How to Set Up Skills in Claude Code [Complete Beginner's Guide]

Want to use skills in Claude Code but unsure where to put files or how to invoke them?

This article walks through setting up and using skills in Claude Code, written for beginners.

Prerequisites

Make sure Claude Code is installed. If not, install it with:

Copynpm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code

Requires Node.js 18 or higher.

Where to Place Skills

Skills can go in two locations, depending on your use case.

Project-Specific Skills

Copyyour-project/
└── .claude/
    └── skills/
        └── my-skill/
            └── SKILL.md

Active only in this project. Use for project-specific workflows and rules.

Global Skills

Copy~/.claude/
└── skills/
    └── my-skill/
        └── SKILL.md

Active in all projects. Use for general-purpose skills like code review or documentation.

How to Install Skills

Method 1: Manual Download

1. Find a skill on the Skills list
2. Download the SKILL.md file from the GitHub repository
3. Copy to the appropriate location above

Method 2: Command Installation

Use this command within Claude Code:

Copy/install-skill https://github.com/owner/repo

Automatically downloads and places skills from the repository.

Method 3: Git Clone

Copycd ~/.claude/skills/
git clone https://github.com/owner/skill-repo my-skill

Advantage: easily update with git pull when changes are available.

SKILL.md Structure

The skill's core is the SKILL.md file. Understanding its structure helps with troubleshooting and creating your own.

Copy---
name: code-review
description: Review pull request code changes
---

## Steps

1. Check changed files
2. Evaluate code quality, security, and performance
3. Point out issues with specific suggestions

Frontmatter (Required)

The section between --- markers is the frontmatter.

• name: Skill name. Becomes the slash command (/code-review)
• description: Skill description. Claude uses this to decide when to apply the skill

Body (Required)

Below the frontmatter, write instructions in Markdown. Claude follows this content when executing tasks.

How to Invoke Skills

Method 1: Slash Command

Use the skill name as a slash command:

Copy/code-review

This is the most direct invocation method.

Method 2: Natural Language

Claude reads skill descriptions and automatically applies relevant skills when you request related tasks:

CopyReview the code in this PR

If the description says "Review pull request code changes," Claude automatically uses the code-review skill.

Method 3: Explicit Specification

To explicitly use a skill instead of auto-application:

CopyUse /skill code-review to review this

Common Issues and Solutions

Skill Not Recognized

Check these:

• Is the directory structure correct (skills/skill-name/SKILL.md)?
• Is the frontmatter name properly set?
• Is the file encoding UTF-8?

Skill Not Auto-Applied

The description may not relate to the task. Since Claude uses the description as keywords for skill selection, write it specifically.

Improvement example:

Copy# ❌ Vague
description: Check code

# ⭕ Specific
description: Review pull request changes for security, performance, and maintainability

Multiple Skills Conflicting

When multiple skills have similar descriptions, it's unclear which gets used. Set clear purposes for each skill and differentiate descriptions.

Managing Skills

List Installed Skills

Copy/skills

Shows currently active skills.

Disable a Skill

To temporarily disable a skill, rename the SKILL.md file or move the directory elsewhere.

Copymv ~/.claude/skills/my-skill ~/.claude/skills/_disabled_my-skill

Next Steps

Once skills are set up, check out these articles:

• 10 Best Agent Skills for Developers
• How to Create Your Own Skills

Browse the Skills list to find skills that match your workflow.

Related Articles

• What Are Agent Skills? - Understand the basics
• How to Use Skills with Codex CLI - For other tools
• How to Use Skills with Cursor - For IDE users
• Troubleshooting Agent Skills - When things don't work