Agent skill

Porters Five Forces

by borghei in borghei/Claude-Skills

Porter's Five Forces — analyze the competitive intensity and attractiveness of an industry.

MITAuto-check passedMarketing & SEO

Install Porters Five Forces

skills CLI
$ npx skills add borghei/Claude-Skills --skill porters-five-forces -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install borghei/Claude-Skills porters-five-forces --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/borghei/Claude-Skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/project-management/strategy-frameworks/porters-five-forces .claude/skills/porters-five-forces && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.

Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/

Facts

Skill name
porters-five-forces
GitHub stars
891
Token cost
~1.7k tokens
SKILL.md length
759 words
Files
5 (incl. scripts, references, assets)
Skills in repo
354
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
MIT

At a glance

Porter's Five Forces — analyze the competitive intensity and attractiveness of an industry.

  • Works in 10 steps: Threat of new entrants — high when → Supplier power — high when → Buyer power — high when → …
  • Evaluating a new market entry
  • SKILL.md covers When to use this skill, The 5 forces, Scoring rubric and Clarify First, plus 5 more sections
  • Runs Python scripts from its folder; calls python3

What it does

Porters Five Forces is an agent skill from borghei/Claude-Skills. Porter's Five Forces — analyze the competitive intensity and attractiveness of an industry. Use when evaluating a new market entry, diagnosing margin pressure, designing a defensive strategy, or auditing industry-level positioning.

Its SKILL.md is about 1.7k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. The skill folder holds 7 other files, including scripts, reference files and assets (for example `assets/five_forces_template.md`, `references/five-forces-and-strategy.md` and `references/five-forces-deep.md`).

It sits in Marketing & SEO, covering Go-to-market strategy and Positioning and messaging. The repository describes itself as: 385 AI skills, 77 expert agents, and 900 stdlib Python tools for every team: engineering, PM, marketing, C-level, compliance, business ops, research, and a LinkedIn toolkit… The licence is MIT.

When your agent uses it

  • Evaluating a new market entry
  • Diagnosing margin pressure
  • Designing a defensive strategy
  • Auditing industry-level positioning

Example prompts

  • “/porters-five-forces”

Requirements

  • Python 3

Workflow steps

10 steps, taken from the step headings in SKILL.md.

  1. Threat of new entrants — high when
  2. Supplier power — high when
  3. Buyer power — high when
  4. Threat of substitutes — high when
  5. Competitive rivalry — high when
  6. Define the industry
  7. Score each force
  8. Identify the dominant force(s)
  9. Translate to strategy
  10. Run five_forces_scorer.py

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 4a698e8. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

  • Tool permissions

    Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.

    From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

  • Runs code

    Ships 1 file in scripts/ (Python), which the agent can run.

    Shell commands in SKILL.md call:

    • python3

    From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

  • Network

    No URLs in SKILL.md.

    From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.

  • Credentials

    Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.

    From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Porters Five Forces loads about 1.7k tokens when it runs, and up to ~5.7k if it reads all its reference files. Until then it costs about 63 tokens; SKILL.md has 759 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~63
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~1.7k
With references · SKILL.md plus every file in references/, read only if the agent opens them
~5.7k

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Auto-check passed

The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); the scripts in this folder are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from borghei/Claude-Skills at commit 4a698e8, republished under its MIT licence (© borghei). 759 words, ~1,724 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/porters-five-forces/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder). This skill also uses 4 other files; get the full folder from GitHub.
name
porters-five-forces
description
Porter's Five Forces — analyze the competitive intensity and attractiveness of an industry. Use when evaluating a new market entry, diagnosing margin pressure, designing a defensive strategy, or auditing industry-level positioning.
license
MIT + Commons Clause
metadata.version
1.0.0
metadata.author
borghei
metadata.category
project-management
metadata.domain
strategy-frameworks
metadata.updated
2026-05-27
metadata.python-tools
five_forces_scorer.py
metadata.tech-stack
porters-five-forces, industry-analysis, competitive-strategy

Porter's Five Forces

Michael Porter's framework for analyzing the structural attractiveness of an industry. Reveals where profit pools form, why some markets are chronically unprofitable, and where strategic positioning has leverage.

When to use this skill

  • Market entry decision (which industry to play in)
  • Diagnosing chronic margin pressure (why are we squeezed?)
  • Strategic positioning (where to invest, where to defend)
  • Competitive response planning
  • M&A target evaluation (industry attractiveness)
  • Pre-fundraise industry framing

The 5 forces

  1. Threat of new entrants — how easily can newcomers join?
  2. Bargaining power of suppliers — how concentrated/critical are inputs?
  3. Bargaining power of buyers — how concentrated/price-sensitive are customers?
  4. Threat of substitute products — what alternatives could replace the category?
  5. Competitive rivalry — how intense is competition between existing players?

Plus (Porter's later addition): 6. Complementors (the "sixth force") — do partners increase total industry value?

Scoring rubric

Each force is rated low / medium / high based on specific factors:

1. Threat of new entrants — high when:
  • Low capital requirements
  • No regulatory barriers
  • No proprietary tech / patents
  • Low switching costs
  • No economies of scale
  • No brand loyalty
  • Access to distribution is easy
  • Network effects absent
2. Supplier power — high when:
  • Few suppliers / concentrated supply base
  • Suppliers are critical / cannot be substituted
  • Switching cost is high
  • Suppliers can forward-integrate
  • Industry is not a large customer for supplier
3. Buyer power — high when:
  • Few buyers / concentrated demand
  • Buyers purchase in large volumes
  • Product is undifferentiated
  • Switching cost is low
  • Buyers can backward-integrate
  • Buyers have full information
  • Buyers face thin margins (price pressure)
4. Threat of substitutes — high when:
  • Many substitutes exist
  • Substitutes have favorable price-performance
  • Switching cost to substitute is low
  • Buyer propensity to substitute is high
  • Substitute industry is growing fast
5. Competitive rivalry — high when:
  • Many similar-sized competitors
  • Low growth industry (zero-sum)
  • High fixed costs (drive volume)
  • Low differentiation
  • High exit barriers
  • Strategic stakes high

Clarify First

Before scoring the forces, confirm these inputs. If any is unknown or vague, ASK — do not assume:

  • Precise industry definition — narrow enough to be specific, broad enough to catch substitutes (too broad/narrow is the #1 error and sets the entire analysis scope)
  • Evidence per force — the data/facts behind each low/medium/high rating (a score without evidence is just opinion)
  • Purpose — market entry / margin-pressure diagnosis / positioning audit (frames which dominant force matters and the strategy translation; margin diagnosis also needs a then-vs-now comparison)

Stop rule: ask only the 2-3 that most change the output. If the user says "just draft it," proceed and list your assumptions at the top of the artifact.

Workflow

Step 1 — Define the industry

Industry definition is the most-frequent source of error.

  • "Software" is too broad
  • "B2B SaaS" is too broad
  • "Mid-market HR analytics SaaS" is workable
  • "Enterprise revenue intelligence tools (Gong, Outreach, Salesloft-tier)" is precise
Show full SKILL.md (303 more words)Show less
Step 2 — Score each force

Use the rubric. Each force gets low / medium / high + evidence.

Step 3 — Identify the dominant force(s)

Usually 1-2 forces dominate. They drive the industry's profit pool.

Step 4 — Translate to strategy

Each force suggests strategic moves:

ForceHigh = unfavorableStrategy implications
New entrantsEasy entryBuild barriers (brand, scale, network, switching cost)
Supplier powerConcentratedDiversify, integrate backward, build alternative supply
Buyer powerConcentratedDiversify customer base, differentiate, integrate forward
SubstitutesStrong substitutesDifferentiate, raise switching cost, defend value prop
RivalryIntenseDifferentiate, niche down, exit, consolidate
Step 5 — Run five_forces_scorer.py

Audit for: missing evidence, generic factors, missed sub-factors, no strategy implications drawn.

bash
python3 project-management/strategy-frameworks/porters-five-forces/scripts/five_forces_scorer.py \
  --input forces.json --format markdown

Common engagements

"Should we enter market X?"
  1. Define X precisely.
  2. Score each force.
  3. Identify dominant force.
  4. Assess: can we differentiate against the dominant force?
  5. If yes, structure entry to counter that force; if no, don't enter.
"Why are our margins under pressure?"
  1. Score industry today vs 3-5 years ago.
  2. Identify the force(s) that shifted (usually buyer power or rivalry).
  3. Identify which factor specifically caused the shift.
  4. Address: product differentiation, switching cost, customer concentration, etc.
"Audit our strategic position"
  1. Score industry forces.
  2. For each high force, identify how we currently counter it.
  3. Identify weak counters; recommend reinforcement.

Anti-patterns to avoid

  • Industry defined too broadly. Yields generic analysis.
  • Industry defined too narrowly. Misses substitute threats.
  • Each force = "medium". No analysis happened.
  • No evidence cited. Just opinion.
  • No strategy implications. Just a score; not actionable.
  • Static analysis. Industries evolve; refresh every 12-18 months.
  • Mixing internal capabilities with industry analysis. Five Forces is industry-level; capabilities are firm-level (see SWOT).

References

  • references/five-forces-deep.md — each force, factors, examples
  • references/five-forces-and-strategy.md — translating to strategic moves
  • project-management/strategy-frameworks/swot-analysis — firm-level positioning
  • project-management/strategy-frameworks/ansoff-matrix — growth options
  • project-management/strategy-frameworks/business-model-canvas — operational view
  • marketing/competitive-teardown — competitor-specific analysis
  • c-level-advisor/ceo-advisor — strategic context

© borghei, MIT. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

SKILL.md and 4 other files (scripts, references, assets) in project-management/strategy-frameworks/porters-five-forces of borghei/Claude-Skills.

  • SKILL.md
  • assets/five_forces_template.md
  • references/five-forces-and-strategy.md
  • references/five-forces-deep.md
  • scripts/five_forces_scorer.py

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 4a698e8

Compare with similar skills

Porters Five Forces next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.

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Startup Designferdinandobons/startup-skill1.2k—~8.1kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Crossing The Chasmwondelai/skills2.4k—~3.6kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Landing Page GTM Copyooiyeefei/ccc495—~1.8kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Channel StrategyTheCraigHewitt/skills159—~2.2kAutomated safety check: PassMIT

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Categories

Questions about Porters Five Forces

What does Porters Five Forces do?

Porter's Five Forces — analyze the competitive intensity and attractiveness of an industry. Porters Five Forces is an agent skill from borghei/Claude-Skills. Porter's Five Forces — analyze the competitive intensity and attractiveness of an industry.

When should I use Porters Five Forces?

Porters Five Forces fits situations like: evaluating a new market entry; diagnosing margin pressure; designing a defensive strategy; auditing industry-level positioning.

How do I install Porters Five Forces in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add borghei/Claude-Skills --skill porters-five-forces -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (project-management/strategy-frameworks/porters-five-forces in borghei/Claude-Skills) into .claude/skills/porters-five-forces in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Porters Five Forces in Codex?

Run `npx skills add borghei/Claude-Skills --skill porters-five-forces -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (project-management/strategy-frameworks/porters-five-forces in borghei/Claude-Skills) into .agents/skills/porters-five-forces in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Porters Five Forces in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?

Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add borghei/Claude-Skills --skill porters-five-forces -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/porters-five-forces, .gemini/skills/porters-five-forces, .github/skills/porters-five-forces and .opencode/skills/porters-five-forces in your project.

What does Porters Five Forces need to run?

Going by SKILL.md and its folder, Porters Five Forces needs Python for the scripts in its folder and the command-line tools its instructions call (python3). Our summary lists: Python 3.

Does Porters Five Forces access the network?

SKILL.md contains no URLs. Any network use would come from the scripts or tools the agent runs. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Porters Five Forces safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. The check reads SKILL.md only: the scripts in the folder are not scanned, so read them before running anything.

What licence does Porters Five Forces use?

Porters Five Forces is published under the MIT licence (declared in SKILL.md). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Porters Five Forces use?

About 1.7k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 6.9k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full. Its references folder adds about 4k tokens, read only when the agent opens those files.

What are the alternatives to Porters Five Forces?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Porters Five Forces: Revenue Centric Design (heliocosta-dev/revenue-centric-design, 740 stars), Startup Design (ferdinandobons/startup-skill, 1.2k stars), Crossing The Chasm (wondelai/skills, 2.4k stars) and Landing Page GTM Copy (ooiyeefei/ccc, 495 stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Porters Five Forces?

borghei (a GitHub user) maintains it in borghei/Claude-Skills, which has 891 GitHub stars. The repository holds 354 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on October 7, 2026.

Source: borghei/Claude-Skills on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.