Skillchain v3.0: 76 Skills, 10 Domains, Separated Architecture

Skillchain v3.0 represents a major milestone with complete coverage across all development domains. This release brings 76 production-ready skills, 12 category orchestrators, and a cleaner separated architecture.

What's New in v3.0

76 Production-Ready Skills

We've grown from 29 skills in v2.1 to 76 complete skills covering every aspect of modern software development:

Domain	Skills	Examples
Frontend	15	theming-components, visualizing-data, building-ai-chat
Backend	14	api-patterns, databases-relational, auth-security
DevOps	6	testing-strategies, building-ci-pipelines, implementing-gitops
Infrastructure	12	operating-kubernetes, writing-infrastructure-code, configuring-nginx
Security	7	architecting-security, implementing-compliance, implementing-tls
Developer Productivity	7	designing-apis, building-clis, debugging-techniques
Data Engineering	6	architecting-data, streaming-data, optimizing-sql
AI/ML	4	implementing-mlops, prompt-engineering, evaluating-llms
Cloud	3	deploying-on-aws, deploying-on-gcp, deploying-on-azure
FinOps	2	optimizing-costs, resource-tagging

12 Category Orchestrators

Each domain has its own specialized orchestrator, plus cross-domain handlers:

Single-Domain Orchestrators (10):

• frontend.md - React, Vue, Svelte, component libraries
• backend.md - APIs, databases, authentication
• devops.md - CI/CD, testing, GitOps
• infrastructure.md - Kubernetes, IaC, networking
• security.md - Security architecture, compliance, hardening
• developer.md - API design, CLIs, SDKs
• data.md - Data pipelines, warehouses, streaming
• ai-ml.md - MLOps, prompt engineering, evaluation
• cloud.md - AWS, GCP, Azure patterns
• finops.md - Cost optimization, tagging strategies

Cross-Domain Orchestrators (2):

• fullstack.md - Coordinates frontend + backend skills
• multi-domain.md - Handles complex cross-cutting requests

12 Blueprints for Common Patterns

Pre-configured skill chains for rapid development:

# Infrastructure & Security
/skillchain:start k8s-deployment
/skillchain:start ci-cd-pipeline
/skillchain:start security-hardened-api

# Data & Analytics
/skillchain:start data-pipeline
/skillchain:start ml-pipeline
/skillchain:start dashboard

# Cloud & Operations
/skillchain:start cloud-native-app
/skillchain:start observability-stack
/skillchain:start cost-optimized-infra

Separated Directory Architecture

v3.0 introduces a cleaner separation between commands and data:

~/.claude/
├── commands/
│   └── skillchain/           # Exposed as /skillchain:* commands
│       ├── start.md          # /skillchain:start
│       ├── help.md           # /skillchain:help
│       ├── blueprints/       # /skillchain:blueprints:*
│       └── categories/       # /skillchain:categories:*
│
└── skillchain-data/          # NOT exposed as commands
    ├── registries/           # 10 domain-specific YAML registries
    └── shared/               # Common resources

Benefits:

• Cleaner command namespace (no /_registry clutter)
• Faster command discovery
• Better organization of data files
• Easier to maintain and extend

New Command Pattern

The main command is now /skillchain:start instead of /skillchain:

# New pattern (v3.0)
/skillchain:start dashboard with charts
/skillchain:start REST API with postgres
/skillchain:start kubernetes deployment

# Help and documentation
/skillchain:help

# Direct blueprint access
/skillchain:blueprints:dashboard
/skillchain:blueprints:ci-cd

# Direct category access
/skillchain:categories:frontend
/skillchain:categories:backend

Domain Highlights

Infrastructure Skills (12)

Complete infrastructure automation coverage:

• operating-kubernetes - Deployments, services, ingress, HPA, operators
• writing-infrastructure-code - Terraform, Pulumi, CloudFormation patterns
• administering-linux - System administration, systemd, package management
• architecting-networks - VPC design, subnets, routing, firewalls
• load-balancing-patterns - Layer 4/7, health checks, algorithms
• planning-disaster-recovery - Backup strategies, RTO/RPO, failover
• configuring-nginx - Reverse proxy, SSL, caching, optimization
• shell-scripting - Bash best practices, error handling, portability
• managing-dns - Route53, zones, records, DNSSEC
• implementing-service-mesh - Istio, Linkerd, mTLS, traffic management
• managing-configuration - Config management, environment variables
• designing-distributed-systems - CAP theorem, consistency patterns

Security Skills (7)

Enterprise-grade security patterns:

• architecting-security - Zero trust, defense in depth
• implementing-compliance - SOC 2, GDPR, HIPAA frameworks
• managing-vulnerabilities - CVE management, patching strategies
• implementing-tls - Certificate management, mTLS
• configuring-firewalls - Network security, segmentation
• siem-logging - Log aggregation, alerting, correlation
• security-hardening - CIS benchmarks, OS hardening

AI/ML Skills (4)

Complete AI development lifecycle:

• implementing-mlops - Training pipelines, model versioning
• prompt-engineering - Chain-of-thought, few-shot, evaluation
• evaluating-llms - Benchmarks, quality metrics, A/B testing
• embedding-optimization - Chunking strategies, retrieval tuning

Installation

The interactive installer now prominently features skillchain installation:

# Clone and run installer
git clone https://github.com/ancoleman/ai-design-components.git
cd ai-design-components
./install.sh

Interactive Menu (v3.0):

What would you like to do?

  1) Full Install - Marketplace + all plugins + /skillchain command
  2) Install Skillchain - Install /skillchain:start command globally
  3) Marketplace + Plugins - Add marketplace + install all plugins
  4) Marketplace Only - Just add the marketplace
  5) Select Plugins - Choose which plugins to install
  6) Uninstall - Remove marketplace and plugins
  7) List Plugins - Show available plugins
  8) Help - Show all commands

Direct Installation:

# Install everything
./install.sh
# Select option 1

# Install skillchain only
./install.sh commands

Example Workflows

Full-Stack Dashboard

/skillchain:start analytics dashboard with postgres backend

Skillchain automatically:

1. Routes to fullstack orchestrator
2. Loads creating-dashboards, visualizing-data, databases-relational
3. Applies theming-components for consistent styling
4. Configures auth-security if needed

Kubernetes Deployment

/skillchain:start deploy my app to kubernetes

Skillchain automatically:

1. Routes to infrastructure orchestrator
2. Loads operating-kubernetes, writing-infrastructure-code
3. Adds observability and security-hardening
4. Generates complete k8s manifests

Security-First API

/skillchain:start secure REST API with OAuth

Skillchain automatically:

1. Routes across backend + security domains
2. Loads api-patterns, auth-security, implementing-tls
3. Adds rate limiting, input validation
4. Configures proper CORS and headers

Upgrade Notes

From v2.1

If upgrading from v2.1:

1. Re-run installer: ./install.sh commands
2. Update commands: Use /skillchain:start instead of /skillchain
3. Directory changes: Data now in ~/.claude/skillchain-data/
4. Preferences preserved: Your saved choices still work

Breaking Changes

• Command changed from /skillchain to /skillchain:start
• Directory structure reorganized (commands vs data separated)
• Registry format updated (domain-specific YAML files)

Performance

• Skill loading: ~2-3 seconds (parallel loading)
• Registry lookup: under 50ms (domain-specific files)
• Path discovery: under 50ms
• Total startup: ~3-4 seconds

What's Next

Future enhancements planned:

• Skill recommendations - AI-suggested skill chains based on project context
• Template library - Community-contributed blueprints
• Skill marketplace - Browse and install community skills
• Project scaffolding - Generate complete starter projects
• Cross-domain intelligence - Smarter skill combinations

Resources

• Skillchain Documentation
• Skills Overview - All 76 skills
• Creating Skills - Contribute new skills
• Full Changelog
• GitHub Repository

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76 skills. 10 domains. One command.

/skillchain:start [describe what you're building]