authoring-prompts
Invoke this skill first when authoring any AI agent instructions. Foundational principles for writing LLM instructions (skills, CLAUDE.md, rules, commands). Covers token economics, imperative language, formatting for LLM parsing, emphasis modifiers, terminology consistency, and common anti-patterns.
npx skills add majiayu000/claude-skill-registry --skill authoring-prompts --agent claude-code
Same command for any agent — swap --agent for codex, cursor, copilot.
Weekly change comes from our own snapshots, not the repository page — it measures attention, not adoption.
# Instruction Authoring Foundations Core principles for writing instructions that LLMs execute efficiently and deterministically. Apply these principles across all instruction types: skills, CLAUDE.md files, rules, and slash commands. ## Token Economics The context window is a shared resource. Challenge each piece of information: "Does Claude already know this?" Only add context Claude lacks. Assume Claude is already very smart. Remove decorative language. No "please", "remember", "make sure", "it's important". Use examples over explanations. One concrete before/after example teaches more than three paragraphs of description. Prefer tables for structured data. Compress related information into scannable format. ## Determinism and Specificity ### Degrees of Freedom Match specificity to task requirements. **High freedom** (text instructions): Use when multiple approaches are valid. Medium freedom (pseudocode, parameterized scripts): Use when a preferred pattern exists. **Low freedom** (exact scripts, no parameters): Use when operations are fragile or consistency is critical. ### Zero Ambiguity Every instruction must have exactly one interpretation. Use explicit constraints, not sugge
- Token Economics
- Determinism and Specificity
- Degrees of Freedom
- Zero Ambiguity
- Deterministic Commands
- Imperative Language Patterns
- Specificity in Constraints
- Formatting for LLM Parsing
- Tables vs Lists vs Prose
- Emphasis and Terminology
- Emphasis Modifiers
- Terminology Consistency
- Structural Optimization
- Common Anti-Patterns
What does the authoring-prompts skill do?
Invoke this skill first when authoring any AI agent instructions. Foundational principles for writing LLM instructions (skills, CLAUDE.md, rules, commands). Covers token economics, imperative language, formatting for LLM parsing, emphasis modifiers, terminology consistency, and common anti-patterns.
How do I install it?
Run `npx skills add majiayu000/claude-skill-registry --skill authoring-prompts --agent claude-code` — it drops the skill into your project so the agent can pick it up. Swap the --agent value for codex, cursor or copilot if you use one of those.
Where does this skill come from?
From majiayu000/claude-skill-registry, a repository with 534 stars. We read it straight from the repository tree rather than a submitted listing, so what you see here is what is actually published.
Is a popular skill a good skill?
Not necessarily. Stars measure attention, not adoption — a repository can trend for a week and be abandoned. That is why we show the weekly change from our own snapshots next to the total, instead of a single flattering number.