> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.commanderplugin.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Skills: On-Demand Claude Code Expertise for Every Task

> How CC Commander's 450+ skills work, how tiered loading saves ~10k tokens per session, and how to browse, install, and load the right skill for any task.

A skill is a `SKILL.md` file that gets loaded into Claude Code's context before a session starts. Each skill contains focused instructions, patterns, and constraints for a particular type of work — writing tests, setting up CI/CD, building auth systems, or designing UI components. Loading a skill is like handing Claude a specialist's playbook before it touches your code.

CCC ships with 450+ skills. Because loading all of them at once would consume roughly 10,000 tokens before a session even begins, CCC uses a tiered loading system to keep your context lean by default.

## Skill tiers

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Essential (~37 skills)" icon="layer-group">
    Core workflow skills plus all 11 CCC domain routers. Installed by default. Covers the most common tasks without bloating your context window.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Recommended (~100 skills)" icon="star">
    Everything in essential, plus high-value skills for code review, testing, agents, and common patterns. For developers who want broader coverage.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Domain (11 routers)" icon="sitemap">
    Just the 11 CCC domain router skills. Each router dispatches to specialist sub-skills on demand.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Full (450+)" icon="database">
    Every skill in the `skills/` directory. Not recommended for most users — use essential or recommended to preserve context budget.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

The default install tier is `essential`. You get all 11 CCC domain routers plus the core workflow skills — roughly 37 skills total — which saves approximately 10,000 tokens compared to loading everything.

## Managing skills

### From the CLI

Use `ccc --skills` to open the skill management interface:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open skill manager">
    ```bash theme={null}
    ccc --skills
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="Choose an action">
    The skill manager gives you four options: list installed skills, install new ones, remove ones you do not need, and switch your active tier.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Install by tier">
    ```bash theme={null}
    # Switch to essential tier (default)
    ccc --skills tier essential

    # Switch to recommended tier
    ccc --skills tier recommended

    # Install all skills
    ccc --skills tier full
    ```
  </Step>
</Steps>

### From inside Claude Code

While a session is running, use the in-session skill browser:

```
/ccc:skills
```

This opens an interactive browser where you can search, preview, and load any of the 450+ skills without leaving your session.

## How CCC recommends skills automatically

You do not need to choose a skill manually for every task. Before each dispatch, the Intelligence Layer's skill recommender scores every available skill against your current task and tech stack:

```
  Recommended skills for your project:

  SCORE  SKILL                 WHY
  ─────────────────────────────────────────────
   20    nextjs-app-router     Stack match + keyword
   16    frontend-design       Stack match
   16    shadcn-ui             Stack match
   14    saas-scaffolder       Keyword: auth, billing
   12    tailwind-v4           Stack match
    8    ccc-testing           Always recommended

  ❯ Use top recommendation
    Browse all 450+ skills
    Search by keyword
    Back to main menu
```

Skills that led to successful sessions in your project accumulate a usage-history boost, so the most useful tools for your specific work rise to the top over time.

## Loading a specific skill manually

To load a skill yourself before dispatching a task, pass it as a system prompt addition or reference it by name in the CCC dispatch flow. From inside Claude Code you can invoke any skill directly:

```
/ccc:skills          # Browse and load interactively
```

You can also load a skill by naming it when you start a dispatch from the main CCC menu — the task context picker will show you relevant skills to include.

## Skill categories

CCC skills span every major area of software development. Here is a sample of what is available:

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Core workflow">
    `spec-interviewer`, `evals-before-specs`, `writing-plans`, `executing-plans`, `systematic-debugging`, `investigate`, `confidence-check`, `four-question-validation`, `strategic-compact`, `session-startup`
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Token optimization">
    `context-mode` — 98% context reduction via SQLite + FTS5 tool output sandboxing. `caveman` — strips markdown and prose for \~75% output token savings. `context-budget` — visual context window gauge. `cache-monitor` — session cost and cache efficiency analysis.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Ship and review">
    `ship`, `review`, `gstack`, `codex`, `design-review`, `plan-eng-review`, `plan-ceo-review`, `retro`, `document-release`, `qa`, `qa-only`
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="AI and agent patterns">
    `subagent-driven-development`, `dispatching-parallel-agents`, `multi-agent-swarm`, `spawn-manager`, `task-commander`, `claude-peers-bible`, `overnight-runner`, `delegation-templates`
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Infrastructure and deploy">
    `setup-deploy`, `land-and-deploy`, `using-git-worktrees`, `github`, `gh-issues`, `fleet`, `status-updates`
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

<Tip>
  You can search the full skill catalog from the command line with `ccc --list-skills --json | jq '.[] | select(.name | contains("auth"))'` to filter by keyword.
</Tip>

## What happens when a skill loads

When a skill is selected for a dispatch — either by recommendation or manually — CCC prepends the contents of that skill's `SKILL.md` into the system prompt. Claude Code receives focused, task-specific instructions from the start of the session rather than trying to infer best practices on its own.

<Note>
  Individual skills inside CCC domains are still accessible by their original names. If you know the name of a specific sub-skill, you can load it directly without going through the domain router.
</Note>