Skills¶
Skills are structured domain knowledge that Claude loads automatically when working in a specific phase.
Skills are not commands you run — they are context files that Claude reads in the background. When you run /neuroflow:data-preprocess, Claude automatically loads the neuroflow:phase-data-preprocess skill, which gives it neuroscience-specific guidance for that phase: what pipeline steps to apply, what domain conventions to follow, what common pitfalls to avoid.
How skills work¶
When a command runs, it starts by reading its associated skill. For example:
/neuroflow:data-preprocess
→ reads: neuroflow:phase-data-preprocess
→ reads: neuroflow:neuroflow-core (lifecycle rules)
→ reads: project_config.md and flow.md
→ starts the preprocessing pipeline
Skills give Claude phase-specific expertise without you having to instruct it manually.
Available skills¶
Core skills¶
| Skill | What it does |
|---|---|
neuroflow:neuroflow-core |
Core rules and lifecycle for all commands and agents — .neuroflow/ folder spec, command lifecycle, frontmatter standard |
neuroflow:review-neuro |
Rigorous six-area peer review of a neuroscience manuscript — invoked by /review |
Phase skills¶
Each research phase has a corresponding skill that orients Claude's approach, suggests relevant domain tools, and provides workflow hints.
| Skill | Associated command |
|---|---|
neuroflow:phase-git |
/git |
neuroflow:phase-ideation |
/ideation |
neuroflow:phase-preregistration |
/preregistration |
neuroflow:phase-grant-proposal |
/grant-proposal |
neuroflow:phase-finance |
/finance |
neuroflow:phase-experiment |
/experiment |
neuroflow:phase-tool-build |
/tool-build |
neuroflow:phase-tool-validate |
/tool-validate |
neuroflow:phase-data |
/data |
neuroflow:phase-data-preprocess |
/data-preprocess |
neuroflow:phase-data-analyze |
/data-analyze |
neuroflow:phase-paper |
/paper |
neuroflow:phase-review |
/review |
neuroflow:phase-notes |
/notes |
neuroflow:phase-write-report |
/write-report |
neuroflow:phase-brain-build |
/brain-build |
neuroflow:phase-brain-optimize |
/brain-optimize |
neuroflow:phase-brain-run |
/brain-run |
neuroflow:phase-quiz |
/quiz |
neuroflow:phase-fails |
/fails |
neuroflow:phase-export |
/export |
neuroflow:phase-pipeline |
/pipeline |
neuroflow:phase-search |
/search |
Development skills¶
| Skill | What it does |
|---|---|
neuroflow:neuroflow-develop |
Guide for developing and maintaining the neuroflow plugin |
neuroflow:skill-creator |
Guide for creating new neuroflow skills |
For contributors¶
If you want to add a new skill:
- Create a folder under
skills/with the skill name:skills/my-new-skill/ - Add a
SKILL.mdfile with the frontmatter and content - Reference the skill from the relevant command with
Read the neuroflow:my-new-skill skill first
See the neuroflow:skill-creator skill for the full authoring guide.
Skills must not create their own folders in .neuroflow/
All skill output must be written to the active command's phase subfolder (e.g. .neuroflow/data-preprocess/). A skill named my-skill must not create .neuroflow/my-skill/. The sentinel-dev agent checks for this.