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Agent skill

Crafting Instructions

by oaustegard in oaustegard/claude-skills

Chooses the right FORMAT for instructions on Claude.ai — project instructions, a skill, or a standalone prompt — and gives the format-specific structure once chosen.

MITAuto-check passed

Install Crafting Instructions

skills CLI
$ npx skills add oaustegard/claude-skills --skill crafting-instructions -a claude-code

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

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install oaustegard/claude-skills crafting-instructions --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/oaustegard/claude-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/crafting-instructions .claude/skills/crafting-instructions && 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
crafting-instructions
GitHub stars
150
Token cost
~2.6k tokens
SKILL.md length
1,180 words
Files
7 (incl. references)
Skills in repo
67
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
MIT

At a glance

Chooses the right FORMAT for instructions on Claude.ai — project instructions, a skill, or a standalone prompt — and gives the format-specific structure once chosen.

  • Works in 5 steps: Imperative Construction → Positive Directive Framing → Context and Motivation → …
  • The question is which container an instruction belongs in (should this be a skill
  • SKILL.md covers Decision Framework: Which…, Core Optimization Principles, Format-Specific Guidance and When to Suggest What, plus 9 more sections
  • Instructions only: no scripts, shell commands, URLs or credentials in SKILL.md

What it does

Crafting Instructions is an agent skill from oaustegard/claude-skills. Chooses the right FORMAT for instructions on Claude.ai — project instructions, a skill, or a standalone prompt — and gives the format-specific structure once chosen. Use when the question is which container an instruction belongs in ("should this be a skill or project instructions", "where do I put this", "how do I set up this project", "is this worth a skill"), or when someone has instructions and does not know how to package them. For the writing principles that apply inside any of the three formats, use…

Its SKILL.md is about 2.6k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. The skill folder holds 7 other files, including reference files (for example `CHANGELOG.md`, `README.md` and `references/creating-skills.md`).

The repository describes itself as: My collection of Claude skills. The licence is MIT.

When your agent uses it

  • The question is which container an instruction belongs in (should this be a skill
  • Project instructions
  • Where do I put this
  • How do I set up this project

Example prompts

  • “should this be a skill or project instructions”
  • “where do I put this”
  • “how do I set up this project”
  • “/crafting-instructions”

Workflow steps

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

  1. Imperative Construction
  2. Positive Directive Framing
  3. Context and Motivation
  4. Strategic Over Procedural
  5. Trust Base Behavior

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 90b0f1b. 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

    No scripts in the folder and no shell commands in SKILL.md.

    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

Crafting Instructions loads about 2.6k tokens when it runs, and up to ~14k if it reads all its reference files. Until then it costs about 160 tokens; SKILL.md has 1,180 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~160
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~2.6k
With references · SKILL.md plus every file in references/, read only if the agent opens them
~14k

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); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from oaustegard/claude-skills at commit 90b0f1b, republished under its MIT licence (© oaustegard). 1,180 words, ~2,618 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/crafting-instructions/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder). This skill also uses 6 other files; get the full folder from GitHub.
name
crafting-instructions
description
Chooses the right FORMAT for instructions on Claude.ai — project instructions, a skill, or a standalone prompt — and gives the format-specific structure once chosen. Use when the question is which container an instruction belongs in ("should this be a skill or project instructions", "where do I put this", "how do I set up this project", "is this worth a skill"), or when someone has instructions and does not know how to package them. For the writing principles that apply inside any of the three formats, use writing-instructions. For building, testing and packaging a complete skill directory, use creating-skill.
metadata.version
0.5.0

Crafting Instructions for Claude

Choose the format for instructions on Claude.ai — Project instructions, Skills, or standalone prompts — and structure them for the format chosen.

Overlap notice. The Core Optimization Principles below also appear in writing-instructions, which carries them in more depth. This skill owns the format decision; writing-instructions owns how to write well inside a format. The two descriptions are close enough that a request can land on either — route by which of those two questions is being asked.

Decision Framework: Which Format to Use?

Ask these questions to determine the right format:

Use PROJECT INSTRUCTIONS when:
  • Context needs to persist for ALL conversations in a workspace
  • Multiple team members collaborate with shared knowledge
  • Background knowledge required for specific initiative
  • Custom behavior scoped to one project only

Signals: "for this project", "all conversations about X", "team workspace", "project-specific"

Use SKILL when:
  • Capability needed across MULTIPLE contexts/projects
  • Procedural knowledge that applies broadly
  • Instructions should activate automatically when relevant
  • Want portable expertise that loads on-demand

Signals: "every time I", "whenever", "reusable", "across projects", "teach Claude how to"

Use STANDALONE PROMPT when:
  • One-off request with immediate context
  • Ad-hoc instructions for single use
  • Conversational refinement
  • No need for persistence

Signals: "for this task", "right now", "just this once", "can you"

Combined Approaches:

Project + Skill:

  • Project: Persistent context (market data, product specs)
  • Skill: Reusable methods (analysis framework, report templates)
  • Use when: Need both workspace context AND portable capabilities

Skill + Prompt:

  • Skill: General expertise (code review standards)
  • Prompt: Specific context ("review this PR for security")
  • Use when: Foundational capability + immediate direction

Core Optimization Principles

These apply to ALL instruction formats:

1. Imperative Construction

Frame as direct action commands, not suggestions:

  • ❌ "Consider creating X" → ✅ "Create X when conditions Y"
  • ❌ "You might want to" → ✅ "Execute" / "Generate"
  • ❌ "Try to optimize" → ✅ "Optimize by"
2. Positive Directive Framing

State WHAT to do, not what NOT to do:

  • ❌ "Don't use bullet points" → ✅ "Write in flowing paragraph form"
  • ❌ "Avoid technical jargon" → ✅ "Use accessible language for beginners"
  • ❌ "Never output lists" → ✅ "Present information in natural prose"

WHY: Negative instructions force inference. Positive instructions state desired behavior directly.

3. Context and Motivation

Explain WHY requirements exist:

  • ❌ "Use paragraph form"
  • ✅ "Use paragraph form because flowing prose is more conversational for casual learning"

WHY: Context helps Claude make better autonomous decisions in edge cases.

4. Strategic Over Procedural

Provide goals and decision frameworks, not step-by-step procedures:

  • Specify: Success criteria, boundaries, decision frameworks
  • Minimize: Sequential steps, detailed execution, obvious operations
  • Rule: If Claude can infer procedure from goal, specify only the goal

Current models plan from a stated goal. Write out a sequence only where one sequence is the safe one — destructive commands, auth flows, compliance steps.

5. Trust Base Behavior

Claude's system prompt already covers:

  • Citation protocols, copyright guidelines, safety
  • General tool usage, artifact creation basics
  • Conversational tone defaults, refusal handling
  • Base accuracy and helpfulness standards

ONLY specify project/domain-specific deviations.

Format-Specific Guidance

For Project Instructions

See: references/project-instructions.md

Key points:

  • Additive to system prompt (no duplication)
  • Focus on workspace-specific behavior
  • Name the domains that warrant deeper deliberation
  • Simple structure (headings/paragraphs) unless complexity demands more
For Skills

See: references/creating-skills.md

Key points:

  • Progressive disclosure (metadata → full instructions → bundled resources)
  • Frontmatter: name + description with trigger patterns
  • Keep SKILL.md under 500 lines
  • Use references/ for detailed domain content
For Standalone Prompts

See: references/standalone-prompts.md

Key points:

  • Clear and explicit about desired output
  • Provide context and examples when helpful
  • Scale complexity to task needs
  • Give permission to express uncertainty

When to Suggest What

"Use a Skill" when user says:
  • "I keep having to explain this every time"
  • "Can you remember how to do X?"
  • "I need this across multiple projects"
  • Repeating same instructions across conversations
"Use Project instructions" when user says:
  • "For this project, always..."
  • "My team needs to work with..."
  • "All conversations about this initiative should..."
  • Building workspace with persistent context
"Use a better prompt" when user says:
  • Results are inconsistent
  • Claude misunderstands intent
  • Output format isn't right
  • Need more comprehensive response

Skills vs Projects: Key Differences

Read: references/skill-vs-project.md for detailed comparison

Quick reference:

Project = "Here's what you need to know"

  • Static reference material always loaded
  • Background knowledge for initiative
  • Team workspace context

Skill = "Here's how to do things"

  • Dynamic expertise loading on-demand
  • Procedural knowledge and methods
  • Portable across any conversation

Example:

  • Project: "Q4 Product Launch" with market research, competitor docs
  • Skill: competitive-analysis framework for analyzing any competitor

Use both together for powerful combinations.

Show full SKILL.md (460 more words)Show less

Example Quality Awareness

Examples teach every pattern they contain, including the ones you did not intend.

When including examples:

  • Audit EVERY detail (format, verbosity, structure, tone)
  • Ensure ALL aspects demonstrate desired behavior
  • Better to omit examples than include mixed signals
  • If example uses bullets but you want prose, Claude will default to bullets

Structural Simplicity

Default to clear organization:

  • Headings and whitespace (primary approach)
  • Explicit language stating relationships
  • Natural paragraph flow

Use structured markup (XML/JSON) only when:

  • Separating distinct content types in complex scenarios
  • Absolute certainty about content boundaries required
  • API-driven workflows needing structured parsing

Thinking Depth

No prompt phrase turns thinking on. Current Claude models think adaptively by default, and depth is set by configuration — the effort setting on the API, the UI control on Claude.ai. "Think step by step" and hand-written trigger phrases buy nothing.

What instructions can usefully carry is which parts of the domain deserve more deliberation, so the reader knows where to raise effort:

[Specific complexity] in this domain is worth extra deliberation because [why].

Complexity Scaling

Match instruction complexity to task needs:

Simple task → Simple prompt or brief instructions Medium task → Structured guidance with decision frameworks Complex task → Comprehensive instructions; raise effort

Before adding complexity: Could simpler formulation work equally well?

Instruction Density

Scale density to how far the task sits from what the model does unprompted. State the goal, the constraints, and how success is checked; add procedure only where order is fragile. When the choice is between another rule and more context about why, write the context — that is what the model cannot get elsewhere, and it is what it uses on the cases you did not enumerate.

State explicitly that judgment applies to cases the instructions do not cover.

Quality Checklist

Before delivering instructions:

Strategic:

  • Clear goals stated without micromanagement
  • Context explains WHY requirements exist
  • Decision frameworks for ambiguous cases
  • Constraints use positive framing when possible

Technical:

  • Imperative language throughout
  • Positive directives over negative restrictions
  • Appropriate structure (simple by default)
  • No system prompt duplication
  • Examples (if any) perfectly aligned

Execution:

  • Immediately actionable
  • Success criteria clear
  • Format matches complexity needs

Common Mistakes to Avoid

❌ System prompt duplication - "Use web_search for current info, cite sources" ✅ Omit unless project has SPECIFIC deviations

❌ Negative framing - "Don't use lists, never be verbose" ✅ "Present in natural prose paragraphs"

❌ Fake thinking triggers - "Use 'think carefully' for deep thinking" ✅ "Name where deliberation pays in this domain; set effort there"

❌ Procedural micromanagement - "Step 1: X, Step 2: Y..." ✅ "Goal: X. Quality standard: Y. Approach: Z."

❌ Contextless requirements - "Always use formal tone" ✅ "Use formal tone for professional docs because recipients expect authoritative voice"

❌ Imperfect examples - Example uses bullets when you want prose ✅ Either create perfect examples or omit entirely

Additional Resources

© oaustegard, 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 6 other files (references) in crafting-instructions of oaustegard/claude-skills.

  • SKILL.md
  • CHANGELOG.md
  • README.md
  • references/creating-skills.md
  • references/project-instructions.md
  • references/skill-vs-project.md
  • references/standalone-prompts.md

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 90b0f1b

Compare with similar skills

Crafting Instructions 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.

Crafting Instructions compared with similar skills
SkillStarsUsed inTokensAuto-checkLicenceRepo updated
Crafting Instructions this skilloaustegard/claude-skills150—~2.6kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
CraftLeoYeAI/openclaw-master-skills2.2k—~4.3kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Craft Documentationonyx-dot-app/onyx32k1 repos~420Automated safety check: PassCustom licence
Right To Erasurethedaviddias/Front-End-Checklist74k—~512Automated safety check: PassMIT
Craftsundial-org/awesome-openclaw-skills663—~539Automated safety check: PassNone
Template CraftMaaAssistantArknights/MaaAssistantArknights24k—~1.7kAutomated safety check: PassAGPL-3.0

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Questions about Crafting Instructions

What does Crafting Instructions do?

Chooses the right FORMAT for instructions on Claude.ai — project instructions, a skill, or a standalone prompt — and gives the format-specific structure once chosen. Crafting Instructions is an agent skill from oaustegard/claude-skills.ai — project instructions, a skill, or a standalone prompt — and gives the format-specific structure once chosen.

When should I use Crafting Instructions?

Crafting Instructions fits situations like: the question is which container an instruction belongs in (should this be a skill; project instructions; where do I put this; how do I set up this project.

How do I install Crafting Instructions in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add oaustegard/claude-skills --skill crafting-instructions -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (crafting-instructions in oaustegard/claude-skills) into .claude/skills/crafting-instructions in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Crafting Instructions in Codex?

Run `npx skills add oaustegard/claude-skills --skill crafting-instructions -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (crafting-instructions in oaustegard/claude-skills) into .agents/skills/crafting-instructions in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Crafting Instructions 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 oaustegard/claude-skills --skill crafting-instructions -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/crafting-instructions, .gemini/skills/crafting-instructions, .github/skills/crafting-instructions and .opencode/skills/crafting-instructions in your project.

What does Crafting Instructions need to run?

SKILL.md names no scripts, command-line tools or credentials: Crafting Instructions is instructions for the agent only.

Does Crafting Instructions 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 Crafting Instructions 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. Review the folder before installing.

What licence does Crafting Instructions use?

Crafting Instructions is published under the MIT licence (the repository's licence). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Crafting Instructions use?

About 2.6k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 10k 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 11k tokens, read only when the agent opens those files.

What are the alternatives to Crafting Instructions?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Crafting Instructions: Craft (LeoYeAI/openclaw-master-skills, 2.2k stars), Craft Documentation (onyx-dot-app/onyx, 32k stars), Right To Erasure (thedaviddias/Front-End-Checklist, 74k stars) and Craft (sundial-org/awesome-openclaw-skills, 663 stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Crafting Instructions?

oaustegard (a GitHub user) maintains it in oaustegard/claude-skills, which has 150 GitHub stars. The repository holds 67 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on October 9, 2026.

Source: oaustegard/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.