Matt Pocock Skills

Overview

Matt Pocock — the creator of Total TypeScript and one of the most-followed TypeScript educators — shared his personal .claude skills directory as an open-source collection. Rather than a skill registry or framework, this is a curated set of 21 opinionated dev workflows refined from real use on production TypeScript projects.

The skills are installable individually via npx skills@latest add mattpocock/skills/<skill-name>, making it easy to adopt specific workflows without taking the entire collection. Most teams will pick 5–8 skills that match their existing process.

Key Skills by Category

Planning & Design

• to-prd — turns a one-line idea into a structured Product Requirements Doc
• to-issues — breaks a PRD into GitHub-ready issues with acceptance criteria
• design-an-interface — generates interface proposals with parallel sub-agents
• grill-me — Socratic questioning to stress-test design decisions
• request-refactor-plan — produces a step-by-step refactor plan before touching code

Development

• tdd — red-green-refactor loop with explicit test-first enforcement
• triage-issue — classifies and prioritizes a GitHub issue with reproduction steps
• improve-codebase-architecture — architecture review informed by domain language and ADRs
• migrate-to-shoehorn — migration guide generation for library upgrades
• scaffold-exercises — generates coding exercises from existing code

Tooling & Git Safety

• setup-pre-commit — configures lint, type-check, and test pre-commit hooks
• git-guardrails-claude-code — adds commit message conventions and branch protection rules

Writing & Knowledge

• edit-article — article editing with consistent voice and structure checks
• ubiquitous-language — extracts domain terms and builds a shared vocabulary doc
• obsidian-vault — syncs Claude Code context with an Obsidian knowledge base
• write-a-skill — scaffolds a new skill from a description

Getting Started

# Install a specific skill
npx skills@latest add mattpocock/skills/tdd

# Install multiple skills at once
npx skills@latest add mattpocock/skills/tdd mattpocock/skills/to-prd mattpocock/skills/git-guardrails-claude-code

# Browse the full collection on GitHub
open https://github.com/mattpocock/skills

Why These Skills Matter

Most Claude Code skill packs focus on capability extension (browser control, data access, API calls). Pocock’s collection focuses on workflow enforcement — making Claude Code a participant in your team’s development process rather than a one-shot command executor.

The tdd skill is the standout: it enforces the red-green-refactor loop at the agent level, preventing Claude Code from writing implementation before a failing test exists. For TypeScript teams with existing test discipline, this maps naturally to how they already work.

The git safety skills (setup-pre-commit, git-guardrails-claude-code) address a real gap in raw Claude Code usage — the agent can commit changes that break CI if not constrained. These skills add the same guardrails that senior engineers apply to junior contributors.

Who It’s For

TypeScript developers and teams who want to adopt Claude Code beyond one-shot commands and use it as an opinionated team collaborator. Particularly valuable for teams with existing TypeScript, TDD, and ADR practices that want Claude Code to work within those constraints rather than around them. Also a strong starting point for teams building their own skill libraries — Pocock’s approach is well-documented and follows a consistent skill schema.