Verification Skills
Note
TL;DR
- A skill is a folder with a SKILL.md inside it: a name, a description that triggers it, and the procedure itself.
- If you’ve typed the same multi-step instruction twice, that’s a skill.
The rule of thumb: If you’ve typed the same multi-step instruction twice, that’s a skill.
Skill Folder
A skill isn’t just a single SKILL.md file. The folder around it can carry other things.
Drop a
reference.mdnext toSKILL.mdfor detailed material, then link to it fromSKILL.md. Claude reads it only when it needs that depth. Your main file stays short.Put scripts in the folder too. Claude executes them rather than loading their contents into context. That means a skill can carry its own tooling, like a
check.shthat runs all the gates.
Tip
keep SKILL.md itself lean. Push the heavy material (the long explanations and the executable scripts) into side files.
The lean file describes what to do. The side files hold the depth and the tools.
Which Instruction Surface Owns Which Rule
| Owns | |
|---|---|
CLAUDE.md file | Conventions that apply all the time, things like naming rules or where files go. |
| Skill | Procedures and reference material tied to a particular kind of task belong in a skill. |
| Hook | A rule that Claude must not be able to skip. |