Skill Metadata Fields
Purpose: Quick reference for SKILL.md frontmatter fields
Required Fields
| Field |
Description |
name |
Unique identifier (lowercase, hyphens, max 64 chars) |
description |
What skill does and when to use (max 1024 chars) |
Optional Fields
| Field |
Default |
Description |
allowed-tools |
All |
Tools Claude can use without permission |
model |
Conversation |
Model to use (e.g., claude-sonnet-4-20250514) |
context |
- |
Set to fork for isolated sub-agent context |
agent |
general-purpose |
Agent type when context: fork |
hooks |
- |
Lifecycle hooks (PreToolUse, PostToolUse, Stop) |
user-invocable |
true |
Show in slash command menu |
disable-model-invocation |
false |
Block programmatic invocation |
allowed-tools Syntax
# Comma-separated
allowed-tools: Read, Grep, Glob
# YAML list
allowed-tools:
- Read
- Grep
- Glob
hooks Syntax
hooks:
PreToolUse:
- matcher: "Bash"
hooks:
- type: command
command: "./scripts/validate.sh"
once: true # Run only once per session
Visibility Control
| Setting |
Slash Menu |
Skill Tool |
Auto-discovery |
| Default |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
user-invocable: false |
✗ |
✓ |
✓ |
disable-model-invocation: true |
✓ |
✗ |
✓ |
Related
../concepts/agent-skills.md - Skills overview../guides/creating-skills.md - Creation guide
Reference: https://docs.anthropic.com/en/docs/claude-code/skills
