GraphedMinds
The Startup Ideas Podcast

The Startup Ideas Podcast

The best businesses are built at the intersection of emerging technology, community, and real human needs.

Back to Frameworks

Claude Skills Framework

Reusability

A system for creating specialized, reusable AI workflows that combine custom instructions, selective context loading, and executable scripts to perform specific tasks deterministically.

How It Works

Skills load only relevant context when needed (vs. projects that load all context), use custom markdown specifications with reference files, and can execute Python scripts for precise calculations.

Components

1

Create skill.md file with task specifications and instructions

2

Add reference files containing examples, guidelines, or data definitions

3

Include custom Python scripts for deterministic calculations if needed

4

Upload skill package to Claude and test with real data

5

Iterate based on output quality and edge cases

When to Use

When you need repeatable, specialized tasks that require consistent output quality, especially for data analysis, content creation, or business process automation.

When Not to Use

For one-off tasks, simple conversations, or when you need maximum flexibility rather than consistency.

Anti-Patterns to Avoid

Loading too much context that causes 'context rot'Making skills too generic instead of specializedNot providing enough reference examples for consistent outputSkipping custom scripts when deterministic results are needed

Example

A marketing team creates a campaign analytics skill that takes raw ad spend CSV files, runs specific ROI calculations via Python scripts, and outputs formatted reports following their exact KPI definitions and presentation standards.

Related Knowledge