Claude Skills Guide

Claude Code Skills for Backend Developers: Node.js and Python

Backend development involves repetitive tasks that consume development time Claude Code and its built-in skills help automate these workflows. This guide covers practical applications of the real skills for Node.js and Python backend work.

What Skills Are Available

Claude Code ships with these built-in skills:

There are no /api-design, /database, /fastapi, /django, /pytest, /typescript, /security-audit, /performance, /celery, or /documentation built-in skills. For stack-specific work, you describe your task directly to Claude Code or write custom skills.

Using /tdd for Backend Testing

The /tdd skill works for both Node.js and Python testing workflows:

Node.js with Jest:

/tdd
Write tests for this Express route handler:
[paste your route code]

Use Jest. Cover: successful response, validation error, and database error cases.

Python with pytest:

/tdd
Write pytest tests for this FastAPI endpoint:
[paste your endpoint code]

Cover: successful response, missing required fields, and unauthorized access.

The skill generates test structure and cases based on your existing code.

Using /supermemory for Long Sessions

Backend projects span many sessions. Use /supermemory to preserve architectural decisions:

/supermemory store "Database schema decisions: Users table has uuid primary key, email is unique, password_hash never returned in API responses. Using Prisma ORM."

In future sessions:

/supermemory What is the database schema setup?

Store API contracts, configuration choices, and design decisions. This prevents repeating context across long projects.

Using /pdf for Documentation

Generate API documentation from your codebase:

/pdf
Create API documentation for our backend service.

Routes:
POST /auth/login - accepts email/password, returns JWT token
GET /users/:id - returns user profile (requires auth)
DELETE /users/:id - soft-deletes user (requires admin role)

Include: request format, response format, error codes, and authentication notes.

Writing Custom Skills for Your Stack

Create custom skills for stack-specific workflows. A custom Node.js API review skill:

---
name: node-api-review
description: Review Express route handlers for common issues
---

# Node.js API Review

When reviewing Express route handlers, check:

1. **Error handling**: Every async handler has a try/catch or uses express-async-errors
2. **Input validation**: All inputs validated before processing (use Zod or Joi)
3. **Authentication**: Protected routes verify JWT before proceeding
4. **Response codes**: Correct HTTP status codes (201 for create, 204 for delete)
5. **No secrets in responses**: Never return password_hash, tokens, or internal IDs

Report each issue with the line number and suggested fix.

Save as ~/.claude/skills/node-api-review.md, then invoke with:

/node-api-review
[paste your route handler]

Typical Backend Workflow Example

Adding a new API endpoint:

1. Describe the endpoint to Claude Code directly:
   "Add a POST /orders endpoint that creates a new order. Uses Prisma.
   Fields: user_id, items (array), total_price. Returns the created order."

2. Review the generated code and ask Claude to adjust

3. Use /tdd to generate tests:
   /tdd
   Write Jest tests for this order creation handler:
   [paste the generated handler]

4. Store design decisions:
   /supermemory store "Orders endpoint: POST /orders, requires user auth,
   validates item IDs exist before creating order, returns full order object with items"

Summary

The real built-in skills for backend development are /tdd for tests, /supermemory for preserving context across sessions, and /pdf for documentation. For stack-specific automation, write custom skill files — they’re just .md files in ~/.claude/skills/ with instructions. Claude Code handles the rest.

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