Agent skills in Claude Code
Claude Code is the reference implementation for the open agent skills standard. It was the first AI coding tool to support SKILL.md-based agent skills, and all other platform implementations follow the conventions Anthropic established. Skills are placed in .claude/skills/ at the project level or ~/.claude/skills/ globally.
Installing a skill in Claude Code
To install an existing skill: create the .claude/skills/ directory if it doesn't exist, then copy or clone the skill folder into it. For example: mkdir -p .claude/skills && git clone https://github.com/vercel-labs/agent-skills/react-best-practices .claude/skills/react-best-practices. Claude Code will automatically discover it at next startup.
Activating skills in Claude Code
Type /skills in the Claude Code chat to list all discovered skills. Activate a skill by mentioning it in your prompt: 'Use the react-best-practices skill to review this component.' Claude will load the full SKILL.md instructions and apply them. You can stack multiple skills in one session.
Creating a custom skill for your project
Create a folder in .claude/skills/your-skill-name/. Add a SKILL.md file with YAML frontmatter (name, description required) and Markdown instructions. Commit the .claude/skills/ directory to Git so your whole team has access. Claude Code reloads skills on each session start, so edits take effect immediately.
Global vs project-level skills
Global skills in ~/.claude/skills/ are available in every project on your machine — ideal for personal coding preferences, language conventions, or tools you always use. Project-level skills in .claude/skills/ are repo-specific — ideal for codebase conventions, framework rules, or team standards. When names conflict, project-level takes precedence.