Navigating Claude Code: Skills That Actually Fire

Claude Code's Skills feature lets you create markdown-based slash commands that Claude can invoke automatically or on demand — but the reality is trickier than it sounds. Auto-invocation silently fails when descriptions are vague, the precedence order (global beats project-level) surprises most users, and poorly scoped skills bloat context fast. This guide covers the anatomy, pitfalls, and practical patterns for reliable skill configuration.