Where should I store my personal Claude Code skills?

Personal skills should be stored in the ~/.claude/skills/ directory, while project-specific skills reside in the .claude/skills/ directory of your project.

When should I use an MCP server instead of a Skill?

Use an MCP server when you need to provide actual tool capabilities or external data connections. Use a Skill to teach Claude the specific patterns or knowledge on how to use those tools.

What is the main difference between a Skill and a Slash Command?

Skills are discovered and applied automatically by Claude based on the conversation context, whereas Slash Commands require explicit manual invocation by the user.

How do I troubleshoot a Skill that is not triggering correctly?

Verify that your SKILL.md description includes clear trigger phrases, ensure the directory structure is correct, and run Claude with the --debug flag to inspect loading errors.

Claude Code Extension Reference

Name: Claude Code Extension Reference
Author: hgeldenhuys

byhgeldenhuys

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Learning & Documentation

Provides authoritative architectural guidance and implementation patterns for building Claude Code extensions, hooks, and MCP servers.

About

This skill acts as a comprehensive internal encyclopedia for developers looking to extend Claude Code's core capabilities. It provides clear disambiguation between different extension types, helping you choose between Skills for automated discovery, Slash Commands for manual triggers, Hooks for event-driven automation, and MCP servers for external tool integration. By centralizing best practices, file structures, and troubleshooting steps, this skill ensures that developers follow standardized patterns when building customized AI workflows and toolsets.

Key Features

Comprehensive troubleshooting for extension loading and triggers
1 GitHub stars
Detailed implementation patterns and directory structure guides
MCP server integration and tool naming conventions
Extension type disambiguation for Skills, Commands, Hooks, and MCP
Event-driven hook configuration and lifecycle management

Use Cases

Implementing Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers for external API access
Deciding the optimal architecture for a new Claude Code extension
Configuring project-specific hooks for automated code validation

About

Key Features

Comprehensive troubleshooting for extension loading and triggers
1 GitHub stars
Detailed implementation patterns and directory structure guides
MCP server integration and tool naming conventions
Extension type disambiguation for Skills, Commands, Hooks, and MCP
Event-driven hook configuration and lifecycle management

Use Cases

Implementing Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers for external API access
Deciding the optimal architecture for a new Claude Code extension
Configuring project-specific hooks for automated code validation