Use when the user asks to "create a skill", "scaffold a skill", "validate a skill", mentions "SKILL.md", "skill structure", or discusses skill architecture and plugin development.
Scaffolds, validates, and maintains skills for Claude Code plugins. This is the meta-skill that creates and refines all other skills.
Every skill is a folder inside skills/ with this structure:
skill-name/
├── SKILL.md (required — metadata + instructions)
├── scripts/ (optional — executable code)
├── references/ (optional — docs loaded on demand)
└── assets/ (optional — templates, images, fonts)
Do NOT create README.md, CHANGELOG.md, or auxiliary documentation. SKILL.md is the single source of truth. See references/skill-creator.md for the full rationale.
Gather concrete examples of what the user wants. Ask: what triggers this skill? What inputs/outputs does it produce? What decisions depend on context vs must be deterministic?
Decide what goes where:
| Resource | When to use |
|---|---|
| SKILL.md body | Core workflow, decision trees, essential instructions (<500 lines) |
| scripts/ | Code that needs deterministic reliability or is rewritten repeatedly |
| references/ | Detailed docs Claude reads on demand (schemas, API specs, policies) |
| assets/ | Files used in output (templates, images, boilerplate) |
Run the scaffold script to generate the standard structure:
python scripts/skill_scaffold.py <skill-name> "<description>"
Or create manually — the scaffold is a convenience, not a requirement.
The most critical file. Follow these rules:
Frontmatter:
---