Temporary Files Skill

When you need to create files to track progress, generate reports, or store temporary data, use the system's temporary directory instead of the repository root.

Directory Structure

Use this base path for all temporary files (aligns with Claude Code's existing task output convention):

/tmp/claude/{sanitized-cwd}/

Where {sanitized-cwd} is the current working directory path with / replaced by - (leading slash stripped first to avoid a leading dash).

Example: Working in /Users/bobby/workspace/pivot/llamafarm → /tmp/claude/Users-bobby-workspace-pivot-llamafarm/

Creating a Temp File

Step 1: Create the directory

SANITIZED_PATH=$(echo "$PWD" | sed 's|^/||' | tr '/' '-')
REPORT_DIR="/tmp/claude/${SANITIZED_PATH}/reviews"
mkdir -p "$REPORT_DIR"

Step 2: Generate a unique filename

Use this pattern: {descriptor}-{YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS}.{ext}

TIMESTAMP=$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S)
FILENAME="code-review-${TIMESTAMP}.md"
FILEPATH="${REPORT_DIR}/${FILENAME}"

Step 3: Write the file

Use the Write tool with the full temp path.

Step 4: Inform the user

Always tell the user where the file was created:

Report saved to: /tmp/claude/Users-bobby-workspace-pivot-llamafarm/reviews/code-review-20260108-143052.md

When to Use This Pattern

Code review reports
Analysis outputs
Progress tracking files
Test result summaries
Any generated documentation not explicitly requested in a specific location

When NOT to Use This Pattern

User explicitly specifies a file path
Creating files that should be committed (e.g., README, config files)
Editing existing files

Cleanup Note

Files in /tmp/ are cleared on system restart. If the user needs to preserve a file, suggest they copy it to a permanent location.

temp-files