Guide · Agent skill
How to use the Skill Creator Guide agent skill (create-skill)
Updated · written with AI from the project's own documentation and checked against our catalogue data
The create-skill skill is a guide that helps an AI agent build new agent skills, or update existing ones, following a consistent set of design rules. It is aimed at developers writing their own skills, teams that want shared authoring conventions, and people new to the format who want the agent to walk them through it. After this guide you will know how to install the skill, how to ask for a new skill in a way that triggers it, and what the skill does and does not do.
Skill Creator Guidetailcallhq/forgecode · Apache-2.0 Download the skill Quick start
- 1Download the ZIP. Get the create-skill ZIP file from this page.
- 2Unzip into a skills folder. Extract it into ~/.claude/skills/ for personal use, or into a project's .claude/skills/ folder.
- 3Or upload in the Claude apps. Go to Settings → Capabilities → Skills and upload the skill.
- 4Describe the skill you want. Ask the agent in plain language to create or update a skill, naming the capability it should add.
- 5Provide your specifics. Supply the domain knowledge, examples and any scripts or templates, since the skill only contains guidance.
- 6Review and test the result. Read the generated SKILL.md and try it on a real task, because the guidance does not validate the files.
What the create-skill skill makes the agent do
Agent skills are modular packages that extend an agent with specialized knowledge, workflows or tool integrations. When you ask the agent to create or change a skill, this skill gives it guidance on how to structure that skill.
The guidance is built around a few rules: keep the instructions concise, match the level of detail to how fragile the task is, put detailed reference material in separate files, and avoid extra documentation such as README files. The skill is a how-to guide for writing skills. It does not perform a domain task itself, and it contains only instructions with no scripts, templates or network calls.
- Every skill needs a SKILL.md file with YAML frontmatter containing name and description fields.
- The description is the main field used to decide when a skill is triggered, so it should say clearly what the skill does and when to use it.
- Optional bundled folders are scripts/, references/ and assets/.
- Files such as README.md, INSTALLATION_GUIDE.md, QUICK_REFERENCE.md and CHANGELOG.md are discouraged.
How to install the create-skill skill
Download the ZIP file for create-skill from this page. Unzip it into your personal skills folder, ~/.claude/skills/, or into a project's .claude/skills/ folder if you want the skill available only inside that project.
In the Claude apps you can instead upload the skill under Settings → Capabilities → Skills.
- Personal install: unzip into ~/.claude/skills/
- Project install: unzip into the project's .claude/skills/ folder
- Claude apps: Settings → Capabilities → Skills, then upload
How to trigger the skill with natural requests
The skill is used when you ask for a new skill or for changes to an existing one. You do not need a special command; describe what you want in plain language and mention that you are making a skill.
Be specific about the capability you want the skill to give the agent, because the description field the agent reads is what determines whether it triggers.
- "Create a new skill that teaches you our internal API conventions."
- "Update my existing deploy-checklist skill so it covers rollbacks."
- "Help me write a skill for converting our reports into a fixed template."
What to expect from the output
The skill steers the agent toward short instructions, appropriate detail and separate reference files when content is large. Because the guidance is only instructions, the skill files the agent produces depend on the specifications you give it.
The guidance does not test or validate the files it helps produce. Read the generated SKILL.md, run it on a real task, and check that the description triggers the skill when you expect.
- Give the agent your domain facts, examples and any required scripts; the skill will not supply them.
- Ask for a concise SKILL.md and a separate references/ file if you have lots of detail.
Safety notes: scripts and network use
According to the skill's listing, create-skill runs no scripts and uses no network. It requires nothing beyond the agent itself and ships with only the SKILL.md file.
Skills you create with its guidance may include scripts in scripts/. Review any script before you let an agent run it, since the guidance notes that scripts can be executed without being read into context.
- Runs scripts: no
- Uses network: no
- Files included: SKILL.md only
Tips for better skills
Keep the description specific and complete, since it is always loaded and decides when the skill is used. Keep the SKILL.md body under 500 lines and move variant-specific detail into reference files that SKILL.md links to, with a clear note on when to read them.
Match freedom to fragility: use plain text instructions where many approaches work, and specific scripts where a sequence must be followed exactly.
- Write the description as both what the skill is and when to use it.
- Avoid duplicating information in SKILL.md and reference files.
- Only add context the agent does not already have.
What people use it for
- Writing a new skill that teaches the agent your team's internal conventions.
- Updating an existing skill and moving long reference material into a references/ folder.
- Structuring a skill for a specific file format or API with a concise SKILL.md.
- Deciding whether a task needs a fixed script (low freedom) or open instructions (high freedom).
Frequently asked questions
Is the create-skill skill free to use?
The listing is licensed under Apache-2.0, which is the licence of the tailcallhq/forgecode repository the skill comes from. Check that licence text for the terms that apply to your use.
What do I need to install create-skill?
The listing states that it requires nothing. Download the ZIP and unzip it into ~/.claude/skills/ or a project's .claude/skills/ folder, or upload it under Settings → Capabilities → Skills in the Claude apps.
Does create-skill run scripts or access the network?
No. The listing says it runs no scripts and uses no network, and it contains only the SKILL.md file with instructions.
Will this skill test my new skill for me?
No. The guidance does not test or validate the skill files it helps produce, so you should review the SKILL.md and try it on a real task yourself.
How is this different from just asking the agent to write a skill?
This skill adds a fixed set of design rules, such as concise instructions, matching detail to fragility, using references/ files and avoiding README-style clutter. Without it, the agent has no such conventions to follow unless you specify them.
What should I use instead if I want a ready-made skill for a specific job?
Pick a skill built for that domain. create-skill only teaches how to build skills, so it will not perform a specific task such as formatting a PDF or running a report on its own.
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Our verdict
Use create-skill if you are writing your own agent skills or maintaining a shared library and want consistent structure, or if you are new to the format and want guidance. Skip it if you want a finished, tested skill for a specific task, since it only gives instructions and does not validate the output.
Download the skill