Claude Code Authoring Foundation

Use this skill as the default foundation for extension work in this repo.

When to use

• Building or refactoring a SKILL.md
• Creating or tightening an agent file in claude/agents/
• Creating plugin scaffolding or command packs
• Reviewing hook configuration and permission boundaries
• Migrating verbose docs to compact progressive-disclosure structure

Fast workflow

1. Classify task: skill, agent, plugin, command, hook, or settings. 2. Load only required references from `reference/README.md`. 3. Implement smallest working change with least-privilege tools. 4. Validate: lint/tests/command checks relevant to touched files. 5. Summarize changes, risk, and follow-up work.

Authoring rules

Skills

• Keep frontmatter minimal and valid.
• Description must answer: what it does, when to use it, trigger phrases.
• Keep SKILL.md concise; move long examples to one-hop reference files.
• Do not embed copied vendor docs; use short summaries plus canonical links.
• Prefer deterministic checklists/workflows over long prose.

Agents

• One-sentence mission.
• Explicit constraints and tool boundaries.
• Output contract with clear deliverables.
• Avoid repeated global policy text already covered in shared docs.

Commands and plugins

• Keep command interfaces explicit and small.
• Use argument placeholders consistently ($ARGUMENTS, $1, $2).
• In plugins, keep manifest/tool scopes tight and document required setup only.

Hooks and safety

• Use hooks for policy enforcement, not noisy logging.
• Never log secrets.
• Fail with actionable messages when blocking.

Token efficiency checklist

• Is this instruction duplicated elsewhere?
• Can a table replace paragraphs?
• Can examples be reduced to one representative pattern?
• Can a local copy of docs be replaced with a URL?
• Can this be verified by a script or command?

Output format

When this skill drives work, return:

1. Scope and assumptions
2. Files changed
3. Validation performed
4. Residual risks and next steps

Resources

• ../AGENT_SKILL_SPEC.md - Anthropic and Copilot alignment baseline
• reference/README.md - canonical link map and local standards
• examples.md - compact implementation templates