meta-command-creator

Custom Slash Command Creator

Overview

Claude Code slash commands are markdown files with optional YAML frontmatter that create reusable /command workflows. Commands and skills are unified: .claude/commands/ files and .claude/skills/ directories both create slash commands. Skills are the recommended approach since they support additional features like supporting files, but single-file commands still work.

When to use: Repeatable prompts, team workflow standardization, guardrailed operations (deploy, commit), multi-phase tasks, dynamic context injection with bash output.

When NOT to use: Complex capabilities needing multiple files and scripts (use a full skill directory instead), one-off prompts, built-in commands that already exist (/compact, /help, /init).

Quick Reference

Feature	Syntax / Location	Key Points
Project command	.claude/commands/name.md	Shows "(project)" in /help
Project skill	.claude/skills/name/SKILL.md	Recommended over commands, supports extra files
Personal command	~/.claude/commands/name.md	Available across all projects
Personal skill	~/.claude/skills/name/SKILL.md	Available across all projects
Plugin command	<plugin>/skills/name/SKILL.md	Namespaced as plugin-name:skill-name
Subdirectory commands	.claude/commands/git/commit.md	Shows "(project:git)" in /help
All arguments	$ARGUMENTS	Entire argument string
Positional arguments	$0, $1, $2 or $ARGUMENTS[0]	Zero-based index
Bash injection	!`git status`	Runs before prompt is sent, output replaces placeholder
File reference	@src/file.ts	Inlines file contents into prompt
Extended thinking	Include "ultrathink" in content	Triggers deeper reasoning mode
Session ID	${CLAUDE_SESSION_ID}	Current session identifier for logging
Frontmatter description	description: What it does	Required for /help listing and Skill tool
Tool restrictions	allowed-tools: Read, Grep, Glob	Limits tools without per-use approval
Manual-only invocation	disable-model-invocation: true	Prevents Claude from auto-triggering
Hide from menu	user-invocable: false	Background knowledge only Claude loads
Argument hint	argument-hint: [issue-number]	Shown in autocomplete
Model override	model: claude-sonnet-4-20250514	Specific model for this command
Subagent execution	context: fork	Runs in isolated context
Subagent type	agent: Explore	Built-in or custom agent when context: fork

Priority Order

When commands share the same name across levels, higher-priority locations win:

1. Enterprise (managed settings)
2. Personal (~/.claude/)
3. Project (.claude/)

Plugin commands use namespacing (plugin:name) so they never conflict. If a skill and a command share the same name, the skill takes precedence.

Common Mistakes

Mistake	Impact	Correct Pattern
Adding name field in command files	Ignored for .md commands	Name is inferred from filename
Missing description frontmatter	Invisible in /help and Skill tool	Always include description
Using category or tags fields	Silently ignored	Use subdirectories for organization
$ARGUMENTS without handling empty case	Unexpected behavior	Check if empty and provide default
!`bash` without allowed-tools	Commands fail to execute	Add allowed-tools: Bash(...) to frontmatter
Expecting project to override personal	Personal wins over project	Personal commands take priority; rename to avoid conflicts
Using context: fork without a task	Subagent has no actionable work	Only fork skills with explicit step-by-step instructions
Overriding built-in command names	Built-ins cannot be overridden	Use different names (/my-help not /help)

Delegation

• Command pattern discovery: Use Explore agent to find existing commands in .claude/commands/ or .claude/skills/
• Complex workflow skills: For multi-file capabilities, create a full skill directory with SKILL.md and supporting files

References

• Command anatomy: markdown structure, YAML frontmatter fields, file locations, and priority order
• Arguments and references: $ARGUMENTS, positional args, bash injection, and file references
• Templates: ready-to-use command templates for common patterns