There are 1,116 Claude Code skills floating around GitHub. You only need 71 of them.
I spent a weekend filtering the noise. This is the shortlist ~ the skills I'd actually install, organised by what they're for and when to use them.
01 ~ Why curate
71 skills,not 1,116
Every week another mega-repo lands on GitHub claiming 200+ Claude skills. Most of them are duplicates of the same five ideas ~ code-reviewer, test-writer, commit-message-generator ~ rewritten by a different person, with a different prompt, in a different style.
Browsing a 1,000-link listicle isn't a feature. It's a tax. You don't need every skill ~ you need the right 5 to 10 for what you actually do.
So I built two things: a curated, filterable directory of 71 skills I'd actually install ~ and a Skill Maker for the ones nobody else has built yet.
02 ~ Definition
What a skillactually is
A Claude skill is a .md file with frontmatter and instructions. Drop it in .claude/skills/ and Claude loads it automatically. Invoke it with a slash command, or set it to always-on in your CLAUDE.md.
The point isn't the file format ~ it's that you stop re-explaining yourself every session. Brand voice. Review checklist. Domain context. Write it once. Reuse forever.
03 ~ Taxonomy
The 10 categoriesthat matter
The 13-category taxonomy from the original Substack is too granular. Here's a tighter version that maps to how people actually work:
Everything else (compliance, niche languages, miscellaneous) folds into one of these. Less faff. More signal.
04 ~ The Picks
My top 13 picks
One from each category I'd actually use, plus a couple of wildcards. Each links to the source repo ~ but the full directory has more.
Artifacts Builder
developmentBuilds polished interactive artifacts ~ HTML, React, SVG ~ in one shot.
When you want Claude to build a working prototype in a single artifact.
Sentry MCP
developmentReads Sentry errors and proposes the actual fix.
When you want Claude triaging production exceptions without you.
obra/superpowers
development150+ production-grade skills covering most engineering workflows.
When you want a single repo that covers 80% of dev workflows out of the box.
Inbox Zero Agent
automationTriages email, drafts replies, sorts the rest ~ in your voice.
When email is eating 2 hours a day and you want it back.
Feature Killer
productReviews your roadmap and proposes which features to cut.
When the roadmap has 14 items and you have time for 4.
TDD Driver
developmentForces tests-first, refuses to write code without a failing test.
When you want Claude to behave like a senior who actually cares about tests.
Code Reviewer
developmentReviews diffs the way a thoughtful senior would ~ not a checklist robot.
Before you merge anything you're slightly unsure about.
OWASP Top 10 Checker
securityScans code for the 10 vulnerabilities you actually need to worry about.
Before exposing any new endpoint to the public internet.
Terraform Builder
devopsWrites idempotent, modular Terraform without copy-paste rot.
When you'd rather not write 400 lines of HCL by hand.
PRD Writer
productTurns rough ideas into clean PRDs with scope, risks, and metrics.
When you need to convince yourself or your team this is worth building.
VoC Synthesiser
researchReads reviews / Reddit / forums and surfaces the real pain.
When you want quotes you can put in a landing page hero.
Essay Editor
writingCuts fluff, sharpens claims, keeps your voice intact.
Before you hit publish on anything longer than a tweet.
Morning Brief
personal opsReads calendar, inbox, and journals ~ writes your day's plan.
When you want to start the day already knowing what matters.
05 ~ The Real Move
Stop hoarding.Build your own.
The reason most people's skill folders look impressive but don't do anything is that they cloned 50 skills and use three. Other people's skills are written for other people's workflows.
The skills that compound for you are the ones you write. Your tone. Your stack. Your weird internal jargon. Your three customers who matter most.
That's why I built the Skill Maker. Fill in your details, get a structured .md file. No blank-page paralysis.
06 ~ Where to go next
Pick yournext move
Browse
Skills Directory
The full filterable directory ~ category, source, search.
Open directoryBuild
Skill Maker
Generate a structured skill file in 60 seconds. Free tool.
Build a skillIf you want the full system
Master Claude playbook ~ 15 lessons, 5 phases, ~4.5 hours.
Love,
Abie
