The claude-orientation skill: one build, one next move
TL;DR
The claude-orientation skill works out where you actually are on a nine-stage beginner arc, cuts your idea list down to one build you can finish in five nights, and writes tonight's single next move including the exact words to paste into Claude. It all saves to ~/claude-roadmap.md so you reopen it every session instead of starting cold.
Most people install Claude Code, watch a few videos, start five things, and finish zero. Nobody ever told them what order to do this in. The claude-orientation skill sets the order: it finds where you actually are, cuts your list to one build, and writes the one move you can do tonight.
You probably know the shape of this. There's a coaching app, a newsletter site, a browser extension, and an agent that books calls, all of them half-thought-through. You open the laptop, look at the pile, and do none of it. This skill picks the survivor for you and drops everything else into a Parking Lot, so cutting doesn't feel like losing.
It's free, it lives in our public freeskills repo, and the README puts it second in the order, right after you set up your profile.
You installed it, now what. Picks the one build and tonight's move.
Install the claude-orientation skill
Clone the repo once, make the skills folder if it isn't there, copy this folder across. Three copy-paste lines and you're done.
bashgit clone https://github.com/duncan-buildroom/freeskills.git
mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills
cp -r freeskills/claude-orientation ~/.claude/skills/Open a new session, or restart Claude Code. That's the install done. Nothing to configure, no keys to paste.
Run it the first time
Type /claude-orientation. It reads out a nine-stage beginner arc, then asks you exactly two questions: which of those stages you've actually finished rather than watched, and what you've tried to build so far even if it went nowhere. From your answers it names your stage out loud, cuts your projects to one, shrinks that build until it fits five 90-minute nights, and writes tonight's move with the exact text to paste into Claude.
Everything lands in a file at ~/claude-roadmap.md: where you are, the one build, tonight's move, five nights, a 30-day arc, and the Parking Lot. Expect about five minutes, and expect it to pick a build that isn't the exciting one. That part is deliberate. If you give it almost nothing, it assumes a sensible default and writes the roadmap anyway.
Get your first build picked in one message
Dump every idea you're carrying. The more of the pile it can see, the better the cut, and none of it gets deleted.
/claude-orientation
I installed Claude Code [when]. Here is every project I'm currently thinking about: [list them all, even the vague ones]. So far I've tried [what you attempted] and finished [what you actually finished, or 'nothing']. Pick the one I should build, cut it to something I can finish in five nights, and give me tonight's move with the words to paste.Start when you have no ideas at all
Plenty of people arrive with the tool and no project. You don't need a brainstorm, you need the annoying part of your week.
/claude-orientation
I don't have a project idea. I spend my days doing [what you actually do all day], and the most annoying part of it is [the bit you hate]. Don't give me ten options. Pick one first build out of that, tell me who I'd send it to when it's done, and write tonight's move.Run it again once you ship the first one
The roadmap is meant to be rewritten. When the build is live and sent to a real person, come back and reset the stage instead of guessing what's next.
/claude-orientation
I finished the build from my last roadmap: [what you shipped and where it lives]. Read my existing ~/claude-roadmap.md, keep everything in my Parking Lot, then set my new stage, pick the next build, and write this week's five nights.The 60-second version
Here's what this skill does and why it matters, in about a minute of talking.
- 1Hook: there's a brand new free Claude skill that takes you from ten half-started projects to one build and tonight's next move.
- 2Mechanism: you tell it every project you're thinking about and which of the nine beginner stages you've actually finished. It places you on the arc, cuts your list down to one build you can finish in five nights, and parks the rest so nothing gets lost. What lands is a roadmap file with tonight's one move and the exact words to start it.
- 3Transformation: you close the laptop tonight with one build picked, one move done, and a file you reopen tomorrow instead of starting cold. Finishing one small thing changes what you believe you can do next.
- 4Close: the roadmap costs nothing, and it's one of 55 free skills. If you want the path that keeps going after the first build lands, Claude Code Club is $9 a month. Link below.
Tonight, run it and do the one move it writes for you. Nothing else. The roadmap is only worth having if the first line gets crossed off.
Common questions
Do I need to know how to code?
No. You answer two questions in plain English and it hands you the exact text to paste into Claude. It writes the roadmap file for you.
What if I've already built a few things?
Tell it what you shipped and where it lives. It sets your stage from evidence rather than dropping you back to the beginning to be safe.
What happens to the ideas it cuts?
They go into a Parking Lot section of ~/claude-roadmap.md. Nothing gets deleted, which is what makes the cut to one build bearable.
What if I want to skip ahead to the ambitious version?
It won't argue with you about ambition. It says in one line what the skipped stage buys you, and puts the big idea on a Later list so it isn't lost.
Is it really free?
Yes. Every skill in the repo is public and free to copy. This one needs nothing beyond Claude Code itself.
Keep going
Want the whole path, not just the first move?
Get 650+ plug-and-play skills, MCPs & prompts, plus 7,000+ members - $9/mo, cancel anytime.
Join the Club