Claude Code skill

Authoring Harp projects with Claude Code becomes easier when Claude has explicit knowledge of Harp’s conventions. The harp-skills repository provides a Claude Code skill that supplies exactly that — layouts, partials, _data.json, the asset pipeline, the _harp.json schema, and the modern project shape.

When the skill is installed, Claude consults it automatically whenever it detects a Harp project (a _layout.ejs, _data.json, or _harp.json somewhere in the tree). You don’t need to mention "Harp" explicitly.

Installation

Clone the repository and symlink the skill directory into Claude Code’s skill search path.

Globally (all projects)

git clone https://github.com/sintaxi/harp-skills.git
mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills
ln -s "$(pwd)/harp-skills/harp" ~/.claude/skills/harp

Per-project

cd <your-project>
git clone https://github.com/sintaxi/harp-skills.git /tmp/harp-skills
mkdir -p .claude/skills
ln -s /tmp/harp-skills/harp .claude/skills/harp

Adjust the clone destination to wherever you want the skill source to live. Confirm the skill is loaded by listing available skills inside Claude Code.

What it covers

The skill teaches Claude about:

  • Project structure: served root, the underscore convention, directory-as-routing.
  • Layouts and partials, with <%- yield %> and <%- partial(...) %>.
  • _data.json semantics and variable precedence (data passed to partial() > page entry > globals).
  • The asset pipeline: .ejs/.md/.jade → .html, .scss/.less/.styl/.sass → .css, .coffee/.cjs/.jsx → .js.
  • The decision rule for picking .ejs vs .md for new pages.
  • The _harp.json schema: globals, basicAuth, $ENV_VAR substitution, runtime environment global.
  • The CLI: harp <source> to serve, harp <source> <build> to compile.
  • Patterns for refactoring duplicated chrome into layouts and partials.

For full setup details, troubleshooting, and updates, see the harp-skills repository.