What are Skills?
Skills are reusable workflow definitions that guide Claude through specific development tasks. Unlike agents (which are autonomous) or commands (which are single actions), skills provide step-by-step guidance for complex workflows.Skill Categories
Development Workflows
Core development patterns and methodologies:- TDD Workflow - Test-driven development with 80%+ coverage
- Verification Loop - Comprehensive quality gates before PR
- Eval Harness - Eval-driven development framework
- Coding Standards - Universal best practices for TypeScript/JavaScript
Security & Quality
Security-first development and code review:- Security Review - Comprehensive security checklist
- Security Scan - AgentShield configuration auditing
Architecture & Design
API design and system architecture patterns:- API Design - REST API conventions and best practices
- Frontend Patterns - React, Next.js, state management
- Backend Patterns - Repository pattern, caching, middleware
Testing
Comprehensive testing strategies:- E2E Testing - Playwright patterns and Page Object Model
Data Layer
Database and migration patterns:- Database Migrations - Safe schema changes and zero-downtime deployments
Language-Specific Patterns
Idiomatic patterns for different languages:Go
- Go Patterns - Idiomatic Go development
- Go Testing - Table-driven tests, benchmarks, fuzzing
Python
- Python Patterns - Pythonic idioms and best practices
- Django Patterns - Django REST Framework and ORM patterns
C++
- C++ Coding Standards - C++ Core Guidelines compliance
Meta-Skills
Learning and optimization:- Continuous Learning - Instinct-based learning system
- Strategic Compact - Context management strategy
- Iterative Retrieval - Progressive context refinement
How to Use Skills
Skills are automatically available to Claude when the skill loader is configured. You can:- Activate implicitly - Claude recognizes when a skill applies to your request
- Request explicitly - “Use the TDD workflow skill for this feature”
- Reference in CLAUDE.md - Add skill guidelines to project instructions
Skill Activation Triggers
Each skill defines when it should activate:Creating Custom Skills
You can create project-specific skills in.claude/skills/:
Skill vs Agent vs Command
Next Steps
Explore individual skills:- Start with TDD Workflow for test-driven development
- Review Security Review before production deployments
- Check Coding Standards for code quality guidelines