What are skills?

What is a Skill?

• A markdown file that teaches Claude how to do something once
• Claude automatically applies that knowledge whenever it's relevant
• Folders of instructions, scripts, and resources agents can discover and use

How Skills Work

• Claude matches requests against available skill descriptions
• Only loads the name and description initially (saves context window)
• Activates automatically when matching a request—no slash commands needed
• Loads full skill content only when relevant

Skill Storage Locations

Personal Skills (~/. Claude/skills)

• Follow you across all projects
• Store personal preferences: commit message style, documentation format, code explanation preferences

Project Skills (. Claude/skills in repository root)

• Shared with anyone who clones the repository
• Store team standards: brand guidelines, preferred fonts, colors, coding standards

Skills vs. Other Customization Methods

| Method | When to Use | How It Works | |--------|-----------|------------| | Skills | Specialized, task-specific knowledge | Automatic, on-demand loading | | **Claude. md** | Always-on preferences | Loads into every conversation | | Slash Commands | Manual triggers | Requires explicit typing |

Best Use Cases for Skills

• Code review standards
• Commit message formats
• Brand guidelines
• Repetitive explanations you find yourself giving Claude

Takeaways

• Skills are auto-activating knowledge files — markdown files that Claude automatically applies when relevant, without requiring manual commands or prompts

• Skills use smart, efficient loading — only skill names and descriptions load initially; full content loads only when Claude detects a matching request, preserving context window

• Two storage locations serve different purposes — personal skills (~/. Claude/skills) follow you everywhere, while project skills (. Claude/skills) are shared team standards in repositories

• Skills are best for specialized, reusable knowledge — ideal for task-specific guidance like code review standards, commit formats, and brand guidelines that you'd otherwise explain repeatedly

• Skills differ from other customization methods — unlike Claude. md (always-on) or slash commands (manual), skills provide automatic, on-demand activation tailored to specific requests