Installing Skills

This guide covers the different ways to install Claude Skills depending on your setup.

Quick Install with Skills Directory

The easiest way to install a skill is directly from the Skills Directory:

# Using the registry URL
claude skill add https://skillsdirectory.com/api/registry/skill-name

Or copy the install command from any skill's detail page on the website.

Installation Methods

Claude.ai (Web)

1. Go to Settings > Features
2. Click "Add custom skill"
3. Either:
   • Upload your SKILL.md file, or
   • Upload a ZIP of the entire skill folder

Claude Code (CLI)

Claude Code looks for skills in specific directories:

# Global skills (available in all projects)
~/.claude/skills/

# Project-specific skills
.claude/skills/

Option 1: Clone a repository

git clone https://github.com/anthropics/skills ~/.claude/skills/official

Option 2: Download individual skills

mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills/my-skill
curl -o ~/.claude/skills/my-skill/SKILL.md https://example.com/skill.md

Option 3: Create from scratch

mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills/my-skill
touch ~/.claude/skills/my-skill/SKILL.md

OpenCode

OpenCode follows the same conventions as Claude Code:

# Global skills
~/.opencode/skills/

# Project-specific
.opencode/skills/

Cursor / VS Code

Most editors that support Claude Skills use the .claude/skills/ directory convention within your project.

Verifying Installation

After installing, verify the skill is recognized:

# In Claude Code
claude skills list

# Or just ask Claude
"What skills do you have available?"

Skill Load Order

When multiple skills exist, Claude loads them in this order:

1. Project skills (.claude/skills/) - highest priority
2. Global skills (~/.claude/skills/)
3. Built-in skills - lowest priority

If two skills have conflicting instructions, project-level skills take precedence.

Updating Skills

From Git repositories

cd ~/.claude/skills/official
git pull

Manual updates

Simply replace the SKILL.md file with the updated version.

Troubleshooting

Skill not appearing

1. Check the path - Verify the SKILL.md file is in the correct directory
2. Restart Claude Code - Sometimes a restart is needed to pick up new skills
3. Check YAML frontmatter - Ensure the name and description fields are present

Skill not triggering

1. Check the description - The description should contain keywords related to when to use the skill
2. Explicitly request it - Try saying "use the X skill" directly
3. Check for conflicts - Multiple skills with similar descriptions may cause issues

Permission errors

# Fix permissions on the skills directory
chmod -R 755 ~/.claude/skills/

Uninstalling Skills

Simply delete the skill folder:

rm -rf ~/.claude/skills/skill-name

For web-based Claude, go to Settings > Features and remove the skill from the list.