skills

This repository contains Anthropic's implementation of skills for Claude, presented as a demonstration and educational collection. Skills are folders of instructions, scripts, and resources that Claude loads dynamically to improve performance on specialized tasks, such as creating documents with brand guidelines, analyzing data with specific workflows, or automating personal tasks. ## What's included - **Example skills** under `./skills` covering creative areas (art, music, design), technical tasks (testing web apps, MCP server generation), and enterprise workflows (communications, branding). Each skill is self-contained with a `SKILL.md` file containing instructions and metadata. - **Document creation & editing skills** in `skills/docx`, `skills/pdf`, `skills/pptx`, and `skills/xlsx`. These power Claude's document capabilities and are source-available (not open source), included as a reference for complex skills used in production AI applications. - **The Agent Skills specification** in `./spec`. - **A skill template** in `./template` for creating new skills. ## Using the skills - **Claude Code**: Register this repository as a plugin marketplace with `/plugin marketplace add anthropic/skills`, then install either the `document-skills` or `example-skills` plugin. After installation, skills are triggered by mentioning them; for example, asking Claude Code to use the PDF skill to extract form fields from a file. - **Claude.ai**: The example skills are already available to paid plans, and users can upload custom skills following the linked instructions. - **Claude API**: Pre-built skills and custom skills can be used through the Skills API quickstart. ## Creating a basic skill A skill is simply a folder with a `SKILL.md` file containing YAML frontmatter and instructions. The frontmatter requires only two fields: - `name`: a unique lowercase identifier with hyphens for spaces - `description`: a complete description of what the skill does and when to use it The markdown body provides the instructions, examples, and guidelines Claude follows. The `template-skill` in this repository serves as a starting point. ## Disclaimer The repository explicitly states that these skills are provided for demonstration and educational purposes only. Implementations and behavior in Claude may differ from what the skills show, and users should test skills thoroughly in their own environment before relying on them for critical tasks. ## Partner skills The repository also highlights partner-created skills, including Notion Skills for Claude, as examples of teaching Claude to use specific software more effectively.