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home / skills / wellapp-ai / well / skill-creator

skill-creator skill

/cursor-rules/skills/skill-creator

This skill helps you rapidly create new skills by generating a ready-to-use SKILL.md template and guidance.

npx playbooks add skill wellapp-ai/well --skill skill-creator

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

Files (1)
SKILL.md
1.7 KB
---
name: skill-creator
description: Template and guide for creating new skills
---

# Skill Creator

Use this skill to create new skills.

## SKILL.md Template

```yaml
---
name: your-skill-name
description: When to use this skill
---

# Skill Name

Brief description of what this skill does.

## When to Use
- Situation 1
- Situation 2

## Instructions
Step-by-step guide Claude follows.

## Examples
Concrete usage examples.

## Guidelines
- Best practice 1
- Best practice 2
```

## Skill vs Mode Decision

| Create a... | When... |
|-------------|---------|
| **Mode** | Triggered by user intent (workflow) |
| **Skill** | Invoked explicitly for capability |

**Examples:**
- "init feature" → Mode (workflow triggered by intent)
- "use webapp-testing" → Skill (capability invoked explicitly)

## File Location

- Modes: `.cursor/rules/modes/<name>.mdc`
- Skills: `.cursor/rules/skills/<name>/SKILL.md`

## Naming Conventions

- Use lowercase with hyphens: `my-skill-name`
- Be descriptive: `webapp-testing` not `test`
- Match the folder name to the skill name

## Required Sections

1. **YAML Frontmatter** - name and description
2. **Title** - Clear skill name
3. **When to Use** - Trigger conditions
4. **Instructions** - What Claude should do
5. **Examples** - Concrete usage

## Optional Sections

- Guidelines / Best Practices
- Common Issues / Troubleshooting
- Related Skills / Modes

## After Creating

1. Test the skill with explicit invocation: "use [skill-name] skill"
2. Document in team wiki if shared
3. Consider adding to Mode Detection if workflow-based

## Existing Skills

| Skill | Purpose |
|-------|---------|
| `mcp-server` | Create MCP integrations |
| `webapp-testing` | Browser/Storybook testing |
| `skill-creator` | Create new skills (this one) |

Overview

This skill helps you create new skills by providing a clear template and step-by-step guidance. It standardizes naming, file placement, required sections, and testing recommendations so teams can produce consistent, reusable skills quickly. The goal is to make skill creation repeatable and easy to validate.

How this skill works

The skill inspects your proposed skill name, purpose, and trigger conditions and maps them to a standardized file structure and content checklist. It generates a ready-to-edit skill file with frontmatter, title, trigger guidance, instructions, and usage examples. It also advises where to place the file and how to validate the new skill through explicit invocation and testing.

When to use it

  • You need a repeatable template to document a new capability for the agent platform
  • You want consistent naming and file placement for new skills
  • You are deciding whether to implement a workflow mode or an explicit skill
  • You want a checklist of required sections before committing a skill
  • You need quick guidance on testing and publishing a new skill

Best practices

  • Use lowercase, hyphen-separated names that match the folder name
  • Provide a one-line description in the frontmatter and a concise title
  • Include a clear 'When to use' section with concrete trigger conditions
  • Write step-by-step instructions and at least two concrete examples
  • Test the skill with explicit invocation and document shared skills in the team wiki

Example use cases

  • Create a new invoice-extraction skill that the agent can invoke explicitly
  • Decide whether an onboarding automation should be a mode or a skill
  • Draft a receipt-parsing capability with instructions and sample inputs
  • Standardize a connector skill for routing financial data into the FinOps stack
  • Spin up a small utility skill for generating invoices with example prompts

FAQ

How do I choose between creating a mode or a skill?

If the behavior should trigger automatically from user intent or a workflow, choose a mode; if it is invoked explicitly for a capability, choose a skill.

What sections are absolutely required?

Include frontmatter with name and description, a clear title, 'When to use', step-by-step instructions, and concrete examples.