smith-placeholder
Placeholder syntax standards for documentation and prompts. Use when writing prompts, documentation, pattern descriptions, or any content with user-substitutable values.
When & Why to Use This Skill
This Claude skill establishes standardized placeholder syntax for documentation and prompts, ensuring technical compatibility by avoiding conflicts with common programming environments like Jinja2, Python f-strings, and XML tags. It provides a clear framework for marking user-substitutable values, enhancing both human readability and machine parsing accuracy.
Use Cases
- Designing robust prompt templates where variable inputs must be clearly defined without triggering syntax errors in template engines.
- Writing technical documentation that includes code snippets, ensuring that placeholders are visually distinct and do not conflict with the programming language's native syntax.
- Creating standardized pattern descriptions and SOPs that require consistent, non-ambiguous markers for substitutable content across different platforms.
| name | smith-placeholder |
|---|---|
| description | Placeholder syntax standards for documentation and prompts. Use when writing prompts, documentation, pattern descriptions, or any content with user-substitutable values. |
Placeholder Syntax Standards
- Scope: Placeholder syntax for documentation and prompts
- Load if: Writing prompts, documentation, or pattern descriptions
- Prerequisites: @smith-principles/SKILL.md, @smith-standards/SKILL.md
Placeholders indicate where users substitute values. Syntax must avoid conflicts with Jinja2, Python f-strings, and XML tags.
Code blocks within documents follow their own language conventions.
Recommended Syntax
Inline Markdown (primary):
- Backticks:
placeholder_name,PLACEHOLDER_NAME - Renders as monospace, visually distinct
Inside code blocks (when backticks nest):
- Brackets:
[placeholder] - Or language-native:
PLACEHOLDERas literal identifier
Avoid in documentation:
{{placeholder}}- Jinja2 template conflict{placeholder}- Python f-string conflict<placeholder>- XML tag conflict
Code Block Conventions
Code blocks follow their language's conventions:
Shell (use literal UPPER_SNAKE or quotes):
git checkout -b "feat/FEATURE_NAME"
export API_KEY="YOUR_API_KEY"
# Python: use descriptive identifiers
user_input = "..." # Replace with actual input
// JavaScript: use string literals
const apiKey = "YOUR_API_KEY";
ACTION (Recency Zone)
When writing placeholders:
- Use backticks for inline markdown:
placeholder_name - Use brackets inside code blocks:
[placeholder] - Avoid Jinja2
{{}}, f-string{}, and XML<>syntax
@smith-xml/SKILL.md- XML tag standards@smith-style/SKILL.md- File/branch naming patterns