Claude Code — Skills

File format

Markdown

Discovery path

.claude/skills

Global install path

~/.claude/skills

Syllago install method

Symlink, Direct copy

Symlink support

Yes

Native frontmatter fields

name, description, license, compatibility, metadata, allowed-tools, disallowed-tools, context, agent, model, effort, disable-model-invocation, user-invocable, argument-hint, hooks

Features

How each feature converts to syllago's canonical format. See format conversion for what these statuses mean.

Fields

Native frontmatter or config fields this provider exposes. The first column is the provider's own field name; the canonical key column links to syllago's cross-provider equivalent.

Provider field	Conversion	Canonical key	Summary
description	Translated Conversion type: Translated Actively mapped to the target provider’s equivalent field during conversion. Learn more →	description	yaml frontmatter key: description (recommended)
name	Translated Conversion type: Translated Actively mapped to the target provider’s equivalent field during conversion. Learn more →	display_name	yaml frontmatter key: name (optional, falls back to directory name)
user-invocable	Translated Conversion type: Translated Actively mapped to the target provider’s equivalent field during conversion. Learn more →	user_invocable	yaml frontmatter key: user-invocable (optional bool, default true)
allowed-tools	Embedded Conversion type: Embedded No canonical equivalent — appended as prose in a conversion notes block so nothing is silently lost. Learn more →	—	Pre-approves tool calls while the skill is active; does not restrict tool availability.
argument-hint	Embedded Conversion type: Embedded No canonical equivalent — appended as prose in a conversion notes block so nothing is silently lost. Learn more →	—	Shows expected argument format during autocomplete (purely presentational).
context	Embedded Conversion type: Embedded No canonical equivalent — appended as prose in a conversion notes block so nothing is silently lost. Learn more →	—	Runs the skill in an isolated subagent with no conversation history when set to fork; companion agent field selects the subagent type.
disable-model-invocation	Embedded Conversion type: Embedded No canonical equivalent — appended as prose in a conversion notes block so nothing is silently lost. Learn more →	disable_model_invocation	Claude auto-invokes skills whose description matches the conversation; opt out via disable-model-invocation: true.
disableSkillShellExecution	Embedded Conversion type: Embedded No canonical equivalent — appended as prose in a conversion notes block so nothing is silently lost. Learn more →	—	Disables inline shell command injection for user/project/plugin/added-directory skills.
effort	Embedded Conversion type: Embedded No canonical equivalent — appended as prose in a conversion notes block so nothing is silently lost. Learn more →	—	Overrides the session effort level (low/medium/high/max) while the skill is active.
hooks	Embedded Conversion type: Embedded No canonical equivalent — appended as prose in a conversion notes block so nothing is silently lost. Learn more →	—	Attaches lifecycle hooks that fire only while this skill is active.
model	Embedded Conversion type: Embedded No canonical equivalent — appended as prose in a conversion notes block so nothing is silently lost. Learn more →	—	Overrides the session model while this skill is active.
paths	Embedded Conversion type: Embedded No canonical equivalent — appended as prose in a conversion notes block so nothing is silently lost. Learn more →	—	Limits auto-activation to file glob matches; explicit /skill-name invocation remains unrestricted.
shell	Embedded Conversion type: Embedded No canonical equivalent — appended as prose in a conversion notes block so nothing is silently lost. Learn more →	—	Selects bash (default) or powershell for inline command execution blocks within the skill.

Other features

Behaviors, conventions, and capabilities that aren't tied to a single named field — things like path-based activation, discovery rules, and lifecycle behavior.

Feature	Conversion	Summary
canonical_filename	Translated Conversion type: Translated Actively mapped to the target provider’s equivalent field during conversion. Learn more →	Fixed filename SKILL.md required inside skill directory
custom_filename	Translated Conversion type: Translated Actively mapped to the target provider’s equivalent field during conversion. Learn more →	Variable directory name: .claude/skills/<name>/SKILL.md — directory name is the skill identifier
global_scope	Translated Conversion type: Translated Actively mapped to the target provider’s equivalent field during conversion. Learn more →	~/.claude/skills/<skill-name>/SKILL.md in user home directory
project_scope	Translated Conversion type: Translated Actively mapped to the target provider’s equivalent field during conversion. Learn more →	.claude/skills/<skill-name>/SKILL.md committed to version control
shared_scope	Translated Conversion type: Translated Actively mapped to the target provider’s equivalent field during conversion. Learn more →	Managed settings deployment for organization-wide distribution
Agent Skills Open Standard Compliance	Embedded Conversion type: Embedded No canonical equivalent — appended as prose in a conversion notes block so nothing is silently lost. Learn more →	Claude Code skills follow the Agent Skills open standard (agentskills.io) with CC-specific extensions layered on top.
Skill Permission Rules	Embedded Conversion type: Embedded No canonical equivalent — appended as prose in a conversion notes block so nothing is silently lost. Learn more →	Skill, Skill(name), and Skill(name *) permission rules restrict which skills Claude may invoke programmatically.
Argument and Session Variable Substitution	Preserved Conversion type: Preserved Syntax survives conversion but the target provider may not interpret it. Learn more →	Skills support $ARGUMENTS, $N, ${CLAUDE_SESSION_ID}, and ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR} string substitutions in skill body content.
Shell Command Injection for Dynamic Context	Preserved Conversion type: Preserved Syntax survives conversion but the target provider may not interpret it. Learn more →	Inline !`command` and ```! fenced blocks execute shell commands and inject output before Claude sees the prompt.
Additional Directory Skills Loading with Live Reload	Not portable Conversion type: Not portable Unique to this provider — can’t be carried across providers. Learn more →	Skills in --add-dir directories are loaded with live change detection (other .claude/ configuration is not loaded from added directories).
Bundled Skills	Not portable Conversion type: Not portable Unique to this provider — can’t be carried across providers. Learn more →	Claude Code ships built-in prompt-based skills (/simplify, /batch, /debug, /loop, /claude-api) immune to the shell-execution policy.
Nested Directory Auto-Discovery	Not portable Conversion type: Not portable Unique to this provider — can’t be carried across providers. Learn more →	Claude Code automatically discovers skills from .claude/skills/ directories along the path to edited files (monorepo support).
Plugin Scope	Not portable Conversion type: Not portable Unique to this provider — can’t be carried across providers. Learn more →	Plugin-bundled skills use a plugin-name:skill-name namespace separate from enterprise/personal/project priority ordering.
Skill Content Lifecycle and Compaction Behavior	Not portable Conversion type: Not portable Unique to this provider — can’t be carried across providers. Learn more →	Skill content enters context once per invocation and is partially re-attached after auto-compaction within a 25,000-token combined budget.
Skill Description Context Budget	Not portable Conversion type: Not portable Unique to this provider — can’t be carried across providers. Learn more →	Skill descriptions share a dynamic budget (1% of context, 8,000 char fallback) with a 250-char per-entry cap, raisable via SLASH_COMMAND_TOOL_CHAR_BUDGET.
Supporting Files	Not portable Conversion type: Not portable Unique to this provider — can’t be carried across providers. Learn more →	Bundle templates, scripts, and reference docs alongside SKILL.md; loaded on demand via ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}.

Sources

Source
https://code.claude.com/docs/en/skills.md