Descriptions:
Web Dev Cody demonstrates how to create and use Claude Code “skills” — a feature that lets developers teach Claude Code custom workflows and tool usage through structured markdown documentation. Skills live in a dedicated directory as a `skill.md` file that describes when Claude should invoke a particular capability, with optional supporting scripts and a “progressive disclosure” pattern for deeper documentation.
The video walks through building an FFmpeg video scaling skill from scratch: first generating a basic `skill.md` that explains how to downscale 1080p video to 720p and 480p, then refactoring it into a slim table-of-contents file that delegates to a separate Node.js script via a child process. This progressive disclosure structure keeps the primary skill file concise while allowing language-specific implementation details to live in subdirectories — meaning the same skill directory could support Python, Node, or Java workflows independently.
Cody shows the skill running end-to-end: invoking it with the `/skills` command in Claude Code, watching Claude parse the skill.md, locate the Node script, pass in an MP4 file, and produce both 720p and 480p outputs. He also covers scoping skills per-project versus globally, and explains how skills can be published and shared so other developers can install them directly. The pattern is particularly useful for custom scripts, proprietary runtimes, or domain-specific toolchains where Claude might otherwise hallucinate or produce incorrect invocations.
📺 Source: Web Dev Cody · Published January 08, 2026
🏷️ Format: Hands On Build
