Common First-Skill Mistakes
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Common First-Skill Mistakes
Too broad. A skill called “help me write” that covers emails, blog posts, and code comments will be mediocre at all three. Narrow the scope. Write three separate skills if you need three things.
Missing constraints. What should the skill not do? State it explicitly. Without a “never” list, Claude will improvise when edge cases come up — and the improvisation is rarely what you wanted.
No output format. If the skill produces structured output, define the format in the skill body. “Write a summary” is vague. “Write a summary in the following format, with these sections, in this order” is actionable.
Assuming context. Skills run in sessions where Claude may not have the project context you assume. If the skill needs specific context, either load it explicitly or tell Claude where to find it.