How to install a Claude Skill

Where you install a skill depends on which surface you are using: Claude Code, claude.ai, or the Claude API. This guide covers Claude Code, since that is where most developers install skills, then covers what is different on the other two.

Before you start

You need a skill folder with a SKILL.md file inside it. SKILL.md needs a description field at minimum: that is the text Claude matches against your requests to decide when to load the skill, so a vague one means the skill never triggers on its own.

Pick personal or project scope

Personal skills go in ~/.claude/skills/<skill-name>/ and load in every project on your machine. Project skills go in .claude/skills/<skill-name>/ at your repository root; commit that folder and everyone who clones the repo gets the skill too.

Copy the folder into place

Copy the whole skill folder, not just SKILL.md, so any supporting files (reference docs, bundled scripts) come with it. The folder name is what becomes the command you type: .claude/skills/deploy/SKILL.md gives you /deploy, whatever the frontmatter name field says.

Checkpoint: run /skills in Claude Code, or just ask "what skills are available?" Your new skill should show up in the list.

Use it

Ask for whatever the skill was built for. Claude loads it automatically when your request matches the description. You can also invoke it directly by typing / followed by the skill's folder name.

If it doesn't show up

Two things cause almost every failure. First, the opening --- has to be the very first line of SKILL.md; if anything comes before it, Claude Code loads the file with no metadata at all, so /skill-name still runs it but Claude never triggers it on its own. Second, a description that is too generic loses out to other skills competing for the same request, so sharpen the wording before assuming the skill is broken. You do not need to restart Claude Code after editing an existing skill; changes apply within the session. You do need a restart if you create a brand-new skills directory that did not exist when the session started.

Outside Claude Code

On claude.ai, there is no folder to copy: go to Settings > Features and upload the skill as a zip file (available on Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise plans with code execution turned on). Through the Claude API, you upload it through the Skills API and reference its skill_id in the container parameter, and it is shared with your whole workspace rather than tied to one person. None of the three surfaces sync with each other, so installing a skill in Claude Code does not make it available on claude.ai or the API, and the reverse is also true.