Claude Code
Claude Code Skills: Where They Install
The three places a Claude Code skill can live, how project and personal scope differ, and which path to pick.
Primary source takeaway: Claude Code documents project, personal, and plugin skill locations separately, so scope is part of the design.
Three scopes
| Scope | Location | Use when |
|---|---|---|
| Project | .claude/skills in the repository | The workflow is specific to this codebase and the team should review it. |
| Personal | ~/.claude/skills | You want the skill in every project without committing it anywhere. |
| Plugin | Installed marketplace, including anthropics/skills | You want maintained skills you did not write, updated by their publisher. |
Use project skills when the workflow belongs to a repository. They should live under .claude/skills so the team can review changes, version them, and keep task behavior close to the code or documentation it affects.
Use personal skills for private workflows you want across projects. These belong in your user-level Claude configuration, not in a shared repository. Use plugin-distributed skills when the skill comes from an installed Claude Code plugin or marketplace source; the announcement points at the anthropics/skills marketplace as the starting point.
When to create a project skill
Create a project skill when the repository has a repeated local practice: release checks, architecture review, design QA, data migration rehearsal, support-log triage, or documentation conversion. The skill should encode the project-specific rules that generic Claude Code guidance cannot know.
Do not use a project skill as a dumping ground for every team preference. Stable repository facts may belong in project instructions; specialized procedures with supporting files belong in skills.
Invocation and triggering
Users can mention a skill by name, but the stronger design is to make the description clear enough that the agent can select it when the task matches. The description should say when to use the skill, not just what the skill is called.
If a skill fails to trigger, revise the description before adding paragraphs of instructions. Trigger matching depends on the skill being described in the same language users naturally use for the task.
Version control and review
Treat project skills like code-adjacent configuration. Review diffs, avoid hidden network behavior, keep scripts executable and small, and document dependencies. A skill that changes deploy behavior deserves the same scrutiny as a shell script in the repo.
This page stops at installation and scope on purpose. Using skills as part of a Claude Code engineering practice — how they sit alongside hooks, subagents, CI runs, and MCP servers — belongs to Claude Ships Code, and the Agent SDK offers the same skill support for custom agents.
FAQ
Is this site affiliated with Anthropic?
No. Claude Has Skills is an independent editorial guide. It links to Anthropic and Agent Skills primary sources so readers can verify product details directly.
Does a skill replace normal prompting?
No. A skill packages repeatable instructions and resources so the agent can load them when a task matches. The user still asks for a task, and the agent still decides what to read and run.
Should I commit project skills?
Usually yes, if they define shared repository workflows. Committing them makes review and team alignment possible.
Can a Claude Code plugin provide skills?
Yes. Claude Code can receive skills from installed plugin sources, including the anthropics/skills marketplace, which should still be reviewed like any other dependency.
Where can I read about using skills in a Claude Code workflow?
This site covers the skill package itself. For Claude Code engineering practice around skills, hooks, agents, and CI, see Claude Ships Code.
Primary Sources
Claude Code Skills docs
Anthropic Docs
Canonical source for Claude Code skill locations, types, and runtime behavior.
Introducing Agent Skills
Anthropic News
Product announcement for skill availability, plan eligibility, the /v1/skills endpoint, and the Claude Code marketplace install path.
anthropics/skills repository
GitHub
Official example repository with template and production-grade reference skills.
Best practices for skill creators
Agent Skills
Source for scoping, trigger descriptions, and progressive disclosure guidance.