How to make your own skill
8 min read · Checked October 2026
Save instructions you repeat as a skill Claude follows every time.
If you keep giving Claude the same instructions, such as how you like articles written or the checks you run before publishing a page, you can save them as your own skill. Claude then follows them every time, without you repeating yourself.
Several tools on this site are skills like this that the author made for their own work. They aren’t published anywhere, but you can make your own version in a few minutes.
The easy way: let Claude write it
Install skill-creator
Anthropic’s skill-creator plugin interviews you and writes the skill for you. In Claude Code:
/plugin install skill-creator@claude-plugins-officialDescribe what the skill should do
/skill-creator:skill-creator I want a skill that checks my blog posts before I publish: spelling, a clear title, a short intro, and at least two links to my other posts.Answer its questions. It saves the finished skill in your skills folder and can test it with you.
Use it
Start a new session and type / followed by your skill’s name, or just ask for the task; Claude picks up the skill when your request matches it.
What a skill looks like inside
A skill is a folder with one text file called SKILL.md. Personal skills live in ~/.claude/skills/ on your computer. The file starts with a name and a description, then your instructions in plain English:
--- name: blog-check description: Checks a blog post before publishing. Use when the user asks to review, proof or check a post. --- Check the post for: 1. Spelling and grammar 2. A title under 60 characters 3. An intro of two sentences or fewer 4. At least two links to other posts
- The description matters most: it’s how Claude decides when to use the skill.
- Write instructions the way you’d brief a new colleague: short, specific, with examples.
Use it in the Claude app too
Zip the skill folder and upload it in the Claude app under Customize → Skills. See how to add a plugin or skill for the full steps.