Apr 16, 2026 · 17 min read
Why Your Claude Code Skill Isn't Triggering (and How to Fix It)
Apr 16, 2026 · 21 min read
The SKILL.md Description Field: The One Line That Makes or Breaks Your Skill
Apr 16, 2026 · 21 min read
Progressive Disclosure: How Production Skills Manage Token Economics
Apr 16, 2026 · 16 min read
Evaluation-First Skill Development: Write Tests Before Instructions
Apr 16, 2026 · 14 min read
Claude Code Skills vs Agents vs Prompts: When to Use Which
Apr 16, 2026 · 11 min read
Why Isn't My Claude Code Skill Working?
Apr 16, 2026 · 11 min read
What Is a 'Fair-Weather Skill' That Only Works on Easy Inputs?
Apr 16, 2026 · 12 min read
What Are the Most Common Mistakes When Building Claude Code Skills?
Apr 16, 2026 · 13 min read
When Do I Need a Rubric vs Just Using evals.json?
Apr 16, 2026 · 10 min read
What Is a Rubric in a Claude Code Skill?
Apr 16, 2026 · 9 min read
What Is Evaluation-First Development for Claude Code Skills?
Apr 16, 2026 · 10 min read
What Is an evals.json File in Claude Code Skills?
Apr 16, 2026 · 11 min read
What Are Evals in Claude Code Skills?
Apr 16, 2026 · 11 min read
How Specific Should My Skill Instructions Be?
Apr 16, 2026 · 11 min read
Why Can't I Just Put Everything in One Big SKILL.md File?
Apr 16, 2026 · 8 min read
When Does the SKILL.md Body Get Loaded into Context?
Apr 16, 2026 · 9 min read
What is Progressive Disclosure in Claude Code Skills?
Apr 16, 2026 · 12 min read
Progressive Disclosure: What Are the Three Layers in Claude Code Skills?
Apr 16, 2026 · 9 min read
How Many Tokens Does Claude Use to Store My Skill Descriptions at Startup?
Apr 16, 2026 · 9 min read
How Does the Metadata Layer Work at Startup in Claude Code Skills?
Apr 16, 2026 · 11 min read
How Does Progressive Disclosure Save Tokens and Improve Performance?
Apr 16, 2026 · 8 min read
How Does Claude Decide What Skill Content to Load and When?
Apr 16, 2026 · 9 min read
How Are Reference Files Loaded on Demand in Claude Code Skills?
Apr 16, 2026 · 8 min read
Does Claude Read All My Skill Files Every Time I Start a Session?
Apr 16, 2026 · 12 min read
How Do I Write Step-by-Step Instructions for a Claude Code Skill?
Apr 16, 2026 · 11 min read
Why Is the Description the Highest-Leverage Element of Skill Design?
Apr 16, 2026 · 13 min read
Pushy vs Conservative Skill Description: How to Tell the Difference
Apr 16, 2026 · 9 min read
What Happens If I Don't Include a Description in My Skill?
Apr 16, 2026 · 10 min read
What Does the Description Field Do in a Claude Code Skill?
Apr 16, 2026 · 10 min read
Imperative vs Passive Descriptions: What 650 Activation Trials Reveal
Apr 16, 2026 · 12 min read
What Are Negative Triggers and Why Should I Include Them in the Description?
Apr 16, 2026 · 12 min read
How Long Should My Skill Description Be?
Apr 16, 2026 · 13 min read
How Do I Write Trigger Phrases That Make My Skill Activate Reliably?
Apr 16, 2026 · 11 min read
How Do I Write a Good Skill Description?
Apr 16, 2026 · 11 min read
What Goes in a SKILL.md File?
Apr 16, 2026 · 8 min read
When Should I Use a Skill Instead of Writing Instructions in CLAUDE.md?
Apr 16, 2026 · 11 min read
When Does a Workflow Need Multiple Agents vs a Single Skill?
Apr 16, 2026 · 9 min read
What's the Difference Between a Claude Code Skill and an Agent?
Apr 16, 2026 · 9 min read
What's the Difference Between a Claude Code Skill and a Prompt?
Apr 16, 2026 · 9 min read
Should I Put My Instructions in CLAUDE.md or Create a Separate Skill?
Apr 16, 2026 · 9 min read
What is a Claude Code Skill?
Apr 16, 2026 · 11 min read
How Do I Create My First Claude Code Skill?
Apr 16, 2026 · 17 min read
The Complete Guide to Building Claude Code Skills in 2026