skill-creator
Guide for creating custom skills in SaaS Factory. Use when you need to create a new skill to extend Claude's capabilities with specialized knowledge, workflows, or tools.
When & Why to Use This Skill
The Skill Creator is a comprehensive development framework designed to standardize the creation, validation, and packaging of custom Claude skills. It empowers developers to extend Claude's core capabilities by integrating specialized domain knowledge, executable scripts, and structured workflows into reusable plugins, ensuring consistency and quality across the SaaS Factory ecosystem.
Use Cases
- Standardizing internal tool development by providing a unified structure for team-specific Claude skills and workflows.
- Building domain-specific extensions, such as specialized data processors or API integrators, to enhance Claude's utility in technical environments.
- Automating the end-to-end lifecycle of skill creation, from initialization and local validation to final packaging and installation in Claude Code.
- Documenting and distributing complex procedural knowledge as executable AI skills for improved team productivity.
| name | skill-creator |
|---|---|
| description | Guide for creating custom skills in SaaS Factory. Use when you need to create a new skill to extend Claude's capabilities with specialized knowledge, workflows, or tools. |
| license | MIT |
Skill Creator - SaaS Factory Edition
This skill provides guidance for creating custom skills following SaaS Factory standards.
Purpose
To create specialized skills that extend Claude's capabilities with domain-specific knowledge and reusable workflows.
When to Use
- Creating new domain-specific skills
- Building reusable tools for your team
- Extending Claude Code functionality
- Documenting specialized procedures
How to Create a Skill
Step 1: Initialize
python scripts/init_skill.py my-skill --path ./my-skill
This creates:
my-skill/
├── SKILL.md # Edit this with your skill
├── scripts/ # Add executable code
├── references/ # Add documentation
└── assets/ # Add resources
Step 2: Edit SKILL.md
Follow this template:
---
name: my-skill
description: What this skill does and when to use it (3-5 sentences)
license: MIT
---
# My Skill Title
## Purpose
Describe what the skill does in 1-2 paragraphs.
## When to Use
Explain when Claude should activate this skill.
## How to Use
### Step 1: First action
Instructions for step one.
### Step 2: Second action
Instructions for step two.
## Examples
- Example usage 1
- Example usage 2
## Reference Files
- See `references/` for detailed documentation
- Use `scripts/` for executable code
Step 3: Add Content
For scripts/ (executable code):
scripts/
├── helper.py # Reusable code
├── processor.sh # Shell utilities
└── validator.py # Input validation
For references/ (documentation):
references/
├── api_docs.md # API specifications
├── schemas.md # Data schemas
└── best_practices.md # Guidelines
For assets/ (output resources):
assets/
├── template.html # HTML templates
├── icon.png # Images
└── style.css # Styles
Step 4: Validate
python scripts/quick_validate.py ./my-skill
Check:
- ✅ SKILL.md has valid YAML frontmatter
- ✅ Required fields: name, description
- ✅ Correct file structure
- ✅ Naming conventions followed
Step 5: Package
python scripts/package_skill.py ./my-skill
Output: my-skill.zip ready for distribution
Step 6: Install in Claude Code
/plugin install ./my-skill.zip
Best Practices
✅ DO
- Write imperative instructions: "To create X, do Y"
- Keep SKILL.md <5k words: Move large docs to references/
- Name scripts descriptively:
rotate_pdf.py, notutil.py - Include --help in scripts: For user guidance
- Document everything: Clear examples and use cases
❌ DON'T
- Use vague names: "tool", "helper", "util"
- Write in second person: "You should do X"
- Include thousands of lines of code in SKILL.md
- Forget error handling in scripts
- Hardcode configurations
Naming Conventions
Skills: kebab-case (my-skill)
Scripts: action_noun.py (rotate_pdf.py)
References: descriptive.md (api_docs.md)
Files: kebab-case.extension (config-template.json)
Example Structure
pdf-processor/
├── SKILL.md
│ ---
│ name: pdf-processor
│ description: Process and manipulate PDF files.
│ Use when users need to rotate, merge, or
│ extract data from PDFs.
│ ---
│
│ # PDF Processor
│
│ ## Purpose
│ Advanced PDF manipulation for common tasks.
│
│ ## How to Use
│ 1. Prepare input PDF
│ 2. Execute relevant script
│ 3. Output is saved
│
├── scripts/
│ ├── rotate_pdf.py
│ ├── merge_pdfs.py
│ └── extract_text.py
│
└── references/
├── pdf_formats.md
└── library_guide.md
Validation Checklist
□ SKILL.md structure
□ Valid YAML frontmatter
□ name in kebab-case
□ description is descriptive
□ File organization
□ Scripts in scripts/
□ Docs in references/
□ Resources in assets/
□ Quality
□ SKILL.md <5k words
□ Scripts have docstrings
□ Clear examples included
□ All paths relative
□ Ready to distribute
□ Validated: ✓ All OK!
□ Packaged: skill-name.zip
□ Can install: /plugin install
References
See references/ for:
- Anthropic Skills Specification
- Best Practices Guide
- Example Skills
Create skills following SaaS Factory standards for consistency and quality.