How to use the Magazine Article Layout agent skill

What the skill makes the agent do

The skill is a formatting guide, not a writing tool. The words still come from you or from the agent's own drafting; the skill controls how they are laid out in HTML.

When you ask for a long article, essay or newsletter layout, the template asks for a large hero headline with an optional subtitle and author, reading time and date metadata. The body is a single centred column with a maximum width of about 700px and relaxed, large-size text.

• Serif H2 and H3 headings to contrast with the body text
• Quotes styled with a thick accent-coloured left border and italics
• Code blocks with rounded corners, a dark background, light text and a language label
• Custom bullet markers such as small squares or accent dots
• Centred small ornaments between sections instead of plain dividing lines
• A closing card inviting readers to share the piece if they found it useful

Install the skill (ZIP download or Claude apps upload)

Download the skill ZIP from this page and unzip it. The package contains three files: SKILL.md, example.md and example.html.

For Claude Code, place the unzipped folder in ~/.claude/skills/ to make it available everywhere, or in a project's .claude/skills/ folder to make it available only inside that project.

In the Claude apps, you can instead upload the skill under Settings → Capabilities → Skills.

Trigger the skill with a natural request

You do not need a special command. Once the skill is installed, ask for a long-form layout in ordinary words. The source describes the trigger cases as requests for a long article, essay or newsletter layout.

Name the outcome you want, such as a magazine-style page, a Substack-style post or a shareable HTML version of your writing. Paste or attach your text so the agent has the content to format.

• Make this essay into a magazine-style HTML page, with a big headline and a subtitle.
• Turn this newsletter draft into a Substack-style web page I can share.
• Lay out this long blog post as a clean single-column article with a closing share card.

Look at the examples before you rely on it

The package includes example.md, a Chinese-language Markdown essay about replacing Markdown with HTML, and example.html, the page the template produces from it. Open the HTML in a browser to see the intended look, then compare it with your own output.

Use the example to set expectations: the headline is large, the text sits in one column, and quotes and code blocks have distinct styling.

Know what the skill needs and what it does not do

The listing shows no required dependencies. The skill does not run scripts and does not use the network, so it is a set of instructions and an example rather than an executable tool.

It is not suited to short social posts or dashboards, because the template is built for long single-column articles. It also does not enforce strict brand or print-ready layouts; it sets only general style conventions, so check colours, fonts and spacing against your own requirements.

• Requires: nothing listed
• Runs scripts: no
• Uses network: no

Tips for better results

Give the agent the finished text rather than a rough outline, since the skill formats content and does not write it for you. Say which parts are the title, subtitle and author so the hero block is filled correctly.

Review the output in a browser before sharing. Check that links and code blocks render as you expect and that the closing card reads naturally for your audience.

• Provide the final draft, then ask for the layout in a separate step if the text is still changing.
• Mention the target platform so the agent can keep the HTML simple enough for it.