/commands-deprecated-directory

description: "Legacy commands directory; prefer skills for new work"

commands-deprecated-directory

<RuleHeader description="Legacy commands directory; prefer skills for new work" severity="warn" :fixable="false" :configurable="false" category="Commands" />

Rule Details

Commands were the original way to add custom slash commands to Claude Code, and remain supported with the same invocation behavior. Skills add a directory for supporting files and are preferred for new work. This rule fires when a `.claude/commands` directory exists in the project, as an optional migration advisory, not an unsupported-format error. The authority is the [Skills reference](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/skills).

Incorrect

Project with a .claude/commands directory

.claude/
  commands/
    deploy.md
    test-all.md

Legacy command file in .claude/commands

# .claude/commands/deploy.md
Run the deployment script.

```bash
./scripts/deploy.sh

### Correct

Project migrated to Skills

```text
.claude/
  skills/
    deploy/
      SKILL.md
      deploy.sh
    test-all/
      SKILL.md
      test-all.sh

Equivalent skill with proper structure

# .claude/skills/deploy/SKILL.md
---
name: deploy
description: Run the deployment script
---

## Usage

Invoke with `/deploy` to run the deployment pipeline.

How To Fix

For new work, create a `.claude/skills/<skill-name>/` directory with a `SKILL.md` and move command scripts into it. Then remove the old `.claude/commands/` directory. See the [Skills documentation](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/skills) for the full format.

Options

This rule does not have any configuration options.

When Not To Use It

Disable this rule if you are intentionally maintaining legacy commands alongside skills during a gradual migration.

Related Rules

• [`plugin-commands-deprecated`](/rules/plugin/plugin-commands-deprecated)

Resources

• [Rule Implementation](https://github.com/pdugan20/claudelint/blob/main/src/rules/commands/commands-deprecated-directory.ts)
• [Rule Tests](https://github.com/pdugan20/claudelint/blob/main/tests/rules/commands/commands-deprecated-directory.test.ts)

Version

Available since: v0.2.0