SKILL.md Custom Designer

ProductivityIntermediate

Designs reusable custom skills using SKILL.md YAML frontmatter fields, $ARGUMENTS substitution patterns, !`command` dynamic context injection, and directory structure. Covers design scope from personal project skills to team-wide plugin deployments.

Trigger/skill-design

FrequencyAs needed

Developer standardizing repetitive workflows as skills? Use /skill-design to structure SKILL.md and share with team

Creating contribution guides as skills for open-source? Place contribution workflow skills in project .claude/skills/

SKILL.mdCustom SkillFrontmatterAgent Skills

How It Works

Run /skill-design [purpose]

↓

Phase 1: 3 design tasks in parallel

frontmatter

Design YAML frontmatter fields

prompt-body

Design prompt body + $ARGUMENTS

context-inject

Design !`command` dynamic context

↓

Generate SKILL.md + Directory placement

↓

✓ Executable custom skill

Skill Code

# SKILL.md Designer
## Trigger: /skill-design [purpose]

Design custom skills using the SKILL.md format.

### SKILL.md Structure:

```markdown
---
name: my-skill
description: What this skill does
# Optional fields:
# allowed_tools: [Read, Write, Bash]
# context: fork | share (default: share)
# invocation: user | auto
---

Your skill prompt goes here.

Use $ARGUMENTS for user input substitution.
Use !`command` for dynamic context injection.
```

### Frontmatter Fields:
| Field | Required | Description |
|-------|----------|-------------|
| name | Yes | Slash command trigger name |
| description | Yes | Shown in /help and autocomplete |
| allowed_tools | No | Restrict available tools |
| context | No | fork (isolated) or share (default) |
| invocation | No | user (manual) or auto (triggered by conditions) |

### $ARGUMENTS Pattern:
```markdown
Analyze the file at $ARGUMENTS and suggest improvements.
# User runs: /my-skill src/utils.ts
# $ARGUMENTS becomes: src/utils.ts
```

### Dynamic Context with !`command`:
```markdown
Current git status:
!`git status --short`

Review the changes above and suggest a commit message.
```

### Directory Structure:
```
.claude/skills/           # Personal skills (gitignored)
.claude/skills/my-skill.md
project-root/skills/      # Project skills (committed)
project-root/skills/team-review.md
~/.claude/skills/         # Global skills (all projects)
```

Copy and paste into your CLAUDE.md to start using immediately.

How SKILL.md Custom Designer Works

SKILL.md Designer takes a skill purpose as input and designs YAML frontmatter (name, description, allowed_tools, context, invocation), then generates a prompt body with $ARGUMENTS substitution and !`command` dynamic context injection.

When to Use SKILL.md Custom Designer

Best for standardizing team workflows as skills, creating contribution guides for open-source projects, or designing organization-wide deployment skills.

Key Strengths

Complete YAML frontmatter field guide for correct skill design
Flexible parameter handling with $ARGUMENTS
Runtime context auto-injection via !`command`
Personal/project/global deployment directory guidance

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