3 Skills You Can Build in Under 10 Minutes

Skills are just markdown files that teach Claude Code new tricks. No code. No framework. Just instructions in a file. Here are 3 you can build before your coffee gets cold.

1. The Commit Message Writer

Create .claude/commands/commit.md with instructions like: "Read the staged diff. Write a conventional commit message. Format: type(scope): description. Keep it under 72 characters. If the change is complex, add a body explaining why." That's it. Now /commit writes perfect commit messages every time.

Time to build: 3 minutes

2. The Bug Report Template

Create .claude/commands/bug-report.md with: "Ask me to describe the bug. Then generate a structured bug report with: Summary, Steps to Reproduce, Expected Behavior, Actual Behavior, Environment, and Severity. Format as markdown." Now /bug-report produces clean, consistent reports your team can actually use.

Time to build: 3 minutes

3. The Daily Standup Generator

Create .claude/commands/standup.md with: "Check git log for my commits since yesterday. Check for any open PRs. Read the latest handoff file. Generate a standup update with: What I did, What I'm doing today, Any blockers." Now /standup writes your standup from actual data instead of your foggy morning memory.

Time to build: 4 minutes

The Pattern

Every skill follows the same structure: describe what Claude Code should do, what inputs to use, and how to format the output. Once you build 3, you'll start seeing skill opportunities everywhere.

The slash commands guide covers the full syntax and more advanced patterns like parameterized skills and multi-step workflows.