this input]

Output:

[Expected output]

Example 2: [Edge Case or Variation]

[Another concrete example demonstrating usage]

Common Issues

Issue: [Problem Description]

Solution: [How to resolve]

Issue: [Another Problem]

Solution: [How to resolve]

Error Handling

[How to handle errors or unexpected situations]

If [error condition]:

1. [Recovery step]
2. [Verification step]

Advanced Usage

[Optional: Advanced patterns or variations]

Pattern 1: [Advanced Pattern Name]

[Description and example]

Pattern 2: [Another Pattern]

[Description and example]

References

[Optional: Link to supporting documentation]

• reference/detailed-docs.md: [What's there]
• scripts/helper.py: [What it does]
• templates/output-format.json: [What it shows]

---

Template Usage Notes

Remove this section before using

Naming Guidelines

• Skill name: Use gerund (verb + -ing)
  • Good: "Processing Invoice PDFs", "Analyzing Logs"
  • Avoid: "Invoice Helper", "Log Utils"

Description Guidelines

• Write in third person
• Include key technology names
• Specify the output or outcome
• Maximum 1024 characters
• Good: "Processes invoice PDFs extracting vendor, date, and line items with validation"
• Avoid: "Helps with invoices"

Content Guidelines

1. Be concise: Only include what Claude doesn't already know
2. Be specific: Provide concrete examples and formats
3. Include validation: Add verification steps
4. Progressive disclosure: For complex topics, reference additional files
5. Keep under 500 lines: Move extensive details to reference/ files

Tool Restrictions (optional)

Uncomment and customize allowed-tools if you need to restrict which tools Claude can use:

• Read-only analysis: [Read, Grep, Glob]
• File operations: [Read, Write, Edit, Glob, Grep]
• Development: [Read, Write, Edit, Bash, Glob, Grep]

Sections to Customize

Required:

• name (frontmatter)
• description (frontmatter)
• Overview
• Workflow or Instructions
• At least one Example

Optional (remove if not needed):

• Prerequisites
• Expected Output
• Validation
• Common Issues
• Error Handling
• Advanced Usage
• References

File Organization

Simple skill:

my-skill/
└── SKILL.md

With reference docs:

my-skill/
├── SKILL.md
└── reference/
    └── detailed-guide.md

With scripts:

my-skill/
├── SKILL.md
└── scripts/
    └── helper.py

Complete:

my-skill/
├── SKILL.md
├── reference/
│   └── docs.md
├── scripts/
│   └── helper.py
└── templates/
    └── output.json

Quick Checklist

Before finalizing:

• Name uses gerund form
• Description is specific with key terms
• Examples are concrete and helpful
• Validation steps included
• Under 500 lines
• No obvious information Claude already knows
• Tested with real scenario
• Template notes removed