Claude Skill File

From substack.com/@humzakhalid

Components

The SKILL.md has 7 Components:

1. YAML Frontmatter (Your Skill’s ID Card)

• This tells Claude what the skill is called and when to load it.
• Weak frontmatter = Claude ignores your skill completely.

1. Instructions Block (The Brain)

• Tell Claude exactly what to do inside this skill.
• Tell Claude exactly what never to do.

1. Examples Section (The Shortcut)

• Show Claude a sample input and the exact output you expect.
• Two examples cut mistakes in half.

1. Supporting Files (The Context Layer)

• Got extra templates, scripts, or reference docs?
• Link them here instead of pasting everything in one block.

1. The Trigger Rule (The Most Ignored Part)

• Claude reads your description to decide if it should load.
• Weak words = skill gets skipped every single time.

1. Negative Instructions (The Error Killer)

• Tell Claude what NOT to do.
• This one section prevents 80% of wrong outputs.

1. Composability (The Power Move)

• Skills can team up.
• Claude can load multiple skills at once.