How to Install Claude Skills (and Add Skills to Claude Code)

Before you install: what is inside a skill?

Think of a skill as a recipe card. Claude keeps a short label for every card in view, and pulls out the full card only when your request matches it.

On disk, a skill is just a folder. Inside it there is one required file called SKILL.md. The top of that file holds a name and a short description. The description is what Claude reads to decide when to use the skill.

A skill folder can also hold extra guides, templates and small scripts. That is why you should know where a skill came from before you install it. More on that at the end.

How to add skills to Claude in the app

According to Anthropic's Help Center, skills work on the Free, Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise plans. They need one setting switched on first: code execution. Skills run inside Claude's code environment, so without it they cannot load.

1. Open Claude and go to Settings, then Capabilities.
2. Turn on "Code execution and file creation". In the newer Settings layout this is called "Create and edit files".
3. On a Team or Enterprise plan, an owner turns this on instead: Organization settings, then Plugins & skills, then the Policy tab, where they enable code execution and Skills.
4. Now open Customize, then Skills (the direct address is claude.ai/customize/skills).
5. Use the switch next to any skill to turn it on. Skills that are switched off are not available to Claude.

How to upload skills to Claude (the ZIP method)

If you have a skill folder of your own, or one you downloaded, you upload it as a ZIP file. The one rule that trips people up: the skill folder must sit at the top of the ZIP, not inside another folder. The folder name should also match the skill's name.

If you want to write a skill from scratch first, follow our guide to create your own Claude skill without coding, then come back here.

1. Right-click your skill folder and compress it. On a Mac choose Compress. On Windows choose Compress to ZIP file.
2. In Claude, go to Customize, then Skills.
3. Click the + button, then + Create skill.
4. Choose Upload a skill and pick your ZIP file.
5. Find the new skill in your list and make sure its switch is on.

How to use Anthropic's built-in and example skills

You do not need to install anything to use Anthropic's own document skills in the Claude app. Anthropic provides skills for Excel, Word, PowerPoint and PDF files. Once code execution is on, Claude uses them by itself when your request needs them.

For example, ask "Make me a five-slide PowerPoint on our spring course batch" and Claude will pick up the PowerPoint skill on its own.

Anthropic also publishes a set of example skills on GitHub at github.com/anthropics/skills. They cover things like brand guidelines, internal communications, web app testing and a skill that helps you build new skills. Anthropic notes these are for demonstration and learning, so test them before you rely on them for important work.

How to add skills to Claude Code

Claude Code does not use ZIP uploads. It reads skills straight from folders on your computer. You only need to put the skill folder in the right place.

There are two places to choose from. A personal skill lives in your home folder and works in every project on your computer. A project skill lives inside one project folder and works only there. Project skills are handy for teams, because anyone who gets the project gets the skill too.

Here are the exact paths. The ~ sign is short for your home folder, for example /Users/yourname on a Mac.

1. Open your terminal and create the personal skills folder by typing mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills and pressing Enter.
2. Copy or move your skill folder into it, so the path ends in ~/.claude/skills/your-skill/SKILL.md.
3. Open Claude Code by typing claude. If it was already open, it usually picks up the new skill straight away. If you created the skills folder for the first time during the session, type /reload-skills once.
4. Type /skills to see the list of skills Claude Code has found.

Personal (all your projects):
~/.claude/skills/<skill-name>/SKILL.md

Project (this project only):
<your-project>/.claude/skills/<skill-name>/SKILL.md

How to install Claude skills from GitHub

Most shared skills live on GitHub. There are two ways to install them in Claude Code. The easiest is the plugin route, because Claude Code downloads and updates everything for you. A plugin is simply a package that can bundle one or more skills, and a marketplace is a catalog of plugins.

Route 1, plugins. Anthropic's own skills repository is set up as a marketplace. Inside Claude Code, type these two commands, one at a time. The second one opens the plugin's details, where you choose who gets it and confirm the install:

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

• Browse instead of typing:: type /plugin on its own to open a panel where you can search plugins, read what each one adds before you install it.
• Official marketplace:: Claude Code adds Anthropic's official marketplace, claude-plugins-official, for you the first time you start it in a terminal. You can also browse plugins at claude.com/marketplace.
• Route 2, copy the folder:: download or clone the repository, then copy just the skill folder you want into ~/.claude/skills/. For example, run git clone https://github.com/anthropics/skills.git and then cp -r skills/skills/internal-comms ~/.claude/skills/.
• For the Claude app:: on the GitHub page, click Code, then Download ZIP. Unzip it, find the one skill folder you want, zip that folder on its own, and upload it as shown above.

Where are Claude skills stored?

Where a skill lives depends on how you added it. Here is the short version.

• Claude app:: skills you upload are stored in your Claude account, under Customize, then Skills. On Team and Enterprise plans you can share a skill with colleagues from its three-dot menu.
• Claude Code, personal:: ~/.claude/skills/ in your home folder.
• Claude Code, project:: .claude/skills/ inside the project folder.
• Claude Code, plugins:: inside the installed plugin. These skills show up with the plugin's name in front, like /plugin-name:skill-name.
• Synced from your account:: skills you turn on in the Claude app sync one way into Claude Code when you are signed in with the same account. They appear in /skills under "claude.ai sync".

How to use a Claude skill and check it is working

Usually you do not have to do anything. Claude reads each skill's description and opens the skill when your request matches. In Claude Code you can also call a skill by name: type / followed by the skill name, such as /internal-comms.

To check a new skill is really working, run through this short list.

1. Make sure it is switched on in Customize, then Skills, or listed when you type /skills in Claude Code.
2. Ask for the exact kind of task the skill's description mentions, in plain words.
3. Try two or three different wordings of that request.
4. Look at Claude's thinking or progress notes to see whether it loaded the skill.
5. If Claude ignores it, make the description clearer about when to use the skill, then test again.

How to turn off or remove a Claude skill

Turning a skill off keeps it for later. Deleting removes it. Pick the one you need.

• Claude app, turn off:: flip the skill's switch off in Customize, then Skills.
• Claude app, delete:: click the skill, turn its switch off, click the three-dot button next to the switch, choose Delete and confirm. To get it back, upload the ZIP again.
• Claude Code, personal or project:: delete the skill's folder from ~/.claude/skills/ or .claude/skills/.
• Claude Code, plugin:: type /plugin, open the Installed tab and choose disable or uninstall, or type /plugin uninstall plugin-name@marketplace-name.
• Synced skills:: turn them off in the Claude app. Deleting the local copy does not stick, because the next sync brings it back.

Safety first: only install skills you trust

Anthropic's Help Center is direct about this: only install skills from trusted sources. Its developer docs define trusted as skills you made yourself or got from Anthropic.

The reason is simple. A skill can include scripts and instructions, and a bad one could tell Claude to run code or send your data somewhere you did not expect. In Claude Code, a skill can reach the internet like any other program on your computer.

Before you install a skill from someone else, open every file and read it, including any scripts. Be extra careful with skills that fetch content from outside websites. Treat it the same way you would treat installing new software. If you want a wider view of how AI tools fit into everyday marketing work, see our AI tools course.