/ca-new-skill
Author a new codeArbiter skill: prove the gap is real, get the spec approved, then write it.
$ npx -y skills add arbiterForge/codeArbiter --skill ca-new-skill --agent claude-codeHow it fires
How this skill gets triggered: by you, by Claude, or both.
- Fires itselfAuto-invocation. Claude auto-loads it when your prompt matches the work.
- You can call itInvoke it directly when you want it.
- Slash command
/ca-new-skill
Context preview
The summary Claude sees to decide when to auto-load this skill.
Author a new codeArbiter skill: prove the gap is real, get the spec approved, then write it.
SKILL.md
ca-new-skill.SKILL.mdname: ca-new-skill
description: "Author a new codeArbiter skill: prove the gap is real, get the spec approved, then write it."
argument-hint: "<verb-noun skill name>"
$ca-new-skill — author a skill
The only permitted entry to creating a skill. Nothing is written until the gap is proven uncovered — skills are not created speculatively. Name the skill in verb-noun form (`"dependency-review"`), not as a description (`"the thing that checks packages"`).
Flow
Routes to the `skill-author` skill, which owns the work end to end through its five gated phases — gap evidence, scope, authoring, self-review against the v2 house style, and routing integration (the `INDEX.md` + routing-table entry that makes the new skill reachable). The phase definitions live in the skill; this command does not restate them. Nothing is authored until an existing skill or agent is proven not to cover the need; nothing ships until the new skill carries gated phases, hard rules, and its routing entry.
Routes to
`skill-author` (`${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/routines/skill-author/SKILL.md`) — all five phases.
When NOT to use
- A one-time action → `$ca-feature` or a command definition.
- An existing skill nearly covers it → extend that skill via `$ca-feature`.
- "Do we even need a skill here?" → `$ca-btw`.
Hard gate
MUST prove the gap is real in Phase 1 before writing any skill content. MUST get user approval on the spec before authoring. MUST NOT create a skill that duplicates an existing skill's purpose — surface the overlap instead. Skill files live only under `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/routines/<name>/`.
Read more
name: ca-new-skill description: "Author a new codeArbiter skill: prove the gap is real, get the spec approved, then write it." argument-hint: "<verb-noun skill name>"
$ca-new-skill — author a skill
The only permitted entry to creating a skill. Nothing is written until the gap is proven uncovered — skills are not created speculatively. Name the skill in verb-noun form (`"dependency-review"`), not as a description (`"the thing that checks packages"`).
Flow
Routes to the `skill-author` skill, which owns the work end to end through its five gated phases — gap evidence, scope, authoring, self-review against the v2 house style, and routing integration (the `INDEX.md` + routing-table entry that makes the new skill reachable). The phase definitions live in the skill; this command does not restate them. Nothing is authored until an existing skill or agent is proven not to cover the need; nothing ships until the new skill carries gated phases, hard rules, and its routing entry.
Routes to
`skill-author` (`${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/routines/skill-author/SKILL.md`) — all five phases.
When NOT to use
- A one-time action → `$ca-feature` or a command definition.
- An existing skill nearly covers it → extend that skill via `$ca-feature`.
- "Do we even need a skill here?" → `$ca-btw`.
Hard gate
MUST prove the gap is real in Phase 1 before writing any skill content. MUST get user approval on the spec before authoring. MUST NOT create a skill that duplicates an existing skill's purpose — surface the overlap instead. Skill files live only under `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/routines/<name>/`.
When you can't trust yourself with your code base, trust Arbiter.
Repo: arbiterForge/codeArbiter
Other skills on codearbiter.
- /brainstorming
The Socratic spec-refinement front of /feature, and the planning front of /sprint. Routed to BEFORE any code — it takes a one-line idea and drives it to an approved, concrete spec with testable acceptance criteria. Four gated phases — frame, refine, write, approve. No
Open skill - /commit-gate
The only path to a commit. Routed to when the user invokes /commit or otherwise instructs codeArbiter to persist staged changes. Nine gated phases — permission, branch, classification, verification (test/lint/secrets), behavioral proof, diff review, selective stage, message,
Open skill - /context-check
Optional manual drift audit — report stale provenance-tracked docs (via _provenancelib drift detection across .codearbiter/.provenance/), then per stale doc offer re-scout / re-baseline / defer. Not the daily loop; commit-gate auto-heal owns routine maintenance.
Open skill - /context-creation
The brownfield back-fill. Routed to by /create-context, and by startup when .codearbiter/CONTEXT.md lacks the <!--INITIALIZED--> body marker but source code exists. Six gated phases — pre-flight, scout dispatch, synthesis, gap interview, write, lock. Reads the existing codebase
Open skill - /crypto-compliance
The banned-primitive gate. Routed to when changed code hashes, signs, encrypts, derives keys, generates security-relevant randomness, configures TLS, or imports a crypto library. Rejects broken primitives, disabled TLS verification, and home-rolled crypto; the approved-primitive
Open skill - /debug
Investigate-then-decide root-cause analysis for a defect whose cause is unknown (distinct from /fix, which assumes a known bug). Five gated phases: capture, hypothesize, gather, decide, hand off. Investigation only, no code changes; exits to /fix, /adr, or a no-action close.
Open skill