Module 2Lesson 7 of 13·15 min

Working with Skills

Discover how Claude Skills work — instruction packages that teach Claude specialized workflows for document creation, data analysis, and custom business processes you can create through conversation.

What Are Skills?

Skills are folders of instructions, scripts, and resources that Claude loads dynamically to improve performance on specialized tasks. Think of them as expertise packages — they teach Claude how to complete specific tasks in a repeatable way. You have already seen Skills at work if you have used Claude to create Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations, Word documents, or PDFs.

Types of Skills

Anthropic Skills vs. Custom Skills

Anthropic Skills

  • •Created and maintained by Anthropic
  • •Enhanced document creation for Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and PDF
  • •Available to all paid users — invoked automatically when relevant

Custom Skills

  • •Created by you or your organization for specialized workflows
  • •Apply company brand guidelines, structure meeting notes, execute data analysis workflows
  • •Private to your account — triggered automatically when you work on relevant tasks

Creating Custom Skills Through Conversation

The easiest way to create a custom Skill is through conversation with Claude itself. You do not need to write code or manually create files — Claude handles the technical structure for you.

  1. Start a new chat and describe what you want — "I want to create a skill for writing quarterly business reviews."
  2. Answer Claude's questions about your workflow, examples of good output, and when you would use this skill.
  3. Upload reference materials if you have them — templates, style guides, brand assets, or examples.
  4. Download the generated ZIP file containing your properly structured skill.
  5. Upload to Settings > Capabilities > Skills and Claude will automatically invoke it on relevant tasks.

Skills vs. Projects

Both Skills and Projects give Claude more context, but they serve different purposes. Projects store knowledge — reference materials Claude draws on across conversations. Skills perform tasks — they encode how Claude should execute a workflow with specific steps and methodology. The two complement each other: a skill can reference knowledge stored in a project.

Quick Comparison

Projects provide the what (information and reference materials). Skills provide the how (processes and repeatable workflows). Use both together for maximum effectiveness.

Key Takeaways

  • 01Skills are instruction packages that teach Claude specialized, repeatable workflows.
  • 02Anthropic Skills handle document creation automatically. Custom Skills encode your specific workflows.
  • 03Create custom Skills through conversation — describe what you want and Claude builds the skill for you.
  • 04Projects store knowledge (the what); Skills perform tasks (the how). Use both together.