example-skill
Demonstrates proper skill structure and frontmatter format for marketplace skills
When & Why to Use This Skill
This Claude skill provides a standardized blueprint and comprehensive template for developers to build marketplace-ready skills. It defines the essential directory structure, required YAML frontmatter metadata, and documentation best practices to ensure that new skills are professional, discoverable, and easy for users to implement.
Use Cases
- Boilerplate for New Skills: Use as a starting point to quickly scaffold new Claude skills, ensuring all mandatory fields like versioning, authoring, and licensing are correctly formatted.
- Documentation Standardization: Apply the included Markdown structure to create consistent and high-quality README files that improve user onboarding and skill clarity.
- Marketplace Compliance: Reference the frontmatter guide to verify that your skill meets the technical requirements for submission to the official Skills Marketplace.
- Developer Training: Serve as an educational resource for teams to learn about semantic versioning, secure asset organization, and agentic coding best practices.
| name | example-skill |
|---|---|
| description | Demonstrates proper skill structure and frontmatter format for marketplace skills |
| version | 1.0.0 |
| author | Skills Marketplace Team |
| category | examples |
| license | MIT |
Example Skill
This skill demonstrates the proper structure and documentation format for Skills Marketplace submissions.
Purpose
Use this skill as a template when creating your own skills. It shows:
- ✅ Proper YAML frontmatter format
- ✅ Required and optional fields
- ✅ Clear documentation structure
- ✅ Usage examples
- ✅ Best practices
Features
- Complete frontmatter - Shows all recommended fields
- Clear documentation - Well-organized sections
- Usage examples - Demonstrates how to use the skill
- Best practices - Follows marketplace guidelines
Installation
# Add the marketplace
/plugin marketplace add token-eater/skills-marketplace
# Install this example skill
/plugin install example-skill
Usage
This is an example skill for demonstration purposes. In a real skill, this section would explain:
- How to use the skill - Step-by-step instructions
- Commands - Specific commands or workflows
- Configuration - Any setup required
- Tips - Helpful usage tips
Example Usage
# Example command (this is a template - replace with real usage)
/skill example-skill --help
Structure
This skill follows the standard marketplace structure:
skills/example-skill/
├── SKILL.md # This file (required)
├── scripts/ # Optional: Helper scripts
├── references/ # Optional: Reference documentation
└── assets/ # Optional: Images, templates, etc.
Frontmatter Fields
Required Fields
name: example-skill # Unique identifier (kebab-case)
description: Brief description # 1-2 sentence summary
version: 1.0.0 # Semantic version (X.Y.Z)
author: Author Name # Your name or organization
category: examples # Primary category
tags: # 2-5 searchable keywords
- template
- documentation
Optional Fields
license: MIT # License type
repository: https://github... # Source code URL
homepage: https://example.com # Documentation URL
dependencies: # Required tools/packages
- tool-name
Categories
Choose the most appropriate category for your skill:
productivity- Task management, workflows, automationdevelopment- Git, testing, code quality, deploymentdata- Data processing, visualization, reportingdocumentation- Markdown, diagrams, API docsdevops- CI/CD, containers, infrastructureai-ml- AI/ML integration, training, evaluationsecurity- Security scanning, verification, complianceweb- Web scraping, APIs, frontend toolsknowledge- Research, memory, note-takingexamples- Templates and learning resources
Best Practices
Documentation
- ✅ Write clear, concise descriptions
- ✅ Include usage examples
- ✅ Document all dependencies
- ✅ Provide troubleshooting tips
Structure
- ✅ Keep skills focused (single purpose)
- ✅ Use semantic versioning
- ✅ Organize files logically
- ✅ Include only necessary files
Security
- ⚠️ Never hardcode API keys or secrets
- ⚠️ Never commit credentials
- ✅ Document how to configure secrets
- ✅ Use
.gitignorefor sensitive files
Contributing
To create your own skill based on this example:
Copy the structure:
cp -r skills/example-skill skills/your-skill-nameUpdate SKILL.md:
- Change frontmatter fields (name, description, etc.)
- Write your skill documentation
- Add usage examples
Test locally:
/plugin marketplace add ./skills-marketplace /plugin install your-skill-nameSubmit: See Contributing Guide
Resources
License
MIT License - Free to use, modify, and distribute.
Support
Ready to create your own skill? Use this as a template and see the Creating Skills Guide for detailed instructions.