C++ Skill

This skill encodes the conventions that separate idiomatic modern C++ from code that merely compiles: std::unique_ptr for exclusive ownership, std::shared_ptr reserved for genuinely shared cases, std::weak_ptr to break reference cycles, and RAII applied consistently so resource cleanup happens through destructors rather than manual, exception-unsafe teardown. Naming conventions are spelled out explicitly too — PascalCase for types, camelCase for functions and variables, SCREAMING_SNAKE_CASE for constants — the kind of project-wide consistency detail that’s easy for an agent to get subtly wrong without a reference.

It targets C++17/20 specifically, so guidance reflects the standard library and language features actually available in that range rather than older pre-C++11 patterns or aspirational C++23 features not yet widely supported. Coverage extends beyond memory management into structure — Single Responsibility Principle, composition over inheritance, and keeping functions small and focused.

Part of the Mindrally skills collection, a 240+ skill set converted from Cursor rules into Claude Code’s SKILL.md format spanning most major languages and frameworks; the C++ skill lives at cpp/SKILL.md in that repository and can be copied individually into a project’s .claude/skills/ directory.