Claude Code Custom Slash Commands: Build Skills That Encode Your Entire Workflow

Claude Code ships with built-in slash commands like /clear and /help. But the real power is building your own -- project-specific commands that encode exactly how you want tasks done. Here's how to build custom slash commands (called skills) from scratch. What Custom Commands Are A custom slash command is a Markdown file that Claude reads as a system prompt when you invoke it. When you type /auth, Claude loads the auth skill and follows it as instructions. They live in.claude/skills/ in your project (project-scoped) or ~/.claude/skills/ (global.