# Context skills, one per client or field of work

If you work for several clients, or on projects that have little to do with each other, you run into the same problem: the rules of one field load along when you work on another. You ask for an invoice and get the terminology of a client project back.

A context skill solves that. It is a small file per field of work that loads only when that field is in play. Cowork picks the skill on the strength of its description, so you do not have to refer to it yourself.

## When to create one

Create a context skill as soon as you have two or more fields of work with different rules, different terms or different document types. With one field of work, skip this and keep everything in your global settings.

A good division follows where your work comes from: per client, per brand, or per product. A division by type of task works less well, because the same task returns with every client.

## What belongs in it

- The role you hold in that field of work and who you work for
- The standard document types and how they should look
- Terms that mean something specific in this field
- Rules that apply here only, for example about confidentiality or about how you release something
- Where the work and the sources live

## What does not belong in it

- Your tone and your writing style, those live in your global settings and apply everywhere
- Your general working method, verification and guardrails, those are global too
- The folder structure of your vault, that lives in the `CLAUDE.md` of your vault
- Running project status, that belongs in `tasks/MEMORY.md` or in your workstation

If a context skill stays under a hundred lines, you are in good shape. If it grows beyond that, check whether you are describing something that actually applies everywhere.

## How to create one

Ask Cowork to create a skill, or make a folder with a `SKILL.md` yourself. The header of that file decides when the skill loads, so that description is the most important part.

```markdown
---
name: context-[name]
description: >
  Loads the role context of [field of work]. Use this skill for any task around
  [task 1], [task 2] and [task 3]. Also activate on "[term]", "[term]",
  "[name of a recurring document]", or when a name comes up of
  [type of person involved] from this field of work. Load the skill before you
  start writing, even when I do not mention [field of work].
---

# My role

[What you do here, for whom, and what your client expects of you.]

# Standard documents

| Document | When | Where it goes |
|---|---|---|
| [name] | [trigger] | [location or system] |

# Terms

- **[term]**: [what it means here, and what it gets confused with]

# Rules that apply here only

- [rule]

# Where the work lives

- [path or system]
```

In the description, use the words you use yourself when you give an assignment. If your client says "file" where someone else says "client folder", put "file" in the description. That is what the skill is found on.

## Testing whether it loads

Give an assignment from that field of work without naming the field. If the skill does not load, the description is missing the words you use. Add them and try again.

## Relation to your workstations

A context skill carries the domain rules, a workstation in `tasks/` carries the running work and the scripts. The skill stays the same for months, the workstation changes weekly. If something sits in both, take it out of the workstation.