Anthropic launches "Skills" so Claude can automatically pick prompts for specialized tasks
Key Points
- Anthropic is launching "Skills", a modular feature for its AI assistant Claude that allows it to perform specialized tasks more efficiently by automatically selecting and loading the necessary instructions, scripts, and resources only when needed.
- Skills can be combined, transferred, and are compatible with all Claude products, including Claude apps, Claude code, and the API. Custom skills can be created, but in team and enterprise settings, administrator approval is required for activation.
- Anthropic advises users to install skills only from reliable sources, and offers a skill creator, API endpoints, a marketplace, and comprehensive documentation for developing and managing these features.
Anthropic is bringing a new module system, called Skills, to Claude.
Skills are topic-based folders with instructions, scripts, and resources that Claude can pull in as needed. Anthropic says skills are stackable, portable, and efficient. They work across Claude apps, Claude Code, and the API. Claude decides which skills to use and loads them on its own.
At their core, skills are bundles of complex prompts organized into modules. Claude decides which modules to load and in what sequence. How useful this system will be comes down to how reliably Claude can pick and combine the right skills for each task.
Using skills in Claude apps
Skills are available in Claude apps for Pro, Max, Team, and Enterprise users. They can help generate tables, presentations, PDFs, and other documents. Users can create and customize their own skills. Claude shows which skills are active during editing. In Team and Enterprise setups, administrators must enable skills before use.
The "skill-creator skill" users through setup, including folder structure, the SKILL.md config file, and needed resources.
Anthropic recommends installing skills only from trusted sources. Skills from less familiar sources should be reviewed carefully before use. This means checking all files to understand how they work, with extra attention to code dependencies and embedded resources like images or scripts. It's also important to watch for any code or instructions that tell Claude to connect to external network sources with unclear trustworthiness.
API integration and Claude Code
Skills can be managed through the Messages API and the /v1/skills endpoint, if the Code Execution Tool is enabled (currently in beta).
In Claude Code, skills can be installed from the anthropics/skills marketplace or manually via ~/.claude/skills. Claude loads the right skills automatically. Version control and team work are built in. The Claude Agent SDK allows integration with custom agents.
Anthropic offers ready-made skills for Excel tables, Word docs, and PowerPoint presentations. Custom skills can be built and managed through the Claude Console. More details are in the official documentation and at the Anthropic Academy.
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