Topic-Specific Recommendations
Use these specific recommendations when a topic is a gap. Paths are relative to this reference file (.claude/skills/self-assessment/references/).
Slash Commands (score 0):
- Tutorial: 01-slash-commands/
- Focus on: Built-in commands reference, creating your first SKILL.md,
$ARGUMENTSsyntax - Key exercise: Create a
/optimizecommand and test it - Done when: You can create a custom skill with arguments and dynamic context
Slash Commands (score 1 — review):
- Focus on: Dynamic context with
!backtick`` syntax,@filereferences,disable-model-invocationvsuser-invocablecontrol - Done when: You can create a skill that injects live command output and controls its own invocation behavior
Memory (score 0):
- Tutorial: 02-memory/
- Focus on: CLAUDE.md creation,
/initand/memorycommands,#prefix for quick updates - Key exercise: Create a project CLAUDE.md with your coding standards
- Done when: Claude remembers your preferences across sessions
Memory (score 1 — review):
- Focus on: the 7 memory locations and how they are concatenated into context (loaded root-down, not overridden), .claude/rules/ directory with path-specific rules,
@importsyntax (max depth 4), Auto Memory MEMORY.md (Claude loads its first 200 lines or 25 KB, whichever comes first — a load cap, not a file-size limit) - Done when: You have modular rules for different directories and understand how every memory file is concatenated into context
Skills (score 0):
- Tutorial: 03-skills/
- Focus on: SKILL.md format, auto-invocation via description field, progressive disclosure (3 loading levels)
- Key exercise: Install the code-review skill and verify it auto-triggers
- Done when: A skill automatically activates based on conversation context
Skills (score 1 — review):
- Focus on:
context: forkwithagentfield for subagent execution,disable-model-invocationvsuser-invocable, the skill-listing budget (1% of the context window, fallback 8,000 characters, 250 characters per entry), bundled resources (scripts/, references/, assets/) - Done when: You can create a skill that runs in a subagent with forked context
Hooks (score 0):
- Tutorial: 06-hooks/
- Focus on: Configuration structure (matcher + hooks array), PreToolUse/PostToolUse events, exit codes (0=success, 2=block), JSON input/output format
- Key exercise: Create a PreToolUse hook that validates Bash commands
- Done when: A hook blocks dangerous commands before execution
Hooks (score 1 — review):
- Focus on: All 33 hook events (including PostToolUseFailure, StopFailure, TaskCreated, CwdChanged, FileChanged, PostCompact, Elicitation, ElicitationResult, Setup, UserPromptExpansion, MessageDisplay, PreModelSwitch, PostModelSwitch — the last two added in v2.1.251), 5 hook types (command, http, mcp_tool, prompt, agent — agent hooks are experimental and may change), component-scoped hooks in SKILL.md frontmatter, HTTP hooks with allowedEnvVars,
CLAUDE_ENV_FILEfor SessionStart/CwdChanged/FileChanged - Done when: You can create a prompt-based Stop hook and a component-scoped hook in a skill
MCP (score 0):
- Tutorial: 05-mcp/
- Focus on:
claude mcp addcommand, transport types (httprecommended,stdio,wsfor push-style servers, and the deprecatedsse— note--transportdoes not acceptws, so add WebSocket servers withclaude mcp add-json), GitHub MCP setup, environment variable expansion - Key exercise: Add GitHub MCP server and query PRs
- Done when: You can query live data from an external service via MCP
MCP (score 1 — review):
- Focus on: Project-scope .mcp.json (requires team approval), OAuth 2.0 auth, MCP resources with
@server:resourcementions, Tool Search (ENABLE_TOOL_SEARCH),claude mcp serve, output limits (10,000 tokens warning; 25,000 tokens default max viaMAX_MCP_OUTPUT_TOKENS; 50,000 characters disk-persistence threshold) - Done when: You have a project .mcp.json and understand Tool Search auto mode
Subagents (score 0):
- Tutorial: 04-subagents/
- Focus on: Agent file format (.claude/agents/*.md), built-in agents (Explore, Plan, general-purpose, claude, statusline-setup, claude-code-guide), tools/model/permissionMode config, spawn limits (depth default 3 since v2.1.219, concurrency default 20, and the 200-per-session spawn cap removed in v2.1.224)
- Key exercise: Create a code-reviewer subagent and test delegation
- Done when: Claude delegates code review to your custom agent
Subagents (score 1 — review):
- Focus on: Worktree isolation (
isolation: worktree), persistent agent memory (memoryfield with scopes), background agents (Ctrl+B/Ctrl+F), agent allowlists withAgent(agent_type)(Task(...)remains a back-compat alias), agent teams (--teammate-mode) - Done when: You have a subagent with persistent memory running in worktree isolation
Checkpoints (score 0):
- Tutorial: 08-checkpoints/
- Focus on: Esc+Esc and /rewind access, 6 rewind options (restore code and conversation, restore conversation, restore code, summarize from here, summarize up to here, never mind), limitations — bash filesystem ops, subagent edits (except a foreground
context: forkskill), edits made outside Claude Code, and symlinked/hardlinked paths are all untracked - Key exercise: Make experimental changes, then rewind to restore
- Done when: You can confidently experiment knowing you can rewind
Advanced Features (score 0):
- Tutorial: 09-advanced-features/
- Focus on: Planning mode (/plan or Shift+Tab), permission modes (6 types: manual — renamed from default in v2.1.200 — acceptEdits, plan, auto, dontAsk, bypassPermissions), extended thinking (Alt+T toggle)
- Key exercise: Use planning mode to design a feature, then implement it
- Done when: You can switch between planning and implementation modes fluently
Advanced Features (score 1 — review):
- Focus on: Remote control (
claude --remote-control, alias--rc), web sessions (claude --cloud;--remoteis a deprecated alias), desktop handoff (/desktop), worktrees (claude -w), task lists (Ctrl+T), managed settings for enterprise - Done when: You can hand off sessions between CLI, web, and desktop
Plugins (score 0):
- Tutorial: 07-plugins/
- Focus on: Plugin structure (.claude-plugin/plugin.json), what plugins bundle (skills, agents, MCP, hooks, settings — plus the legacy
commands/directory, which still works butskills/is preferred for new plugins), installation from marketplace - Key exercise: Install a plugin and explore its components
- Done when: You understand when to use a plugin vs standalone components
Plugins (score 1 — review):
- Focus on: Creating plugin.json manifest, plugin hooks (hooks/hooks.json), LSP configuration (.lsp.json),
${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT\}variable, --plugin-dir for testing, marketplace publishing - Done when: You can create and test a plugin for your team
CLI (score 0):
- Tutorial: 10-cli/
- Focus on: Interactive vs print mode,
claude -pwith piping,--output-format json, session management (-c/-r) - Key exercise: Pipe a file to
claude -pand get JSON output - Done when: You can use Claude non-interactively in a script
CLI (score 1 — review):
- Focus on: --agents flag with JSON config, --json-schema for structured output, --fallback-model, --from-pr, --strict-mcp-config, batch processing with for loops,
claude mcp serve - Done when: You have a CI/CD script that uses Claude with structured JSON output
Last Updated: September 2, 2026 Claude Code Version: 2.1.257 Sources:
- https://code.claude.com/docs/en/hooks
- https://code.claude.com/docs/en/memory
- https://code.claude.com/docs/en/skills
- https://code.claude.com/docs/en/mcp
- https://code.claude.com/docs/en/sub-agents
- https://code.claude.com/docs/en/checkpointing
- https://code.claude.com/docs/en/permission-modes
- https://code.claude.com/docs/en/plugins-reference