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Circuit Diagram Skill

Please create a plan for using the /skill-creator skill to create a new skill that will generate simple RLC circuit drawings on a simple grid layout for a Circuits 1 course. The input to the skill will be a simple description of a circuit. The name of the skill will be rlc-circuit-drawing-generator. On the left of the drawing will be a power source, which will be a battery, a DC power source or an AC power source. The power source will always be vertically oriented. For a battery or DC power source the positive will be on the top. On the right will be an arrangement of components: resistors, capacitors or inductors, a current meter or a voltage meter. The components will be laid out on the grid in series, parallel or a combination of series-parallel connections. I want the skill to generate a small declarative file that does relative placement of components such as a Schemdraw file. After the Schemadraw file is generated, I want a python script that will generate the an image of the file in a format such as SVG, PNG or JPG.

Here are some sample circuit descriptions:

Simple AC Resistive Circuit

  • Description of Circuit: Resistor connected to AC voltage source
  • AC circuit
  • Type of Circuit: Basic AC resistive circuit
  • Number of components: 2
  • List of components: AC voltage source, resistor
  • Solutions: AC fundamentals, RMS values, power calculations in AC circuits

AC Capacitive Circuit

  • Description of Circuit: Capacitor connected to AC voltage source
  • AC circuit
  • Type of Circuit: Reactive circuit
  • Number of components: 2
  • List of components: AC voltage source, capacitor
  • Solutions: Capacitive reactance, phase relationships, reactive power

AC Inductive Circuit

  • Description of Circuit: Inductor connected to AC voltage source
  • AC circuit
  • Type of Circuit: Reactive circuit
  • Number of components: 2
  • List of components: AC voltage source, inductor
  • Solutions: Inductive reactance, phase relationships, magnetic energy storage

RC Series Circuit

  • Description of Circuit: Resistor and capacitor connected in series with AC source
  • AC circuit
  • Type of Circuit: RC network
  • Number of components: 3
  • List of components: AC voltage source, resistor, capacitor
  • Solutions: Impedance calculations, phasor analysis, RC time constants

RL Series Circuit

  • Description of Circuit: Resistor and inductor connected in series with AC source
  • AC circuit
  • Type of Circuit: RL network
  • Number of components: 3
  • List of components: AC voltage source, resistor, inductor
  • Solutions: Impedance calculations, phasor analysis, RL time constants

RLC Series Circuit

  • Description of Circuit: Resistor, inductor, and capacitor connected in series with AC source
  • AC circuit
  • Type of Circuit: RLC resonant circuit
  • Number of components: 4
  • List of components: AC voltage source, resistor, inductor, capacitor
  • Solutions: Resonance analysis, quality factor, frequency response

RLC Parallel Circuit

  • Description of Circuit: Resistor, inductor, and capacitor connected in parallel with AC source
  • AC circuit
  • Type of Circuit: Parallel resonant circuit
  • Number of components: 4
  • List of components: AC voltage source, resistor, inductor, capacitor
  • Solutions: Parallel resonance, admittance calculations, tank circuits

How would use the /skill-creator skill to create this program?

Response

Plan: Create rlc-circuit-drawing-generator Skill

### Overview
Create a new Claude skill using /skill-creator that generates RLC circuit diagrams from text descriptions.
The skill will output Schemdraw Python code and render it to SVG image files.

User Preferences

  • Location: /Users/dan/Documents/ws/circuits/.claude/skills/ (project-specific)
  • Image format: SVG (default)
  • Labels: Include component values (R₁=10Ω, C₁=100μF, L₁=1mH)
  • Ground symbols: Yes, include ground reference points

Skill Structure

rlc-circuit-drawing-generator/
├── SKILL.md # Main skill instructions
├── scripts/
│ └── render_circuit.py # Python script to render Schemdraw to SVG
├── references/
│ ├── schemdraw-guide.md # Schemdraw syntax reference
│ └── circuit-patterns.md # Common circuit topology patterns
└── assets/
└── examples/ # Example Schemdraw files for reference
├── simple-resistive.py
├── rc-series.py
├── rlc-series.py
└── rlc-parallel.py

Step-by-Step Process

Step 1: Initialize the Skill

Run the init_skill.py script from skill-creator:
/Users/dan/Documents/ws/skills/skill-creator/scripts/init_skill.py rlc-circuit-drawing-generator --path
/Users/dan/Documents/ws/circuits/.claude/skills

Step 2: Create the SKILL.md

The SKILL.md will include:

Frontmatter:
- name: rlc-circuit-drawing-generator
- description: Generates RLC circuit diagrams from text descriptions using Schemdraw. Use this skill when
the user wants to create circuit drawings for educational purposes, particularly for AC/DC circuits with
resistors, capacitors, inductors, and power sources.

Body Content:
1. Overview of skill purpose
2. Input format specification (circuit description structure)
3. Workflow steps:
- Parse circuit description
- Determine topology (series/parallel/mixed)
- Generate Schemdraw Python code
- Render to image using render_circuit.py
4. Layout conventions:
- Power source on left (vertical, positive on top)
- Components on right (series/parallel arrangements)
5. References to bundled resources

Step 3: Create scripts/render_circuit.py

Python script that:
- Takes a Schemdraw Python file as input
- Executes it to generate the circuit drawing
- Exports to specified format (SVG, PNG, or JPG)
- Handles output path and filename

# Usage: python render_circuit.py input.py output.svg

Step 4: Create references/schemdraw-guide.md

Document covering:
- Schemdraw component elements:
- elm.SourceV() - DC voltage source
- elm.SourceSin() - AC voltage source
- elm.Battery() - Battery
- elm.Resistor() - Resistor
- elm.Capacitor() - Capacitor
- elm.Inductor() - Inductor
- elm.Ammeter() - Current meter
- elm.Voltmeter() - Voltage meter
- Direction methods: .right(), .left(), .up(), .down()
- Labeling: .label('R₁'), .label('10Ω')
- Anchoring and connection points
- Push/pop for parallel branches

Step 5: Create references/circuit-patterns.md

Template patterns for:
- Simple 2-component circuits (source + single component)
- Series circuits (source + 2-3 components in line)
- Parallel circuits (source + parallel branches)
- Series-parallel combinations

Step 6: Create Example Files in assets/examples/

Working Schemdraw examples for each circuit type:
- simple-resistive.py
- rc-series.py
- rl-series.py
- rlc-series.py
- rlc-parallel.py

Step 7: Package the Skill

/Users/dan/Documents/ws/skills/skill-creator/scripts/package_skill.py
/Users/dan/Documents/ws/circuits/.claude/skills/rlc-circuit-drawing-generator

Components Supported
┌───────────────────┬───────────────────┬────────────────────────┐
│ Component │ Schemdraw Element │ Symbol │
├───────────────────┼───────────────────┼────────────────────────┤
│ DC Voltage Source │ elm.SourceV() │ Circle with +/- │
├───────────────────┼───────────────────┼────────────────────────┤
│ AC Voltage Source │ elm.SourceSin() │ Circle with sine wave │
├───────────────────┼───────────────────┼────────────────────────┤
│ Battery │ elm.Battery() │ Long/short lines │
├───────────────────┼───────────────────┼────────────────────────┤
│ Resistor │ elm.Resistor() │ Zigzag │
├───────────────────┼───────────────────┼────────────────────────┤
│ Capacitor │ elm.Capacitor() │ Parallel plates │
├───────────────────┼───────────────────┼────────────────────────┤
│ Inductor │ elm.Inductor() │ Coil │
├───────────────────┼───────────────────┼────────────────────────┤
│ Ammeter │ elm.Ammeter() │ Circle with A │
├───────────────────┼───────────────────┼────────────────────────┤
│ Voltmeter │ elm.Voltmeter() │ Circle with V │
├───────────────────┼───────────────────┼────────────────────────┤
│ Ground │ elm.Ground() │ Standard ground symbol │
└───────────────────┴───────────────────┴────────────────────────┘
Layout Convention 

1
2
3
 ┌────[R₁=10Ω]────[L₁=1mH]────[C₁=100μF]────┐                                                             
 │                                           │                                                            
(+)                                          │

(AC/DC) │
(-) │
│ │
└──────────────────⏚───────────────────────┘
(GND)

  • Power source: Always vertical on left
  • Positive terminal: Top
  • Components: Arranged right of source with value labels
  • Ground: Reference point on return path
  • Return path: Bottom connection

Verification

  1. Install Schemdraw: pip install schemdraw
  2. Test skill by providing a circuit description
  3. Verify Schemdraw code generates correctly
  4. Run render_circuit.py to produce SVG
  5. Confirm image matches expected layout with labels and ground
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Would you like to proceed?

❯ 1. Yes, clear context and bypass permissions
2. Yes, and bypass permissions
3. Yes, manually approve edits
4. Type here to tell Claude what to change