wshobson skills — Use Cases, Install & Live Demo

Name: wshobson skills (Claude Skill)
Author: wshobson

Why use it

Key features

Anthropic SKILL.md format for natural triggering
Deep, opinionated guidance per skill
Covers process (testing, debugging) not just code
Companion to wshobson/agents and wshobson/commands
MIT licensed and frequently updated

Live Demo

What it looks like in practice

ready

Install

Pick your client

~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json · Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "wshobson-skills-skill": {
      "command": "git",
      "args": [
        "clone",
        "https://github.com/wshobson/skills",
        "~/.claude/skills/wshobson"
      ],
      "_inferred": true
    }
  }
}

Open Claude Desktop → Settings → Developer → Edit Config. Restart after saving.

~/.cursor/mcp.json · .cursor/mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "wshobson-skills-skill": {
      "command": "git",
      "args": [
        "clone",
        "https://github.com/wshobson/skills",
        "~/.claude/skills/wshobson"
      ],
      "_inferred": true
    }
  }
}

Cursor uses the same mcpServers schema as Claude Desktop. Project config wins over global.

VS Code → Cline → MCP Servers → Edit

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "wshobson-skills-skill": {
      "command": "git",
      "args": [
        "clone",
        "https://github.com/wshobson/skills",
        "~/.claude/skills/wshobson"
      ],
      "_inferred": true
    }
  }
}

Click the MCP Servers icon in the Cline sidebar, then "Edit Configuration".

~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "wshobson-skills-skill": {
      "command": "git",
      "args": [
        "clone",
        "https://github.com/wshobson/skills",
        "~/.claude/skills/wshobson"
      ],
      "_inferred": true
    }
  }
}

Same shape as Claude Desktop. Restart Windsurf to pick up changes.

~/.continue/config.json

{
  "mcpServers": [
    {
      "name": "wshobson-skills-skill",
      "command": "git",
      "args": [
        "clone",
        "https://github.com/wshobson/skills",
        "~/.claude/skills/wshobson"
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Continue uses an array of server objects rather than a map.

~/.config/zed/settings.json

{
  "context_servers": {
    "wshobson-skills-skill": {
      "command": {
        "path": "git",
        "args": [
          "clone",
          "https://github.com/wshobson/skills",
          "~/.claude/skills/wshobson"
        ]
      }
    }
  }
}

Add to context_servers. Zed hot-reloads on save.

claude mcp add wshobson-skills-skill -- git clone https://github.com/wshobson/skills ~/.claude/skills/wshobson

One-liner. Verify with claude mcp list. Remove with claude mcp remove.

Use Cases

Real-world ways to use wshobson skills

Apply a systematic debugging flow when stuck

👤 Devs on hour-3 of a bug hunt ⏱ ~60 min intermediate

When to use: You've been guessing for an hour and need a structured approach.

Prerequisites

Skills installed — Clone into ~/.claude/skills/wshobson

Flow

Trigger the skill

I'm stuck debugging a flaky test that fails on CI but passes locally. Apply your debug-systematically skill.✓ Copied

→ Skill kicks in, asks for repro steps + most-recent change
Follow the steps

Step through the bisect/log/instrument plan it gives you.✓ Copied

→ Per-step output captured
Land the fix

Once root cause confirmed, apply the fix and add a regression test.✓ Copied

→ Bug fixed; CI green

Outcome: Bug solved with documented chain of evidence.

Pitfalls

Skill overhead on trivial bugs — For obvious bugs, skip the skill — use it for >30min stuck moments

Combine with: wshobson-agents-skill

Design a testing strategy for a new feature

👤 Tech leads planning a sprint ⏱ ~45 min intermediate

When to use: Feature is non-trivial; you want unit + integration + e2e coverage right.

Flow

Brief the skill

Use testing-strategy. Feature: per-tenant data isolation in the API. Help me decide what to test where.✓ Copied

→ Test pyramid mapped to feature
Implement test scaffolding

Generate the scaffolding. Mark which tests are highest leverage.✓ Copied

→ Files with test stubs

Outcome: Test plan you can defend in a design review.

Refactor a high-traffic function without regressing behavior

👤 Devs touching critical code paths ⏱ ~90 min advanced

When to use: Function is in the critical path and one bug = customer impact.

Flow

Pin behavior with characterization tests

Use refactor-safely. First write characterization tests around src/checkout.ts:processOrder.✓ Copied

→ Tests that lock in current behavior
Refactor in micro-steps

Now apply refactors one tiny step at a time, running tests after each.✓ Copied

→ Per-step diffs with green tests

Outcome: Refactor that an SRE wouldn't push back on.

Combine with: wshobson-commands-skill

Combinations

Pair with other MCPs for X10 leverage

wshobson-skills-skill + wshobson-agents-skill

Skills shape how, agents do

Apply refactor-safely skill, delegate the actual edits to backend-architect agent.✓ Copied

wshobson-skills-skill + wshobson-commands-skill

Commands for fast triggers, skills for deeper guidance

/refactor for quick; refactor-safely for the critical-path version.✓ Copied

Tools

What this MCP exposes

Tool	Inputs	When to call
debug-systematically	bug description	Stuck >30min
testing-strategy	feature spec	Pre-implementation
refactor-safely	target	Critical path refactors
review-architecture	design doc	Design review

Cost & Limits

What this costs to run

API quota: N/A — local
Tokens per call: High when fully invoked (skills are detailed instruction blocks)
Monetary: Free (MIT)
Tip: Skills load only when triggered; don't worry about idle cost

Security

Permissions, secrets, blast radius

Minimum scopes: filesystem-read

Credential storage: None

Data egress: None — pure prompts

Troubleshooting

Common errors and fixes

Skill not auto-triggering

Check the SKILL.md description matches user request semantically; tighten the description if false negatives happen

Skill triggers when not wanted

Edit description to be more specific; remove generic trigger words

Long skill inflates token cost

Trim skill body to essentials; skills should be checklists not novels

Alternatives

wshobson skills vs others

Alternative	When to use it instead	Tradeoff
wshobson/agents (sibling)	You want subagents instead of skills	Subagents are explicit; skills are auto-triggered
obra/superpowers	Smaller curated skill set with different opinions	Less coverage, more taste

More

Resources

📖 Read the official README on GitHub

🐙 Browse open issues

🔍 Browse all 400+ MCP servers and Skills