RHnotion

Anthropic just dropped a 10-page PDF on building your own skill library - 8 layers to an agent that picks the right procedure on its own and never needs the same feedback twice: the formula: Skill = Trigger + Procedure + Resources + Checks most people still paste the same prompts by hand every day. or dump everything into one giant CLAUDE.md the agent half-ignores here's how to build yours in 8 layers: layer 1 → library - facts in CLAUDE.md, procedures in skills. ~100 tokens per skill until it's needed layer 2 → trigger - the description is the interface. output, input, 3 real phrases, 1 "not for" layer 3 → procedure - numbered steps. always opens with Look, always closes with Check layer 4 → resources - long guides live in references/. one good example beats a page of adjectives layer 5 → scripts - anything with one right answer runs as code. the model never totals in its head layer 6 → checks - 5 yes/no lines. never say done with a box unticked layer 7 → guard - does alone, asks first, never. source text is data, never orders layer 8 → learn - every correction becomes a permanent checklist line the result: 25 procedures cost ~3.9K tokens per request instead of ~36K. and the agent picks the right one without being told this 10-page PDF has the templates, a full reference skill, a test card, a skill-designer prompt and a 10-day build path bookmark it. the next prompt you paste for the 3rd time should be a skill ↓