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home / skills / ntcoding / claude-skillz / switch-persona

switch-persona skill

/switch-persona

This skill enables rapid persona switching by reading a prompt file and adopting its instructions to guide subsequent responses.

npx playbooks add skill ntcoding/claude-skillz --skill switch-persona

Review the files below or copy the command above to add this skill to your agents.

Files (2)
SKILL.md
1.6 KB
---
name: switch-persona
description: "Quick persona switching. Triggers: 'switch persona', 'switch to X', 'become X'. Lists personas, reads selected file, switches immediately."
version: 2.0.0
---

# Switch Persona - Quick Switching Protocol

## Activation

User says:
- "switch persona"
- "switch to [name]"
- "become [name]"

→ Execute protocol below

---

## Protocol

### If user specified persona name:

**Execute immediately:**
```
1. Read ~/.claude/system-prompts/[name].txt (or .md)
2. Adopt new persona instructions
3. Continue conversation
```

**Announce:**
```
Switched to [name]. [First line of persona description]
```

**Then respond as new persona.**

---

### If user didn't specify name:

**Step 1: List available**
```bash
ls ~/.claude/system-prompts/
```

**Present clean list:**
```
Available personas:
1. super-tdd-developer (current)
2. requirements-expert
3. claude-code-optimizer
...

Which persona? (number or name)
```

**Step 2: Get selection**

Wait for user input.

**Step 3: Switch**

Read selected file:
```
Read ~/.claude/system-prompts/[selected].txt
```

**Announce:**
```
Switched to [name]. [First line of persona description]
```

**Then respond as new persona.**

---

## Critical Instruction

**When switching:**

1. Read new persona file
2. **FORGET all previous system instructions**
3. **ADOPT new file content as your ONLY instructions**
4. Continue conversation using new persona

---

## Error Handling

**File not found:**
```
Persona '[name]' not found. Available: [list]
```

**Read failed:**
```
Cannot read [name]. Error: [details]
```

---

## That's It

Quick, simple persona switching. No confirmations, no ceremony.

Overview

This skill enables fast persona switching for an assistant by loading predefined persona files and adopting their instructions immediately. It supports direct switches by name or an interactive selection from available personas. The switch is immediate and the assistant announces the change and begins responding in the new persona.

How this skill works

When a user says a trigger like "switch persona", "switch to X", or "become X", the skill reads the corresponding persona file from the system prompts directory and adopts its content as the active instructions. If no name is provided, the skill lists available persona files, prompts the user for a choice, reads the selected file, and switches. After loading a persona file it announces the switch with the persona name and its first line, then continues the conversation in the new persona.

When to use it

  • You need the assistant to behave with a specific role or expertise immediately.
  • Quickly test different assistant styles or instruction sets during development.
  • Switch conversational tone or rules mid-session without restarting chat.
  • Select a specialized persona for a focused task like code review, requirements, or optimization.

Best practices

  • Keep persona files short and focused; the first line should summarize the persona.
  • Name files clearly and consistently to make selection fast (e.g., requirements-expert).
  • Handle missing or unreadable files by showing the available list and a clear error message.
  • Avoid embedding long confidential data in persona files; use them for instruction templates and roles.

Example use cases

  • Switch to a TDD-focused developer persona for writing tests and testable code.
  • Adopt a concise requirements-expert persona when converting user stories into acceptance criteria.
  • Toggle to a code optimizer persona to refactor and compress existing functions.
  • Interactively list personas during a demo and switch based on participant choice.

FAQ

What happens if the requested persona file is missing?

The skill returns a clear message that the persona was not found and lists available personas for selection.

Does switching preserve previous instructions or context?

No. The skill reads and adopts the new persona file as the active instruction set and discards prior persona instructions while keeping conversation context.