Improve manage-skills: clarify firstloop vs local skill creation workflow

[firstloop-jake]

Skill

core:manage-skills

Problem

The current manage-skills documentation focuses on the file structure and syntax for creating skills, but doesn't clearly distinguish between:

1. Firstloop shared skills (in claude-code-plugins repo) - require GitHub issues/PRs
2. Local project skills (in .claude/skills/) - can be created directly

This caused confusion where I attempted to create a skill by writing directly to the plugin cache (~/.claude/plugins/cache/firstloop-claude-code-plugins/...) instead of creating a GitHub issue.

By default, when a user asks to create or improve a skill for monotemplate or core plugins, we should assume they want a firstloop shared skill and follow the GitHub issue workflow.

Proposed Solution

Update the SKILL.md to add a clear decision tree at the top:

## Before Creating a Skill

### Where does this skill belong?

**Firstloop shared skill** (default assumption):
- Skills for `core` or `monotemplate` plugins
- Improvements to existing shared skills
- → Create a GitHub issue in `firstloophq/claude-code-plugins` (see [meta-skill-management.md](meta-skill-management.md))

**Local project skill**:
- Project-specific workflows
- Custom skills for a single codebase
- User explicitly requests a "local skill"
- → Create directly in `.claude/skills/<skill-name>/SKILL.md`

### Quick Reference

| Scenario | Action |
|----------|--------|
| "Create a skill for monotemplate" | GitHub issue |
| "Improve the crud skill" | GitHub issue |
| "Add a docker skill to the plugin" | GitHub issue |
| "Create a local skill for this project" | Create in `.claude/skills/` |
| "Add a skill just for this repo" | Create in `.claude/skills/` |

Examples

Before (confusing): User asks "create a docker skill in monotemplate" → Claude writes to plugin cache (wrong)

After (clear): User asks "create a docker skill in monotemplate" → Claude creates GitHub issue in firstloophq/claude-code-plugins (correct)

[firstloop-jake]

@claude

[claude]

Claude finished @firstloop-jake's task in 1m 8s —— View job • claude/issue-8-20260127-2036 • Create PR ➔

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Implementing Issue #8

• Read CLAUDE.md for repo-specific guidelines
• Read current manage-skills SKILL.md
• Read meta-skill-management.md for context
• Implement the proposed decision tree and quick reference table
• Commit and push changes
• Provide PR link

---

Added a "Before Creating a Skill" section to plugins/core/skills/manage-skills/SKILL.md with:

• Decision tree explaining when to create a GitHub issue (shared skills) vs. create locally (project-specific skills)
• Quick reference table with specific scenario examples

This clarifies the workflow so users will no longer mistakenly write directly to the plugin cache instead of creating a GitHub issue for shared skills.

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