How to Install and Use Claude Skills

Before You Install a Claude Skill

This guide assumes you already have a skill or are about to create one. If you are still writing the first file, start with how to create a Claude Skill. If you need the file format, use SKILL.md explained.

The usage problem is different from the creation problem. A skill can be well written and still fail if it is saved in the wrong scope, named poorly, copied without its supporting files, or invoked with language that does not match its description.

A Claude Skill is useful only when Claude can find it, select it, and apply it to the right job.

Choose the Right Claude Skills Location

The first installation decision is scope. Personal skills are reusable across your work. Project skills are tied to one repository. Put the skill where the workflow actually belongs, not where it happened to be written first.

For the deeper personal vs project decision, read the Claude Code skills folder guide.

Install a Personal Claude Skill

Use a personal skill when the workflow should be available no matter which repo you open. This is the right scope for durable habits: review checklists, writing formats, planning workflows, research briefs, and repeatable analysis.

mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills/diff-risk-review
cp SKILL.md ~/.claude/skills/diff-risk-review/SKILL.md

If the skill has supporting files, copy the whole folder, not just SKILL.md.

cp -R diff-risk-review ~/.claude/skills/diff-risk-review

The folder should describe one outcome. If you install writing, assistant, or general, you will eventually forget what the skill actually does. If you install press-release-review or diff-risk-review, the usage boundary is obvious.

Install a Project Claude Skill

Use a project skill when the workflow depends on the codebase. This includes release gates, local commands, test policy, design-system rules, domain language, and any process that would be wrong in another repository.

mkdir -p .claude/skills/release-check
cp SKILL.md .claude/skills/release-check/SKILL.md

Commit project skills when they are meant for the team. That makes the workflow reviewable and keeps it close to the repo rules it describes.

git add .claude/skills/release-check/SKILL.md
git commit -m "Add Claude release check skill"

Do not commit personal preferences as project skills unless the team has agreed to adopt them. A project skill should represent the project, not one person's hidden workflow.

Invoke the Skill in Real Work

After installation, use the skill on a real task. There are two practical invocation patterns.

1. Direct invocation: Ask for the skill by name when your environment exposes it as a command or selectable skill.
2. Natural invocation: Ask for the task in language that matches the skill description, such as "review this diff for risky changes" or "turn these notes into a client recap."

Strong skill descriptions make natural invocation more reliable. If the description says "review customer support replies for clarity, empathy, accuracy, escalation risk, and next-step quality," then a request about reviewing a support reply gives Claude a clear reason to use it.

The skill name is for humans. The skill description is for selection.

Test Whether Claude Used the Skill Correctly

Do not stop at "Claude answered." Check whether the answer reflects the actual skill. A working skill should change the process, constraints, and output shape.

Make Claude Skills Portable

The manual installation steps work, but they create a new problem: the best version of a skill often ends up trapped on one laptop, in one repo, or inside one teammate's folder. Then a new machine, client project, or AI tool forces you to rebuild the same setup again.

Prompttly is a skill manager for AI agents — one library for your skills and prompts that syncs into Claude Code, Codex, ChatGPT, and Claude, so your setup follows you across every machine, repo, and tool.

That matters once skills become part of daily work. A support team may need the same escalation review skill in Claude and ChatGPT. A developer may want the same review rubric in Claude Code and Codex. A consultant may need a client recap skill available on both a desktop and a new laptop.

If a skill is important enough to install twice, it is important enough to keep in a versioned library.

Common Mistakes When Using Claude Skills

• Copying only SKILL.md: Multi-file skills need their examples, templates, and references too.
• Using the wrong scope: Personal habits do not belong inside one repo, and repo-specific commands do not belong everywhere.
• Keeping duplicate versions: Two similar skill folders create confusion about which one is current.
• Ignoring the description: If the description is vague, Claude has weak signal about when to load the skill.
• Skipping real tests: A skill should be tested on the work it claims to improve, not just inspected as a Markdown file.

Quick Start Checklist

1. Choose whether the skill is personal, project-specific, or shared across a team.
2. Install the whole skill folder, including supporting files.
3. Confirm the entrypoint is named SKILL.md.
4. Run the skill on a realistic task.
5. Check the process, output format, and boundaries.
6. Refine the description if Claude does not select it reliably.
7. Move the working version into a synced or versioned library before it becomes hard to find.

Related Resources

Start with what Claude Skills are for the broader concept. Use the Claude Code skills folder guide to pick the right location, then use the Claude Skill creation guide if you need to write one from scratch. You can browse the resources hub or draft a reusable workflow with the free Claude Skill Creator.

People Also Ask About Using Claude Skills