Creating the /summ Skill (2026-03-24)

Category: Feature

Built a custom Claude Code skill that automatically generates structured HTML task summaries with daily logs, knowledge cards, and English idioms — committed and pushed to the task repo.

What was done

Created a new Claude Code skill at ~/.claude/skills/summ/SKILL.md using the skill framework's frontmatter format (name, description, type metadata)
Defined the skill trigger patterns: /summ, "summarize my work", "log what I did", "save task summary", and casual phrases like "wrap up" or "done for the day"
Designed a two-file output system: a per-task detail HTML file (docs/YYYY-MM-DD/task-slug.html) and a master index page (docs/know-summary.html)
Specified Apple-inspired design guidelines: SF Pro font stack, #f5f5f7 background, white cards with border-radius: 16px, colored badge pills per category
Defined 7 task categories with color mappings: bug-fix (red), feature (green), learning (blue), technique (purple), refactor (amber), config (gray), research (blue)
Added an "English Idiom of the Day" section to each summary for language learning purposes
Built auto-commit and push logic into the skill workflow targeting /Users/jay/work/task repo

Techniques & Learnings

Claude Code Skill Structure: Skills live in ~/.claude/skills/<name>/SKILL.md with YAML frontmatter (name, description) followed by markdown instructions. The description field controls when the skill triggers.
Skill Triggering: The description acts as the matching criteria — writing comprehensive trigger phrases (slash commands, natural language variations, casual synonyms) improves activation accuracy.
Self-contained HTML: Using inline styles with no external dependencies ensures summary pages render correctly when opened directly in a browser, without needing a web server or build step.
Folder Structure:

~/.claude/
  skills/
    summ/
      SKILL.md          # Skill definition with frontmatter + instructions

/Users/jay/work/task/
  docs/
    know-summary.html   # Master index page (all summaries)
    2026-03-24/
      task-slug.html    # Individual task detail page

Idiom of the Day

"Build the ship while sailing it" — to create or improve something while it's already in use, iterating as you go rather than waiting for perfection.

In context: We decided to build the ship while sailing it — launching the /summ skill with its core features and refining the design as we use it in real sessions.

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