S Claude Has Skills Directory

Directory

Claude Skills Directory

A curated directory of official Anthropic example skills, what each category teaches, and how to evaluate community skills.

Updated 2026-07-06 9 min T4 source-backed

Primary source takeaway: the anthropics/skills repository is an example and reference collection, not a guarantee that every behavior appears identically in every Claude product.

How to use this directory

Use the official repository as a pattern library. The important question is not "Which skill should I copy?" but "Which packaging pattern resembles my task?" A document-processing skill teaches different lessons than a design skill, a web-testing skill, or an API helper skill.

For each skill you inspect, look at the trigger description, the amount of instruction in SKILL.md, the use of references, whether scripts are deterministic, and how much human judgment the skill expects the model to apply.

Official examples worth studying

ExampleWhat it teachesReview angle
skill-creatorHow to guide a user through creating a reusable skill.Study trigger wording and creator workflow.
docx, pdf, pptx, xlsxHow complex document skills combine instructions, scripts, and format-specific helpers.Review how much logic lives in scripts instead of prose.
frontend-designHow an aesthetic standard can steer an agent without becoming a generic prompt.Look for concrete anti-patterns and decision rules.
webapp-testingHow to package browser QA procedures.Check tool assumptions and reproducibility.
mcp-builderHow a skill can guide an engineering workflow adjacent to external tools.Keep the boundary clear between guidance and the MCP server itself.

The repository listing also includes creative and enterprise examples such as algorithmic-art, brand-guidelines, canvas-design, doc-coauthoring, internal-comms, slack-gif-creator, theme-factory, and web-artifacts-builder. These are useful because they show that Skills are not only for coding; they are a general packaging mechanism for repeatable agent behavior.

Rules for community skills

Treat a community skill like a small software dependency. Read SKILL.md, inspect every script, check whether it reaches the network, and decide whether the instructions can exfiltrate private data through ordinary agent behavior. A skill with no scripts can still be risky if it tells the agent to paste sensitive material into a third-party service.

Prefer skills with narrow names, direct descriptions, visible examples, changelogs, and test prompts. Be cautious with broad skills that promise to "make Claude better at everything"; they are harder to trigger predictably and harder to audit.

What belongs elsewhere

General Claude Code best practices belong on a Claude Code engineering site. Context windows, memory, and compaction belong in context and memory guides. This directory stays focused on skill packages: what exists, what pattern it demonstrates, and what to check before using it.

If a package mainly exposes external tools, it may be an MCP server or plugin rather than a skill. If it mainly stores project facts, it may belong in project instructions or memory. Use the boundary guide before adding it to your own directory.

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.

Are the official example skills endorsements for production use?

No. The repository itself frames the skills as demonstrations and references. Production use still needs local testing and security review.

Should I install every useful-looking skill?

No. Install only skills that match recurring work. Too many broad skills make triggering and review harder.

Primary Sources