Skills in Claude Code

Skills package instructions, resources and optional scripts into a reusable workflow. The source describes progressive loading: metadata helps select a skill, then its instructions and supporting files are read as needed.

#When a skill helps

Repeated team procedures and stable specialist tasks can benefit from explicit packaged instructions. A one-off request may need only a clear prompt.

#Example structure

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your-project/
└── .claude/
    └── skills/
        └── my-skill/
            ├── SKILL.md
            └── scripts/
                └── helper.py

The source illustrates a third-party template installer:

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npx claude-code-templates@latest --skill=development/skill-creator

This is a community distribution path, not an Anthropic-owned installer. Review the selected instructions and executable scripts before installation/use.

#Example tasks

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Review this code for security vulnerabilities.
Extract the text from this PDF and summarize it.
Write a query for users with pending orders.
Explain the authentication flow for this API.

Loading a skill does not automatically authorize database writes, publication or other external actions. Check the available skill and the actual task boundary.

#Reference

• Claude Code skills↗