Command Development
A hands-on reference for building Claude Code slash commands — frontmatter, dynamic arguments, file references, and plugin patterns.
Dev & CodingIntermediate★ 506⑂ 46AI score 7/10Last updated: Jul 23, 2026
What it does
- Walks through creating
/slash-commandsend to end: where files live (.claude/commands/for projects,~/.claude/commands/for personal use), naming, and namespaced subdirectories. - Documents every YAML frontmatter field (
description,allowed-tools,model,argument-hint,disable-model-invocation) with recommended usage. - Covers dynamic arguments (
$ARGUMENTS,$1,$2),@filereferences, and inline bash execution for injecting live context. - Reinforces the core rule that commands are instructions for Claude, not messages to the user, and ships reusable patterns (review, test, docs, workflow) plus a troubleshooting checklist.
Who it's for
- Developers standardizing team workflows as reusable slash commands.
- Plugin authors who need
${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}to reference bundled scripts, templates, and config portably. - Anyone chaining commands with agents, skills, and hooks into multi-step workflows.
Examples
- "Create a
/review-prcommand that takes a PR number, priority, and assignee" → generates a command usingargument-hintand positional$1 $2 $3. - "I want a review command that auto-includes changed files" → applies the
Bash(git:*)allowed-tools pattern with inlinegit diff --name-only. - "My 20+ commands are a mess" → reorganizes them into
ci/,git/,docs/namespaces that show up in/help.
· · · Install guide · · ·
Try it now, no install
Paste this into Claude to use the skill without installing anything.
Read the instructions in this file and follow them to help me: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/tzachbon/smart-ralph/HEAD/.agents/skills/Command Development/SKILL.md What I want: (describe your task here)
If Claude can't open the link, open it yourself and paste the contents instead.
↓ If it works for you, download the ZIP below and install it. Then it runs on its own — no pasting each time.
Install in the Claude app (no terminal)
- Download the ZIP with the button below.
- In Claude, open Settings → Capabilities and turn on 'Code execution and file creation'. (one time)
- Go to Customize → Skills → + → 'Upload a skill' and upload the ZIP.
Install in Claude Code
Let Claude do it — paste this into Claude Code
Install the skill I found on Claude Skill Mart. Copy the .agents/skills/Command Development folder from the GitHub repo tzachbon/smart-ralph into my ~/.claude/skills/command-development/. When it's done, tell me in one line what this skill can do.
Install with a command instead
git clone https://github.com/tzachbon/smart-ralph.git /tmp/smart-ralph && mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills/command-development && cp -r "/tmp/smart-ralph/.agents/skills/Command Development/." ~/.claude/skills/command-development/⚠ This is a third-party skill. Check the source repository before installing.
- Open a terminal.
- Clone the repository:
git clone https://github.com/tzachbon/smart-ralph.git /tmp/smart-ralph - Create the skill folder:
mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills/command-development - Copy the whole skill directory (including
references/andexamples/):cp -r "/tmp/smart-ralph/.agents/skills/Command Development/." ~/.claude/skills/command-development/ - Restart Claude Code, then ask something like "create a slash command" and the skill loads automatically.
- For project-only use, copy into
.claude/skills/command-development/inside your repo instead.
View source on GitHub ↗License: MIT