← LevelsBuilder · B6
Frontmatter anatomy
Build-along · ~8 min at your own keyboard
Only a skill's frontmatter (name + description) loads until the skill fires — the description is how Claude decides WHEN to use it. A vague description means your skill never triggers or triggers constantly. Write it like a dispatcher: 'use when X, not when Y.'
The long version: Skill frontmatter ↗
Do this
0/4Checkpoints
- ▸You should now see name and description between the --- lines at the top of SKILL.md.
- ▸You should now see the skill fire on all 3 phrasings.
- ▸You should now see it stay quiet on the near-miss.
The three ways this goes wrong
- Frontmatter breaks and the skill is skipped. — Check the --- lines are exact, with no tabs, and the colon has a space after it.
- The skill fires on everything. — Add an explicit NOT clause to the description.
- It never fires. — Add the exact phrases you use to ask for it.
Share what happened
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