Build your first Claude Code app

free beta with Pawgrammer

Skill Developer

Create and manage Claude Code skills following Anthropic best practices, with guidance on triggers, hooks, enforcement levels, and the 500-line rule.

Featureddevelopmentai

Skill Developer

Comprehensive guide for creating and managing Claude Code skills with auto-activation, covering skill structure, trigger patterns, hook mechanisms, and Anthropic best practices including the 500-line rule.

Essential for developers who want to create their own Claude Code skills and understand the meta-development process.

Core Purpose

This skill teaches you how to build effective Claude Code skills through:

  • Skill Structure: Proper organization with SKILL.md and resource files
  • Trigger Patterns: Auto-activation based on file context and user intent
  • Hook Mechanisms: Integration with Claude Code's skill system
  • Best Practices: Following Anthropic's 500-line rule and enforcement levels
  • Meta-Development: Creating skills that help develop other skills

Key Features

Skill Development Guidance

Structure & Organization:

  • SKILL.md as the main entry point (under 500 lines)
  • Resources folder for modular content organization
  • skill-rules.json for activation configuration

Trigger & Activation:

  • Context-based auto-activation patterns
  • Hook integration for skill suggestions
  • Enforcement levels (mandatory vs. suggested)

Quality Standards:

  • 500-line rule for maintainability
  • Clear scope definition
  • Proper documentation

Use Cases

Perfect for:

  • Skill Creators: Building new Claude Code skills
  • Teams: Standardizing development workflows
  • Meta-Development: Understanding skill architecture
  • Best Practices: Following Anthropic guidelines

Getting Started

  1. Review Structure: Understand SKILL.md organization
  2. Study Triggers: Learn context-based activation
  3. Follow Guidelines: Apply 500-line rule and modular design
  4. Test Activation: Validate auto-activation works correctly

Credits

Created by diet103 as part of the Claude Code Infrastructure Showcase, born from 6 months of real-world use managing complex TypeScript microservices projects.

Part of a production-tested collection shared after hundreds of community requests following the popular Reddit post "Claude Code is a Beast – Tips from 6 Months of Hardcore Use."