Claude Code Skills

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How to Use Skills ​

Trigger Methods ​

Method 1: Slash Commands (Most Common) ​

Type /<skill-name> directly in the conversation:

/diagnose
/tdd

Method 2: Keyword Triggers ​

Many Skills auto-trigger via natural language keywords:

  • "Help me debug this bug" → auto-triggers diagnose
  • "Implement this with TDD" → auto-triggers tdd
  • "Review this code" → auto-triggers review

Each Skill's documentation lists its trigger keywords.

Method 3: Auto-Invocation ​

Claude Code automatically determines if a Skill fits the current task and invokes it proactively.

Interaction Modes ​

Direct Execution ​

Most Skills start working immediately after triggering:

You: /diagnose The login API returns 500
Claude: Let me diagnose this systematically...
        [Reproduce → Narrow → Hypothesize → Verify]

Guided Mode ​

Some Skills (grill-me, grill-with-docs) enter a guided interaction, asking follow-ups until consensus:

You: /grill-me We need a permission system
Claude: Let me ask a few questions first...
        1. Role-based or resource-based permissions?
        2. Dynamic permission changes needed?
        ...

Background Mode ​

Skills like loop run periodically in the background without continuous interaction.

Tips ​

1. Be Specific ​

# Bad
/diagnose bug

# Good
/diagnose Users occasionally get redirected to homepage after login, Chrome latest, works after refresh

2. Chain Skills ​

Multiple Skills can form a workflow:

/tdd Implement user registration
/review Review the code
/simplify Simplify redundant logic

3. Know the Triggers ​

Each Skill has clear "use" and "don't use" scenarios. Using the wrong Skill reduces efficiency. See When to Use Which.

4. Diagnose First ​

Not sure what's wrong? Start with /diagnose — the general-purpose debugging Skill.

Notes ​

  • Session-scoped: Once triggered, a Skill affects the entire session's behavior
  • Switchable: Trigger a new Skill to switch mid-session
  • Some are mutually exclusive: caveman (compact mode) doesn't pair well with verbose Skills
  • Context cost: Each Skill loads extra instructions — mind context limits in long sessions

Next Steps ​