IF A SKILL APPLIES TO YOUR TASK, YOU DO NOT HAVE A CHOICE. YOU MUST USE IT.
This is not negotiable. This is not optional. You cannot rationalize your way out of this. </EXTREMELY-IMPORTANT>
Overview
Master catalog and dispatch system for all 64 toolkit skills. Ensures proper skill identification at conversation start.
How to Access Skills
In Claude Code: Use the Skill tool. When you invoke a skill, its content is loaded and presented to you — follow it directly. Never use the Read tool on skill files.
Phase 1: Skill Identification
Before ANY action: scan catalog, identify ALL matching skills (even 1% relevance), invoke via Skill tool.
Phase 2: Skill Prioritization
Invoke in order: (1) Process (brainstorming, planning) → (2) Specialist (frontend, backend, architect) → (3) Quality (TDD, review) → (4) Docs → (5) Design → (6) Ops → (7) Terminal (verification).
Phase 3: Skill Execution
Rigid skills: Follow exactly. Flexible skills: Adapt to context. Always invoke verification-before-completion before claiming done.
Available Skills (64 Total)
Core Skills (6)
| Skill | When to Use |
|---|---|
using-toolkit | Session start — establishes skill usage |
self-learning | Starting work on unfamiliar projects, or when corrected |
resilient-execution | When an approach fails — ensures retry with alternatives |
circuit-breaker | Autonomous loops, repeated operations, stagnation detection |
auto-improvement | Self-improving system, tracks effectiveness, learns from errors |
verification-before-completion | Before claiming ANY task is complete |
Process & Workflow Skills (9)
| Skill | When to Use |
|---|---|
planning | Before ANY implementation — forces structured planning |
brainstorming | Before creative work — exploring ideas, features, designs |
task-management | Breaking work into tracked steps during implementation |
executing-plans | Executing approved plan documents step by step |
subagent-driven-development | Multi-task execution with two-stage review gates |
dispatching-parallel-agents | Running multiple independent tasks concurrently |
autonomous-loop | Ralph-style iterative autonomous development loops |
ralph-status | End of every autonomous loop iteration — structured progress reporting |
task-decomposition | Hierarchical task breakdown, dependency mapping, parallelization |
Quality Assurance Skills (17)
| Skill | When to Use |
|---|---|
code-review | After completing tasks, before committing |
test-driven-development | Writing any new code (RED-GREEN-REFACTOR) |
systematic-debugging | Investigating bugs, errors, unexpected behavior |
testing-strategy | Choosing testing approach for a project |
security-review | Reviewing for vulnerabilities, auth, input validation |
performance-optimization | Optimizing speed, reducing load times |
acceptance-testing | Validating implementation meets spec acceptance criteria |
llm-as-judge | Evaluating subjective quality (tone, UX, readability, aesthetics) |
senior-frontend | React/Next.js/TypeScript specialist with >85% test coverage |
senior-backend | API design, microservices, event-driven architecture |
senior-architect | System design, scalability, trade-off analysis, ADRs |
senior-fullstack | End-to-end development across the full stack |
clean-code | SOLID, DRY, code smells, refactoring patterns |
react-best-practices | React hooks, context, suspense, server components |
webapp-testing | Playwright-based web testing, screenshots, browser logs |
senior-prompt-engineer | Prompt design, optimization, chain-of-thought |
senior-data-scientist | ML pipelines, statistical analysis, experiment design |
Documentation Skills (5)
| Skill | When to Use |
|---|---|
prd-generation | Generating Product Requirements Documents |
tech-docs-generator | Generating or updating technical documentation |
writing-skills | Creating new skills, commands, or agent definitions |
spec-writing | Writing specifications with JTBD methodology and acceptance criteria |
reverse-engineering-specs | Generating implementation-free specs from existing codebases |
Design Skills (3)
| Skill | When to Use |
|---|---|
api-design | Designing API endpoints and generating specs |
frontend-ui-design | Component architecture, responsive design, accessibility |
database-schema-design | Data modeling, migrations, indexing |
Operations Skills (7)
| Skill | When to Use |
|---|---|
deployment | Setting up CI/CD pipelines and deploy checklists |
using-git-worktrees | Creating isolated development environments |
finishing-a-development-branch | Completing work on a branch, preparing to merge |
git-commit-helper | Conventional commits, semantic versioning, changelogs |
senior-devops | CI/CD, Docker, Kubernetes, infrastructure-as-code |
mcp-builder | MCP server development, tools, resources, transport layers |
agent-development | Building AI agents, tool use, memory, planning |
Creative Skills (6)
| Skill | When to Use |
|---|---|
ui-ux-pro-max | Full UI/UX design intelligence with styles, palettes, fonts, UX guidelines |
ui-design-system | Design tokens, component libraries, Tailwind CSS, responsive patterns |
canvas-design | HTML Canvas, SVG, data visualization, generative art |
mobile-design | React Native, Flutter, SwiftUI, platform HIG compliance |
ux-researcher-designer | User research, personas, journey maps, usability testing |
artifacts-builder | Generate standalone artifacts, interactive demos, prototypes |
Business Skills (3)
| Skill | When to Use |
|---|---|
seo-optimizer | Technical SEO, meta tags, structured data, Core Web Vitals |
content-research-writer | Research methodology, long-form content, citations |
content-creator | Marketing copy, social media, brand voice |
Document Processing Skills (3)
| Skill | When to Use |
|---|---|
docx-processing | Word document generation, template filling |
pdf-processing | PDF generation, form filling, OCR, merge/split |
xlsx-processing | Excel manipulation, formulas, charts |
Frameworks & Languages Skills (3)
| Skill | When to Use |
|---|---|
laravel-specialist | Laravel development — Eloquent, Blade, Livewire, queues, Pest |
php-specialist | Modern PHP 8.x — PSR standards, static analysis, Composer |
laravel-boost | Laravel Boost performance optimization — caching, queries, N+1 |
Productivity Skills (1)
| Skill | When to Use |
|---|---|
file-organizer | Project structure, file naming, directory architecture |
Communication Skills (1)
| Skill | When to Use |
|---|---|
email-composer | Professional email drafting, tone adjustment |
Decision Table: Choosing the Right Skill
| User Request Contains | Primary Skill | Supporting Skills |
|---|---|---|
| "build", "implement", "create feature" | planning | brainstorming, tdd, code-review |
| "fix", "bug", "error", "broken" | systematic-debugging | tdd, resilient-execution |
| "test", "coverage", "spec" | test-driven-development | testing-strategy, acceptance-testing |
| "review", "check", "audit" | code-review | security-review, clean-code |
| "plan", "how should we" | planning | brainstorming, task-decomposition |
| "deploy", "CI/CD", "pipeline" | deployment | senior-devops |
| "API", "endpoint", "REST", "GraphQL" | api-design | senior-backend |
| "React", "Next.js", "component" | senior-frontend | react-best-practices, frontend-ui-design |
| "Laravel", "Eloquent", "Blade", "Livewire" | laravel-specialist | php-specialist, laravel-boost |
| "PHP", "Composer", "PSR" | php-specialist | laravel-specialist |
| "database", "schema", "migration" | database-schema-design | senior-backend |
| "design", "UI", "UX" | ui-ux-pro-max | ui-design-system, frontend-ui-design |
| "mobile", "iOS", "Android" | mobile-design | ui-ux-pro-max |
| "document", "docs", "README" | tech-docs-generator | prd-generation |
| "spec", "requirements", "PRD" | spec-writing | prd-generation |
| "autonomous", "loop", "ralph" | autonomous-loop | ralph-status, circuit-breaker |
| "performance", "optimize", "slow" | performance-optimization | laravel-boost |
| "security", "vulnerability", "auth" | security-review | senior-backend |
| "SEO", "meta tags", "search engine" | seo-optimizer | content-research-writer |
| "email", "draft", "compose" | email-composer | content-creator |
| "PDF", "Word", "Excel" | pdf-processing / docx-processing / xlsx-processing | — |
| "agent", "AI", "tool use" | agent-development | mcp-builder |
| "MCP", "server", "transport" | mcp-builder | agent-development |
Workflow Patterns
| Pattern | Skill Chain |
|---|---|
| "Build feature X" | brainstorming -> planning -> executing-plans -> code-review -> verification |
| "Fix bug Y" | systematic-debugging -> TDD -> code-review -> verification |
| "Write new code" | test-driven-development (always) |
| "Run autonomously" | autonomous-loop -> ralph-status -> circuit-breaker |
| "Write specs" | spec-writing (JTBD methodology) |
| "Understand legacy code" | reverse-engineering-specs -> spec-writing (audit) |
| "Check acceptance criteria" | acceptance-testing (backpressure chain) |
| "Validate subjective quality" | llm-as-judge (rubric-based evaluation) |
| "Document the API" | tech-docs-generator or api-design |
| "Create a PRD for Z" | prd-generation |
| "Set up CI/CD" | deployment |
| "How should we test?" | testing-strategy |
| "Design the database" | database-schema-design |
| "Build a UI component" | frontend-ui-design |
| "Check for security issues" | security-review |
| "Make it faster" | performance-optimization |
| "Done with this branch" | finishing-a-development-branch |
| "Design a UI" | ui-ux-pro-max -> ui-design-system -> frontend-ui-design |
| "Build mobile app" | mobile-design -> planning -> tdd |
| "Optimize SEO" | seo-optimizer |
| "Write marketing copy" | content-creator |
| "Process documents" | docx-processing / pdf-processing / xlsx-processing |
| "Compose email" | email-composer |
| "Build an AI agent" | agent-development -> planning -> tdd |
| "Set up infrastructure" | senior-devops -> deployment |
| "Decompose complex task" | task-decomposition -> dispatching-parallel-agents |
| "Build Laravel feature" | laravel-specialist -> planning -> tdd -> code-review |
| "Optimize Laravel app" | laravel-boost -> performance-optimization -> verification |
| "Write PHP code" | php-specialist -> tdd -> clean-code |
Anti-Patterns
- Never skip skill check for "simple" tasks — always check catalog
- Never invoke skills from memory — use Skill tool for current version
- Never read skill files with Read tool — use Skill tool
- Never skip verification — always invoke
verification-before-completionlast - Never respond before checking skills — skill check is ALWAYS first
Anti-Rationalization Guards
If you think "This is just simple / I need context first / Let me explore first / This doesn't need a skill / I remember this skill / The skill is overkill / I'll do one thing first" — STOP. Check for skills FIRST. No exceptions.
Integration Points
Key integrations: self-learning (project context), verification-before-completion (terminal checkpoint), circuit-breaker (stall safety), auto-improvement (effectiveness tracking), planning (most common first skill), resilient-execution (failure recovery).
Core Rules
Plan before coding. TDD always. Verify completion with evidence. Review before merge. Use subagents for parallel work. Self-learn continuously. Try 3 approaches before escalating. Report RALPH_STATUS in loops. Protect config files. Write specs with acceptance criteria.
Skill Types
Rigid (TDD, debugging, planning, verification, code-review, autonomous-loop, circuit-breaker, spec-writing, acceptance-testing): Follow exactly. Flexible (brainstorming, tech-docs, api-design, frontend, database, performance, security-review, prd-generation, laravel-specialist, php-specialist): Adapt to context.
Find Missing Skills
npx skills find [query] to search, npx skills add <owner/repo@skill> -g -y to install. Prefer 1K+ weekly installs from reputable sources.
Skill Type
RIGID — Skill checking is mandatory. Every task begins with a catalog scan. No exceptions. No rationalization.