How Project Management Skills Are Documented in the PM‑Skills Repository

Project management skills in the PM‑Skills repository are documented as human‑readable Markdown files following a universal schema, organized within a plugin‑based marketplace where each plugin contains skills in */skills/*/SKILL.md and optional commands in */commands/*.md files.

The phuryn/pm-skills repository structures project management knowledge as a modular marketplace of plugins. Each plugin represents a functional domain—such as product strategy or go‑to‑market planning—and contains self‑contained skill definitions that AI assistants can parse automatically. This documentation approach creates a single source of truth for PM frameworks while remaining editable by contributors without breaking downstream consumption.

Plugin Architecture and Documentation Structure

The repository organizes content into three layers: plugin packages, individual skills, and executable commands.

Plugin packages reside in top‑level folders prefixed with pm- (e.g., pm-toolkit/, pm-product-strategy/, pm-go-to-market/). According to the repository root README.md, these folders function as independent installable units that group related capabilities.

Skills are stored at */skills/*/SKILL.md paths within each plugin. For example, the resume review skill lives at pm-toolkit/skills/review-resume/SKILL.md. These Markdown files contain the complete specification for a PM framework, including its purpose, input arguments, and response structure.

Commands provide workflow automation at */commands/*.md paths. The plan-launch.md command in pm-go-to-market/commands/ demonstrates how slash‑commands chain multiple skills into end‑to‑end workflows.

Each plugin also contains a plugin.json manifest (typically at .claude-plugin/plugin.json) that declares which skills and commands should auto‑load when installing via the Claude CLI.

The Universal SKILL.md Schema

Every skill file follows a standardized layout that begins with YAML front‑matter and continues with structured sections. This pattern repeats across all SKILL.md files in the repository, enabling consistent parsing by AI agents.

The review-resume/SKILL.md file illustrates the schema:

---
name: review-resume
description: "Reviews a product manager resume against industry standards"
---

# Resume Review

## Input Arguments

- `$RESUME_TEXT`: The full text of the resume to analyze
- `$JOB_DESCRIPTION` (optional): Target role description for contextual feedback

## Response Structure

1. Executive Summary
2. Strengths and Differentiators
3. Specific Improvement Recommendations

## Best Practices

- Focus on quantifiable impact statements
- Check for PM‑specific terminology alignment

## Important Guidelines

- Maintain constructive, actionable tone
- Preserve candidate confidentiality

This structure includes:

• Metadata header (name, description)
• Purpose statement (plain‑text explanation)
• Input arguments (required and optional variables)
• Response structure (numbered steps or sections)
• Domain guidelines (best practices and constraints)

Command Workflows and Plugin Manifests

Commands extend skills into executable workflows. Unlike skills, which define what to do, commands define how to sequence multiple skills. The plan-launch.md command in the pm-go-to-market plugin specifies argument hints and usage examples for coordinating launch activities.

The plugin.json manifest bridges these files to AI assistants. Located at paths like pm-toolkit/.claude-plugin/plugin.json, this JSON file registers the plugin's capabilities with Claude's plugin system, enabling automatic discovery of contained skills and commands.

Practical Usage Examples

Installing a Plugin via Claude CLI

Add the marketplace and install specific skill collections:

# Register the PM-Skills marketplace

claude plugin marketplace add phuryn/pm-skills

# Install the product-discovery plugin

claude plugin install pm-product-discovery@pm-skills

This pulls the pm-product-discovery folder and registers all its skills/*/SKILL.md files for immediate use.

Invoking Skills via Slash Commands

Commands expose skills through natural language triggers:

/discover AI-powered meeting summarizer for remote teams

The /discover command executes a sequence defined in the plugin: brainstorm-ideas → identify-assumptions → prioritize-assumptions → brainstorm-experiments.

Direct Skill Invocation

Query individual skills for specific frameworks:

What is a solid Product Vision for a SaaS project-management tool?

Claude loads the product-vision skill from pm-product-strategy/skills/product-vision/SKILL.md and returns a structured answer following that skill's response template.

Integrating with OpenCode

Copy skills into custom AI workspaces:

# Migrate all skills to an OpenCode workspace

for plugin in pm-*/; do
  mkdir -p .opencode/skills/
  cp -r "$plugin/skills/"* .opencode/skills/ 2>/dev/null
done

Then invoke directly:

Run a SWOT analysis on our new feature: "real-time collaboration board".

OpenCode reads pm-product-strategy/skills/swot-analysis/SKILL.md and produces output conforming to the defined SWOT matrix format.

Summary

• PM‑Skills documents project management knowledge as Markdown files in a plugin marketplace architecture.
• Skills reside at */skills/*/SKILL.md paths with standardized YAML front‑matter and structured sections for inputs, outputs, and guidelines.
• Commands at */commands/*.md chain skills into workflows, while plugin.json manifests enable auto‑loading by AI assistants.
• The universal schema ensures skills remain human‑editable while machine‑parsable for tools like Claude, Codex, and OpenCode.
• File paths like pm-toolkit/skills/review-resume/SKILL.md and pm-go-to-market/commands/plan-launch.md serve as concrete examples of the documentation pattern.

Frequently Asked Questions

What file format does PM‑Skills use for documentation?

The repository uses Markdown files exclusively. Each skill is a .md file containing YAML front‑matter followed by structured sections describing the framework. This format balances human readability with machine parseability, allowing AI assistants to consume the specifications while developers edit them in standard text editors.

How do I find the documentation for a specific skill like SWOT analysis?

Navigate to the relevant plugin folder and locate the skill subdirectory. For SWOT analysis, the documentation lives at pm-product-strategy/skills/swot-analysis/SKILL.md. This file contains the complete specification including input arguments, response structure templates, and best‑practice guidelines for conducting the analysis.

Can I use these skills without the Claude plugin system?

Yes. The Markdown files are plain text and portable. You can copy skill files from any pm-*/skills/ directory into your AI tool's context (such as OpenCode's .opencode/skills/ folder) or paste them directly into chat prompts. The documentation is self‑contained and does not require proprietary parsing beyond standard Markdown rendering.

What is the difference between a skill and a command in PM‑Skills?

A skill (SKILL.md) defines a single analytical framework—such as resume review or product vision—specifying inputs, outputs, and methodology. A command (commands/*.md) orchestrates multiple skills into a workflow, defining how they chain together to accomplish complex tasks like launch planning or product discovery.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "instagit": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "instagit@latest"]
    }
  }
}