anthropics /
skills
Anthropic's example Agent Skills: folders of instructions Claude loads per task
- 183.1k stars
- 3.7k stars since 3 Oct
- Python
- Updated 13 days ago
- Beginner friendly
- Agent skills & plugins
A skill is a folder with a SKILL.md file. The file has a short YAML header (a name and a description) followed by plain instructions. It can also hold scripts and other resources. Claude loads a skill when a task calls for it, so it can repeat a specific job the same way each time.
This repository is Anthropic's own set of examples. They cover creative work like art, music and design, technical work like testing web apps and building MCP servers, and enterprise work like communications and branding. It also includes the docx, pdf, pptx and xlsx skills, which the README says power Claude's document features. Those four are source-available, not open source. Many of the other skills use Apache 2.0.
The README calls the skills demonstration and educational material. Claude's real behavior may differ, and you should test a skill before relying on it. The repo also holds the Agent Skills specification and a template skill to copy.
What it does
Self-contained example skills
Each skill lives in its own folder with a SKILL.md file. You can read them to see different patterns for teaching Claude a task.
Wide range of topics
The skills folder groups examples into Creative & Design, Development & Technical, Enterprise & Communication, and Document Skills.
Document skills for reference
The docx, pdf, pptx and xlsx skills are included as a reference for more complex skills used in a production AI app.
Claude Code plugin marketplace
You can add the repo as a plugin marketplace, then install the document-skills or example-skills plugin.
Spec and template
The spec folder holds the Agent Skills specification. The template folder has a starting skill to copy.
What you could build
- Read the example skills to learn how to structure your own SKILL.md instructions.
- Install document-skills in Claude Code to have Claude work with PDF, Word, PowerPoint and Excel files.
- Copy the template skill to teach Claude your company's brand guidelines or reporting workflow.
- Study the MCP server and web app testing skills to see how technical tasks are turned into repeatable instructions.
- Upload custom skills to Claude.ai or the Claude API using the linked guides.
Get started
In Claude Code, add the repo as a plugin marketplace, then install the document-skills or example-skills plugin. After that, mention a skill in your request, such as asking Claude to use the PDF skill on a file.
/plugin marketplace add anthropics/skills/plugin install document-skills@anthropic-agent-skills/plugin install example-skills@anthropic-agent-skillsCommands are copied from the project's README. Read it on GitHub for the full setup.
Anything better than skills?
anthropics/skills is the strongest pick for learning how skills are written, since it's the official source with the spec and template. Look elsewhere for ready-made domain skills, multi-agent installs, or broader discovery.
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claude-skillsAlternative
You want hundreds of ready-made skills across engineering, marketing, product and compliance, usable in Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI and Cursor, rather than a few reference examples.
Trade-off: Community-maintained with uneven quality, and it isn't the official spec or a clean example of how to write skills.
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skillsUse alongside
You use several coding agents (Claude Code, Codex, Cursor) and want one CLI to install, update and remove skills like those in anthropics/skills.
Trade-off: It manages skills but gives you none of its own, and adds a tool to learn.
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awesome-claude-codeUse alongside
You want to discover skills, plugins, status lines and guides beyond Anthropic's examples, with a much broader scope than skills alone.
Trade-off: It's a link list, not installable content, so you still vet each item yourself.
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awesome-claude-skillsUse alongside
You want a categorized list of community skills to browse before writing your own, after covering Anthropic's examples.
Trade-off: It's only links, is much smaller than the target, and updates less often.
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