ckorhonen/skill-finder

Skill Finder

Dynamically discover, install, and create skills to expand Claude's capabilities on-demand.

When to Activate

PROACTIVELY use this skill when:

1. User requests new capability

   • "I want to know kung-fu"
   • "Help me learn about [topic]"
   • "I need to work with [unfamiliar technology]"

2. Specialized domain encountered

   • Niche APIs (NFT marketplaces, proprietary systems)
   • Domain-specific formats/protocols
   • Industry-specific tooling

3. Knowledge gap recognized

   • Task requires expertise you're uncertain about
   • Unfamiliar tools, frameworks, or services
   • User asks about something highly specialized

4. Recurring specialized need

   • Pattern suggests ongoing work in specialized area
   • Multiple related requests in same domain

DO NOT activate for:

• General programming tasks (algorithms, data structures)
• Common frameworks (React, Express, Django) - base model handles these
• One-off simple queries
• Tasks you can handle confidently

Instructions

Phase 1: Extract Search Keywords

Interpret the user's request and extract relevant search terms:

• "I want to know kung-fu" → search: martial arts combat self-defense
• "Help with Stripe billing" → search: stripe payments billing api
• "Work with NFTs on OpenSea" → search: opensea nft marketplace api

Use multiple related keywords to maximize match potential.

Phase 2: Search the Registry

Query the skills API:

https://claude-plugins.dev/api/skills?q=<keywords>

Use WebFetch to retrieve results. The API returns:

{
  "skills": [{
    "name": "skill-name",
    "namespace": "@author/repo/skill-name",
    "description": "What the skill does...",
    "stars": 12345,
    "installs": 678,
    "metadata": {
      "rawFileUrl": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/..."
    }
  }],
  "total": 100
}

Phase 3: Evaluate Results

Rank by:

1. Relevance - Does description match the actual need?
2. Quality - Star count as credibility signal:

   • 1000 stars: High confidence

   • 100 stars: Moderate confidence

   • < 100 stars: Review carefully
3. Specificity - Prefer targeted skills over broad ones

Credible match criteria:

• Description clearly addresses the task
• AND (stars > 500 OR installs > 50)
• No obvious security concerns

Phase 4a: Auto-Install (if credible match found)

Run the install command:

npx claude-plugins skills install <namespace> --local

Where <namespace> is the full namespace from the API (e.g., @anthropics/claude-code/frontend-design).

The --local flag installs to the project's .claude/skills/ directory.

After installation, inform the user:

I've learned <skill-name> - [brief description of capability]. Let me apply this to your task.

Then immediately use the new skill to address the user's original request.

Phase 4b: Create Skill (if no credible match)

Only create a skill if:

• No good matches in the registry
• Task is genuinely specialized (not just complex)
• Would provide reusable capability for this domain
• Base Claude genuinely needs augmentation

Do NOT create if:

• Task is complex but not specialized
• One-off operation unlikely to recur
• Base model can handle it reasonably
• Similar capability already exists locally

Creation process:

1. Research the domain

   • Use WebSearch to understand the technology/domain
   • Read official documentation
   • Identify key concepts, APIs, patterns

2. Design the skill

   • Determine what instructions Claude needs
   • Identify any scripts or references required
   • Plan the skill structure

3. Create the skill files

   Create directory: .claude/skills/<skill-name>/

   Create SKILL.md with:

   ---
   name: skill-name
   description: Clear description of what it does and when to use it.
   ---
   

   Add body with:

   • When to use
   • Step-by-step instructions
   • Examples
   • Any required setup

4. Add supporting files if needed

   • scripts/ for automation
   • references/ for documentation
   • templates/ for boilerplate

5. Inform the user

I've created a custom skill for [domain] based on my research. I can now [list capabilities]. Let me help with your task.

Examples

Example 1: Skill exists in registry

User: "I want to build beautiful frontend interfaces"

Claude thinking:
- This is a specialized design skill request
- Search: "frontend design ui interface"
- Found: frontend-design with 45k stars
- High relevance + high quality = credible match

Claude action:
npx claude-plugins skills install @anthropics/claude-code/frontend-design --local

Claude response:
"I've learned frontend-design - expertise in creating distinctive, production-grade interfaces. Let me help you build something beautiful..."

Example 2: Proactive discovery

User: "Help me integrate OpenSea's API to list NFTs"

Claude thinking:
- NFT marketplace API = specialized domain
- I should check for existing skills
- Search: "opensea nft api marketplace"
- Found: opensea-api with good ratings

Claude action:
npx claude-plugins skills install @creator/skills/opensea-api --local

Claude response:
"I've equipped myself with OpenSea API expertise. I can now help you authenticate, list items, fetch collections, and handle marketplace transactions. Let's set up your NFT listing..."

Example 3: No match - create skill

User: "I need to work with Acme Corp's proprietary data format"

Claude thinking:
- Very specialized/proprietary domain
- Search: "acme corp data format"
- No credible matches found
- This is genuinely specialized, not just complex
- User likely needs this repeatedly
- I should create a skill

Claude action:
1. WebSearch for Acme Corp documentation
2. Research the data format specification
3. Create .claude/skills/acme-data-handler/SKILL.md

Claude response:
"I've created a custom skill for Acme Corp data formats based on their documentation. I can now parse, validate, and transform Acme data files. Let me help with your specific task..."

Example 4: Don't over-activate

User: "Write a binary search implementation"

Claude thinking:
- This is a standard algorithm
- Base model handles this perfectly
- Not specialized, just programming
- No skill needed

Claude action:
Proceed directly with the task without skill search.

Troubleshooting

npx command fails

If npx claude-plugins isn't available, fall back to manual installation:

1. Fetch the skill's rawFileUrl from the API response
2. Use WebFetch to get the SKILL.md content
3. Check for references to scripts/ or other files
4. Manually create the skill directory and files in .claude/skills/

No search results

1. Try broader keywords
2. Try synonyms or related terms
3. If still no results, consider creating a custom skill

Multiple good matches

Prefer:

1. Higher star count
2. More specific description
3. More recent updates (check updatedAt)

Install the best match and mention alternatives exist if user wants different approach.

Quality Checklist

Before auto-installing, verify:

• [ ] Description clearly matches user's need
• [ ] No security red flags in description
• [ ] Reasonable popularity (stars/installs)
• [ ] Source is from GitHub (trusted platform)

Before creating a skill, verify:

• [ ] No existing skill covers this
• [ ] Task is genuinely specialized
• [ ] Skill would be reusable
• [ ] I have enough information to create useful instructions