How to Use Claude Skills

Before you install anything

Claude Skills can include more than Markdown instructions. A custom skill may contain scripts, package dependencies, reference files, and directions to access external services. Inspect the source before you upload or install it, especially when the workflow will touch private files or credentials.

For public candidates, the Claude Skills directory exposes the exact source path, license, recent maintenance signal, and detected SKILL.md. These checks do not prove that a skill is safe or effective; they narrow the set you need to inspect yourself.

Use Skills in Claude and Claude Desktop

Anthropic’s current interface combines skills with other customization tools. The basic flow is:

1. Open Claude or Claude Desktop.
2. Open Customize.
3. Select Skills.
4. Use the plus control and choose Browse skills, or upload a custom skill where your plan and organization policy allow it.
5. Install the skill and confirm it is enabled.
6. Start a new task that matches the skill’s description.

Installed skills are available as read-only packages in the directory experience and are enabled by default according to Anthropic’s current help documentation. Personal custom skills can be uploaded separately. Team and Enterprise owners may provision approved skills or restrict user uploads.

Some skills require Claude’s code execution and file creation capability because they generate documents, run scripts, or transform files. If an official document skill appears installed but cannot produce a file, check those permissions before rewriting the prompt.

See Anthropic’s current Use skills in Claude instructions because navigation and plan controls can change.

How to activate a skill correctly

You normally do not need to write “use the skill” in every request. Claude sees a skill’s lightweight metadata and can load the full instructions when the task matches its description.

Activation works best when your request contains the same concrete signals as the skill:

Create a .docx project brief from these interview notes. Include an executive summary,
evidence table, open questions, and a final source list.

That request is more likely to activate a document-generation skill than “help with my notes” because it identifies the input, output format, and required structure.

Mention the skill name explicitly when:

• you are checking whether installation succeeded;
• two enabled skills have overlapping descriptions;
• you need a particular house workflow rather than Claude’s default approach;
• the skill or plugin documents an explicit command.

After activation, ask Claude to state which workflow it is following if you need confirmation. The output should reflect the ordered checks or structure defined by the skill, not merely mention its name.

Use Skills in Claude Code

Claude Code supports project skills under .claude/skills/<skill-name>/SKILL.md. You can also use user-level skills or install plugins that contain skills. The detailed Claude Code Skills guide covers folder structure, official install commands, and examples.

For Anthropic’s public repository, the documented plugin flow starts by adding the marketplace source and then installing a package:

/plugin marketplace add anthropics/skills
/plugin install document-skills@anthropic-agent-skills

These are Claude Code commands, not shell commands. Confirm the current package names in the Anthropic skills repository before use.

When a skill belongs only to one project, placing it under .claude/skills/ is easier to review and version than installing a broad package. Use a plugin when you need distribution, versioning, namespacing, or a bundle that also contains agents, hooks, or MCP configuration.

Upload a custom skill

A custom skill is a folder whose root contains SKILL.md. The frontmatter needs a name and a description; the Markdown body contains the workflow. References, scripts, and assets are optional.

Before upload:

1. Make the description specific enough to identify the trigger.
2. Keep the main instructions concise and put detailed reference material in separate files.
3. Use relative paths so Claude can find supporting resources.
4. Audit scripts and dependencies as code.
5. Package the folder in the format accepted by the current client.

Anthropic’s custom skills guide documents current upload requirements. For authoring help, use our How to Create a Claude Skill guide.

How to know whether the skill is helping

Installation is not evidence of value. Run a representative test and compare the result with a normal prompt.

Check whether the skill:

• follows the promised sequence without skipping important steps;
• uses the expected files, templates, or scripts;
• produces a more consistent output than a one-off prompt;
• stays within the permissions and network behavior you expected;
• remains useful after the novelty of the first run.

Agent Skill Picks labels directory pages as source-based profiles, not ratings or verdicts. A maintained repository and valid license are useful filters, but they do not replace your own test.

Common problems

The Skills menu is missing

Confirm you are using a supported Claude surface and account. Plan availability and organization settings can affect browsing, uploads, code execution, and file creation. Organization owners may need to provision or allow the skill.

The skill is installed but never activates

Use a request that clearly matches the skill description. If it still fails, inspect the name and description in SKILL.md, confirm the package is enabled, and reduce overlap with other skills.

Claude activates the wrong skill

Disable overlapping candidates temporarily and compare their descriptions. Give each skill a distinct job, input, and expected output. Broad descriptions create ambiguous routing.

A generated file is missing

Check whether code execution and file creation are enabled. Document skills often need those capabilities even when the request itself sounds like a writing task.

A marketplace source was added but the skill is unavailable

Adding a Claude Code marketplace and installing a plugin are separate steps. Verify that the intended plugin was installed and inspect which skills it actually contains.

Official directory versus independent discovery

Anthropic now provides a unified place to browse skills, connectors, and plugins from Claude’s Customize area. It is the correct starting point for supported installation.

Independent directories serve a different purpose: comparing public sources, exact folders, maintenance signals, licenses, and use cases across repositories. Read the Claude Skills Marketplace and Directory Guide for the current distinction and a pre-install checklist.

Primary sources

• Anthropic: Use skills in Claude
• Anthropic: Browse skills, connectors, and plugins
• Anthropic: Create custom skills
• Claude Code: Extend Claude with skills