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What are Skills in Claude Code

Skills are modular capabilities that extend Claude Code with specialized expertise and workflows. Launched October 16, 2025, Skills allow you to package domain knowledge, processes, and executable code that Claude automatically loads when relevant.

How Skills Work​

  • Model-Invoked Activation - Claude autonomously decides when to use Skills based on your request and the Skill's description. You don't explicitly invoke them like slash commands.
  • Folder-Based Structure - Each Skill is a folder containing a SKILL.md file with instructions, plus optional supporting files like scripts, templates, and reference documentation.
  • Automatic Loading - When working on tasks, Claude scans available Skills to find relevant matches. When matched, it loads only the minimal information needed, keeping Claude fast while accessing specialized expertise.

Storage Locations:

  • Personal Skills: ~/.claude/skills/skill-name/
  • Project Skills: .claude/skills/skill-name/ (checked into git)

Basic Skill Structure​

Every Skill requires a SKILL.md file with YAML frontmatter:

---
name: react-expert
description: Expert guidance for React development including hooks, state management, and component patterns
allowed-tools: Read, Grep, Glob, Write, Edit
---

# React Development Expert

## When to Use This Skill
Use when working with React components, hooks, or state management.

## Guidelines
- Prefer functional components with hooks
- Extract reusable logic into custom hooks
- Use useState for local state, useContext for shared state
- Memoize expensive calculations with useMemo

Key Features​

  • Composability - Stack multiple Skills together. Claude automatically coordinates their use when working on tasks requiring multiple domains.
  • Portability - Same Skill format works across Claude apps, Claude Code, and API. Build once, use everywhere.
  • Tool Restrictions - Use allowed-tools to limit Claude's capabilities when a Skill is active (e.g., read-only Skills).
  • Team Sharing - Project-level Skills (.claude/skills/) checked into git enable teams to share standardized workflows without manual setup.

How to Use Skills​

Automatic Discovery - Skills are automatically discovered from:

  • Personal Skills: ~/.claude/skills/skill-name/
  • Project Skills: .claude/skills/skill-name/
  • Plugin Skills: Bundled with installed plugins

Manual Setup:

  1. Create folder: ~/.claude/skills/my-skill/
  2. Add SKILL.md with frontmatter and instructions
  3. Skill is automatically available when Claude starts

Use Cases​

  • Framework Expertise - React patterns, Django best practices, Next.js configuration.
  • Workflow Automation - Git commit standards, code review checklists, testing protocols.
  • Domain Knowledge - API integration patterns, security best practices, accessibility guidelines.
  • Project Architecture - File organization standards, naming conventions, module structure.
Skill Discovery

Skills activate based on description relevance. Include concrete use cases, file types, and technical terms in your description to improve activation accuracy.

Community Skills

The anthropics/skills GitHub repository contains example and reference skills that can be installed as plugins using /plugin install.

See Also: Custom Agents|What is MCP Server|What is CLAUDE.md

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