skill-developer

To create a Claude Code skill, you must build a SKILL.md file containing YAML frontmatter with required name and description fields, plus optional metadata like tagline, category, keywords, dependencies, and components for discovery and validation.

Claude Code skill triggers are mechanisms defined in your skill configuration that enable contextual loading and discovery during activation. They include keyword matching, intent patterns, file paths, and content patterns to determine when a skill should be invoked.

You validate a SKILL.md file by ensuring the frontmatter is present with a name and description, then extracting and checking metadata fields like category, keywords, dependencies, components, and toxicity checks to drive safe execution and discovery.

Claude Code skill development does not require external dependencies, as the dependency list is empty. Skill Units may optionally include scripts, references, or assets, but the only strict requirement is a valid SKILL.md file with frontmatter.

The best way to test Claude Code skill triggers and hooks is to use the provided manual hook utilities after adding your skill to skill-rules.json, allowing you to verify keyword matching, intent patterns, and enforcement levels before deployment.

Your Claude Code skill may not be discovered if the SKILL.md frontmatter is missing required fields like name or description, or if the skill-rules.json configuration lacks proper triggers, keywords, or file path patterns needed for contextual loading.