ClaudSkills / Engineering / architecture

Shape Index

Q: What is a Claude Code skill and how does the Shape Index skill fit in?

A Claude Code skill is a SKILL.md file that lives under ~/.claude/skills/<name>/ and tells the Claude Code CLI agent how to perform a specific task (instructions, prompts, allowed tools). Skills are auto-discovered at session start. Shape Index is one of 67,000+ skills indexed in the open ClaudSkills catalog, classified under the Engineering category. Learn more at https://claudskills.com/learn/what-is-skill-md/.

Category: Engineering · Sub-category: architecture · Last updated: 2026-06-13

type:review

Use when building a whole-codebase Shape model — author higher-level architecture, boundary, and INVARIANT shapes on top of the generated AST layer, grounded in the AST anchors, so that Shape-aware tooling (review, navigation) has an accurate map of the architecture and the rules the code must uphold. Extends the shape-lang skill from incremental changed-file authoring to whole-project authoring.

From the source SKILL.md

The shape-lang skill covers incremental, changed-file authoring, not building a reviewable model of an entire project. This skill is a faithful extension: follow every rule in the shape-lang skill and its cli-workflows reference; this file adds the whole-codebase authoring workflow. Assume shp is on PATH.

What this skill does

Shape Index is a community-contributed Claude Code skill in the architecture sub-category. It ships as a SKILL.md file that Claude Code auto-discovers under ~/.claude/skills/shape-index/ and loads when your prompt matches the skill's trigger.

When to invoke it: Use when building a whole-codebase Shape model — author higher-level architecture, boundary, and INVARIANT shapes on top of the generated AST layer, grounded in the AST anchors, so that Shape-aware tooling (review, navigation) has an accurate map of the architecture and the rules the code must uphold. Extends the shape-lang skill from incremental changed-file authoring to whole-project authoring.

Who uses this skill

The Shape Index Claude Code skill is built for software engineers, backend developers, full-stack teams, and technical leads building and maintaining production systems. It's part of ClaudSkills (also referred to as Claude Skills or Claude Code Skills) — the open community-curated registry of 117,000+ SKILL.md files for Anthropic's Claude Code agent and the wider Claude ecosystem (Claude API, Claude Agent SDK).

How to install

Free

Manual install (2 steps)

mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills/shape-index
curl -L https://claudskills.com/skills/shape-index/SKILL.md \
  -o ~/.claude/skills/shape-index/SKILL.md

Or just download SKILL.md directly and drop it into ~/.claude/skills/shape-index/. Claude Code auto-discovers it on next session.

Skills live at ~/.claude/skills/shape-index/SKILL.md on macOS/Linux, or %USERPROFILE%\.claude\skills\shape-index\SKILL.md on Windows. See the full install guide for step-by-step instructions.

📱 Install from your phone or desktop Telegram

Open @claudskills_bot on Telegram, tap Open Desktop App, and the desktop app installs this skill for you. Or share the bot link with a colleague — they get the same one-tap install. Learn more →

Pro

One-click install via the desktop app

The ClaudSkills desktop app installs any skill directly into ~/.claude/skills/ with one click — no terminal required. Pro starts at $9/mo or $149 lifetime.

Pro

For the full experience including quality scoring and one-click install features for each skill — upgrade to Pro.

See pricing → Download desktop app

Frequently asked questions

How do I install the Shape Index Claude Code skill?

Install via the ClaudSkills desktop app (one click) or copy SKILL.md from the source repository to ~/.claude/skills/shape-index/SKILL.md and restart Claude Code. Both flows are detailed at claudskills.com/install/.

What does the Shape Index skill do?

Is this skill free to install?

Yes. ClaudSkills is an open registry — every skill keeps its source repository's license, and manual install via copy is free. ClaudSkills Pro ($9/mo, $79/yr, or $149 one-time) adds one-click install via the desktop app and a multi-signal Quality Score.

When should I use the Shape Index skill?

Use Shape Index when your Claude Code task falls under the Engineering category — specifically in the architecture area. Claude Code auto-discovers installed skills and invokes the right one based on the task description, so you can also ask Claude directly (e.g. "use Shape Index" or describe the task and let Claude pick). Browse related skills at /category/engineering/.

What is a Claude Code skill and how does the Shape Index skill fit in?

A Claude Code skill is a SKILL.md file that lives under ~/.claude/skills/<name>/ and tells the Claude Code CLI agent how to perform a specific task (instructions, prompts, allowed tools). Skills are auto-discovered at session start. Shape Index is one of 67,000+ skills indexed in the open ClaudSkills catalog, classified under the Engineering category. Learn more at /learn/what-is-a-claude-skill/.

Attribution & license

Source: https://github.com/timbrinded/shapelang/blob/cb54bfcacde2a4355987f3f887da3db0ae013d76/plugins/shapelang/skills/shape-index/SKILL.md
License: BSD-3-Clause
Author: timbrinded
Website: https://timbrinded.github.io/shapelang/

Cite this skill

If you reference this skill in a blog post, paper, or documentation, you can cite it as:

APA

timbrinded. (2026). Shape Index [Claude Code skill]. ClaudSkills. https://claudskills.com/skills/shape-index/

BibTeX

@misc{shape-index-2026,
  author    = {timbrinded},
  title     = {Shape Index [Claude Code skill]},
  year      = {2026},
  publisher = {ClaudSkills},
  url       = {https://claudskills.com/skills/shape-index/}
}

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