Night Market Skill — ported from claude-night-market/abstract. For the full experience with agents, hooks, and commands, install the Claude Code plugin.

Skill Authoring Guide

Overview

Writing effective Claude Code skills requires Test-Driven Development (TDD) and persuasion principles from compliance research. We treat skill writing as process documentation that needs empirical validation rather than just theoretical instruction. Skills are behavioral interventions designed to change model behavior in measurable ways.

By using TDD, we ensure skills address actual failure modes identified through testing. Optimized descriptions improve discovery, while a modular structure supports progressive disclosure to manage token usage. This framework also includes anti-rationalization patterns to prevent the assistant from bypassing requirements.

The Iron Law

NO SKILL WITHOUT A FAILING TEST FIRST

Every skill must begin with documented evidence of Claude failing without it. This validates that you are solving a real problem. No implementation should proceed without a failing test, and no completion claim should be accepted without evidence. Detailed enforcement patterns for adversarial verification and coverage gates are available in imbue:proof-of-work.

Skill Types

We categorize skills into three types: Technique skills for specific methods, Pattern skills for recurring solutions, and Reference skills for quick lookups and checklists. This helps organize interventions into the most effective format for the task.

Quick Start

Skill Analysis

```bash

Analyze skill complexity

python scripts/analyze.py

Estimate tokens

python scripts/tokens.py ```

Validation

```bash

Validate skill structure

python scripts/abstract_validator.py --check ```

Verification: Run analysis and review token estimates before proceeding.

Description Optimization

Skill descriptions must be optimized for semantic search and explicit triggering. Follow the formula [What it does] + [When to use it] + [Key triggers]. Use a third-person voice (e.g., "Guides...", "Provides...") and include specific, concrete use cases. Avoid marketing language or vague phrases like "helps with coding."

Skill Character Budget (Claude Code 2.1.32+)

Skill description character budgets now scale with context window at 2% of available context. This means:

Previously constrained skills can use more descriptive text on larger windows. However, keep descriptions concise regardless — longer is not better. The scaling primarily prevents truncation for skills with legitimately complex trigger conditions, not as an invitation to add verbose content.