Guide · Agent skill
How to use the Skill Creator agent skill (skill-creator)
Updated · written with AI from the project's own documentation and checked against our catalogue data
Skill Creator is a meta-skill from the HKUDS/DeepTutor project that teaches an AI agent how to write other agent skills. An agent skill is a folder with a SKILL.md file of instructions that the agent loads when a task matches. This guide explains what Skill Creator changes, how to install it, how to trigger it with plain requests, and what to watch for.
Skill CreatorHKUDS/DeepTutor · Apache-2.0 Download the skill Quick start
- 1Download the ZIP. Get the skill-creator ZIP from this page.
- 2Unzip into a skills folder. Extract it into ~/.claude/skills/ for personal use or the project's .claude/skills/ folder for one project.
- 3Or upload it in the apps. In the Claude apps, go to Settings → Capabilities → Skills and upload the ZIP.
- 4Ask in plain language. Describe the skill you want to create or the one you want to improve.
- 5Review the draft. Check that the description states what the skill does and when to use it.
- 6Iterate from real use. After the skill runs on real tasks, tighten the parts the model struggled with and remove unused content.
What the skill-creator skill makes the agent do
Skill Creator does not add a new capability for answering questions. It changes how the agent authors skills. When you ask it to create a new skill, improve an existing one, or explain how skills work, the agent follows a set of authoring rules from the source SKILL.md.
A skill, in DeepTutor's terms, is a self-contained package: a SKILL.md playbook plus optional references/ files. The model only sees each skill's name and description up front, and fetches the full body when a task matches.
- Write a description that states what the skill does and when to use it, since that line is the trigger.
- Keep instructions concise and assume the model is already capable.
- Move long schemas and examples into references/ files and link them from SKILL.md.
- Match the level of instruction to how fragile the task is.
- Avoid auxiliary files such as README or changelog inside a skill.
- Iterate based on how the skill performs on real tasks.
Install the skill-creator skill
You can install the skill by downloading the ZIP from the page and unzipping it into one of two locations, or by uploading it in the Claude apps.
Use ~/.claude/skills/ for a personal install, or a project's .claude/skills/ folder to scope it to one project. Alternatively, in the Claude apps go to Settings → Capabilities → Skills and upload the skill there.
- Download the ZIP for skill-creator from this page.
- Unzip it into ~/.claude/skills/ or into the project's .claude/skills/ folder.
- Or upload the ZIP under Settings → Capabilities → Skills in the Claude apps.
- The package contains a single file: SKILL.md.
Trigger the skill with natural requests
You do not need a special command. Describe what you want in plain language, and the agent matches your request against the skill's description. The skill is meant to fire when you want to create a new skill, improve an existing skill, or ask how skills work.
The source's own authoring workflow starts from concrete examples: what would you say that should trigger the skill, and what should it do. Giving the agent a few such phrases helps it write a clearer trigger.
- "Help me create a skill that reviews Python pull requests for style issues."
- "Improve this SKILL.md, the agent never uses it for invoice questions."
- "How do agent skills work? Explain the SKILL.md format."
- "Write a description for my skill so the agent knows when to load it."
Understand the SKILL.md format
The frontmatter at the top of SKILL.md holds the name and description, and can include optional fields. The name must be lowercase with digits and hyphens, up to 64 characters, and it becomes the directory name. The source lists optional fields for tags, always, and requires.
The layout below is the one the source describes. The references/ folder is optional.
- name: lowercase, digits, hyphens; max 64 chars
- description: one line stating WHAT it does and WHEN to use it
- tags: optional, for user-facing organisation
- always: optional, eager-inject into every turn
- requires: optional gates for bins, env variables, and sandbox
my-skill/
├── SKILL.md (required: frontmatter + instructions)
└── references/ (optional: docs loaded on demand via read_skill)What the skill needs and safety notes
The skill lists no requirements. It does not run scripts and does not use the network. It consists only of written guidance, so it cannot execute code or fetch information from the internet on its own.
Because it only supplies writing guidance, do not expect it to answer end-user study questions. It only matters when you are authoring skills.
- Requires: nothing listed
- Runs scripts: no
- Uses network: no
- Files included: SKILL.md only
Tips for writing better skills with it
Use the skill as a reviewer for your drafts. Ask the agent to check whether your description would let a model know when to use the skill, and to cut paragraphs that do not justify their cost.
Create skills through the skill management UI (Space → Skills) or the skills API, as the source describes. After the skill fires on real tasks, tighten what the model stumbled over and delete what it never needed.
- Test the description with the trigger check: would a reader of only that line know when to use the skill?
- Put all when-to-use guidance in the description, not in a body section.
- Keep SKILL.md under roughly 500 lines.
- Use the imperative form throughout the instructions.
What people use it for
- Drafting a new skill for a team's internal review playbook.
- Rewriting a vague skill description so the agent loads the skill at the right time.
- Splitting a long SKILL.md into a shorter body and references/ files.
- Explaining the SKILL.md format to a colleague who is new to agent skills.
Frequently asked questions
Is the skill-creator skill free?
The source material lists the licence as Apache-2.0 for the DeepTutor repository and this skill's directory. It does not list prices, so check the project's licence terms for your own use.
What do I need to run skill-creator?
The skill lists no requirements. It does not run scripts and does not use the network, so it needs no extra binaries or environment variables according to its listing.
How do I install skill-creator in Claude?
Download the ZIP and unzip it into ~/.claude/skills/ or a project's .claude/skills/ folder. You can also upload the ZIP in the Claude apps under Settings → Capabilities → Skills.
Why isn't my skill-creator skill triggering?
The agent decides based on the name and description. Ask for something specific, such as creating or improving a skill, and confirm the folder contains SKILL.md at its top level.
Can skill-creator help regular students study?
No. It only changes how the agent writes skills. For ordinary tutoring you would need a different skill or the app's normal features.
What are alternatives to skill-creator?
Any author can write a SKILL.md by hand following the format in this guide. The source does not compare other tools, so this page cannot rank them.
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Our verdict
Skill Creator is worth installing if you are building or standardising skills for DeepTutor or a similar SKILL.md setup, or if you want the agent to explain the format. It is not useful for everyday study help, and anyone expecting a skill that runs code or accesses the internet should choose something else.
Download the skill