Claude Code Skills Catalog¶

Last Updated: November 24, 2025

This document provides a comprehensive catalog of all Claude Code skills available in amplihack.

About Claude Code Skills¶

Claude Code Skills are modular, reusable capabilities that extend Claude's functionality. They consist of folders containing a SKILL.md file with YAML frontmatter and Markdown instructions, along with optional supporting scripts and resources.

Key Benefits:

• Token Efficient: Skills load on-demand, consuming minimal tokens until needed
• Auto-Detection: Claude automatically uses skills based on context
• Philosophy Aligned: All skills follow amplihack's ruthless simplicity and modular design
• Portable: Work across Claude.ai, API, and Claude Code environments
• Self-Contained: Each skill is independently usable and testable

Skill Types¶

Amplihack has THREE types of skills that work together:

Type 1: Capability Skills (13+ skills)¶

Purpose: Provide specific new functionality for tasks beyond coding.

These skills add NEW capabilities like decision recording, email drafting, meeting synthesis, etc. They don't wrap existing agents - they provide genuinely new functionality.

Type 2: Domain Expert Analyst Skills (23 skills)¶

Purpose: Analyze events through specialized disciplinary lenses using rigorous academic frameworks.

These skills provide deep domain expertise for multi-perspective analysis of events, policies, and phenomena. Each analyst applies discipline-specific theories, methods, and evidence.

Social Sciences (5):

• economist-analyst - Markets, incentives, supply/demand, policy analysis
• political-scientist-analyst - Power, institutions, IR theory, comparative politics
• historian-analyst - Causation, continuity/change, historical context, precedents
• sociologist-analyst - Social structures, inequality, collective behavior
• anthropologist-analyst - Cultural analysis, ethnography, cross-cultural comparison

Humanities & Communication (4):

• novelist-analyst - Narrative structure, character development, dramatic tension
• journalist-analyst - Investigation, verification, 5Ws+H, fact-checking
• poet-analyst - Metaphor, imagery, close reading, emotional truth
• futurist-analyst - Scenario planning, trend analysis, strategic foresight

Natural Sciences (5):

• physicist-analyst - Physical principles, conservation laws, modeling
• chemist-analyst - Molecular structure, reactions, synthesis planning
• psychologist-analyst - Cognition, behavior, social influence, neuroscience
• environmentalist-analyst - Ecosystems, climate, sustainability, biodiversity
• biologist-analyst - Evolution, genetics, ecology, systems biology

Applied Fields (6):

• computer-scientist-analyst - Algorithms, complexity, systems design
• cybersecurity-analyst - Threat modeling, defense, incident response
• lawyer-analyst - Legal analysis, IRAC, statutory interpretation
• indigenous-leader-analyst - Traditional knowledge, Seven Generations, Two-Eyed Seeing
• engineer-analyst - Systems analysis, optimization, failure analysis, trade-offs
• urban-planner-analyst - Land use, zoning, transportation, housing, sustainability

Philosophy & Ethics (3):

• ethicist-analyst - Moral frameworks, value conflicts, normative analysis
• philosopher-analyst - Logic, epistemology, metaphysics, conceptual analysis
• epidemiologist-analyst - Disease patterns, public health, outbreak investigation

Key Features:

• All 23 analysts have comprehensive test suites (tests/quiz.md with 5 scenarios each)
• Domain-specific search capability
• Progressive disclosure structure (SKILL.md + README.md + QUICK_REFERENCE.md)
• 100+ scholarly sources preserved across all agents
• Consistent 16-section template pattern
• PR: #1346

Type 3: Agent-Wrapper Skills (7 skills)¶

Purpose: Auto-detect when to invoke existing agents, reducing need to remember command names.

These skills are thin coordination layers that automatically trigger amplihack's existing agents based on conversation context.

Research & Documentation¶

Research Reports¶

• Complete Research Report (357 lines)
• Comprehensive analysis of Claude Code Skills ecosystem
• Comparison with MCP (Model Context Protocol)
• 23+ documented skills from Anthropic and community

• Key insights from Simon Willison and other experts

• Evaluation Matrix & Ideas (842 lines)

• 6-criteria evaluation framework aligned with amplihack philosophy
• 20 brainstormed skill ideas with priority scores
• Implementation phases and effort estimates
• Detailed scoring rubrics

Evaluation Criteria (Capability Skills)¶

Capability skills were evaluated on:

1. Ruthless Simplicity (1-5): Single clear purpose, minimal dependencies
2. Modular Design (1-5): Self-contained, clear interfaces (bricks & studs)
3. Zero-BS Implementation (1-5): Actually works, no stubs
4. Reusability (1-5): Useful across multiple contexts
5. Maintenance Burden (1-5, lower is better): Stable dependencies
6. User Value (1-5): Solves frequent pain points, measurable time savings

Priority Score Formula:

Priority = (Simplicity * 2) + (Modular * 2) + (Zero-BS * 1.5) +
           (Reusability * 1.5) + ((6 - Maintenance) * 1) + (User Value * 2.5)
Max Score: 50 points

All capability skills scored 40.0-50.0 (HIGH priority).

Using Skills¶

Skills are automatically discovered from:

• User settings: ~/.config/claude/skills/
• Project settings: .claude/skills/
• Plugin-provided skills
• Built-in skills

Invoking Skills¶

Capability Skills (explicit invocation):

Claude, use the decision-logger skill to record this architectural decision.
Claude, analyze test coverage using test-gap-analyzer.
Claude, generate a Mermaid diagram for this workflow.

Agent-Wrapper Skills (automatic detection):

User: "How should I design the authentication system?"
→ Architecting Solutions skill auto-activates
→ Provides design analysis automatically

User: "Can you review this code?"
→ Reviewing Code skill auto-activates
→ Performs comprehensive review

Managing Skills¶

/agents                # List available agents and skills
/reload-skills         # Reload after modifications

Skill Structure¶

Each skill follows this structure:

skill-name/
├── SKILL.md           # Required: YAML frontmatter + instructions
├── README.md          # Optional: User-facing documentation
├── examples/          # Optional: Example usage
└── tests/             # Optional: Validation tests

SKILL.md Format¶

---
name: skill-name
description: |
  Clear description of what this skill does and when Claude should use it.
  Include both the capability AND the usage context.
---

# Skill Instructions

Detailed instructions for Claude on how to use this skill...

## Examples
Concrete examples with input/output...

Quality Standards¶

All skills meet these quality standards:

• ✅ Complete Documentation: SKILL.md with YAML frontmatter
• ✅ Clear Examples: Real-world usage demonstrations
• ✅ Philosophy Aligned: Ruthless simplicity, modular design, zero-BS
• ✅ Tested: Quality review completed
• ✅ Production Ready: No stubs, TODOs, or placeholders

Creating New Skills¶

For Capability Skills¶

To create a new capability skill:

1. Research: Check if similar skills exist
2. Evaluate: Score against 6 criteria (target score: 40+)
3. Create: Follow skill structure above
4. Document: Clear SKILL.md with examples
5. Test: Validate with real usage
6. Review: Ensure philosophy compliance

See Evaluation Matrix for guidance on prioritization.

For Agent-Wrapper Skills¶

To create an agent-wrapper skill:

1. Identify Pattern: Find repetitive agent invocations
2. Define Triggers: What phrases/contexts should activate this?
3. Create Thin Wrapper: Just detection logic + agent invocation
4. No Logic Duplication: All real work stays in agents
5. Test Auto-Detection: Verify skill activates appropriately

Related Documentation¶

• CLAUDE.md - Project overview and agent system
• PHILOSOPHY.md - Ruthless simplicity principles
• PATTERNS.md - Reusable solution patterns
• Agent Catalog - Specialized agents

Contributing¶

When adding new skills:

1. Determine skill type (capability vs. agent-wrapper)
2. Create GitHub issue with rationale
3. Implement in separate worktree/branch
4. Follow naming: feat/issue-{number}-{skill-name}
5. Create PR with comprehensive description
6. Link to research and evaluation docs (if capability skill)
7. Ensure quality review completed

Total Skills: 43 (14 capability + 23 analyst + 7 agent-wrapper - 1 deprecated) Status: Production Ready

🤖 Skills documentation maintained as part of amplihack project