Build your first Claude Skill
Turn something you explain once into something Claude does on command.
A skill is a report template, a brand voice, a way of triaging email — your judgment written down once, in a form Claude can reach for on its own. This page walks through building your first one.
Before you start
Pick one real task
Look for anything you find yourself explaining to Claude the same way more than once.
Gather what you have
Templates you reuse, a report you're proud of, your brand guidelines, an email you'd want handled a certain way.
Confirm Skills is on
In Settings > Capabilities, check that code execution and file creation and Skills are both enabled.
The steps
Ask for a skill in conversation
Open a new chat and describe what you want in plain language: "I want a skill that turns my meeting notes into a client follow-up email" or "I need a skill that applies our brand guidelines to any deck." Upload anything you gathered above.
Then ask Claude to ask you questions before it starts building. Left to its own devices it will make assumptions; asked to interview you, it will surface the decisions you didn't know you were making.
Answer Claude's questions
Claude will ask about your process: when you'd use this, what a good outcome looks like, how you handle exceptions. Answer as if you're briefing a smart colleague who's never seen this workflow.
Let Claude build it
Claude writes the instruction file every skill needs (called a SKILL.md), organizes any materials you provided, and — if your workflow needs it — writes the code to handle repeatable steps like formatting or calculations. You won't need to touch any of this directly.
Let AI write for the AI reader. The file isn't for you; resist the urge to make it read the way you'd write for a person.
Activate it
Claude presents the finished skill as an install card in the conversation. Save it there.
What it looks like in the chat:
You can double check whether it installed by going to Settings > Capabilities > Skills, where your full library lives and each skill can be toggled on or off.
Test and refine
Try it by describing a task the skill should handle, and watch whether Claude reaches for it and how it handles it. If something's off, just tell Claude what to change, then re-save it. Most skills take a few rounds to get right.
What makes a good first skill
One job, done well
A skill that formats reports is more reliable than one that handles "all communications."
Specific instructions
Give it the level of detail you'd give a new hire on their first week, not a summary.
Something you'll reuse
Pick a task that happens weekly or monthly — not a one-off you'll never run again.