Guide

How to use Skills in Claude

Skills are packaged instructions and files that teach Claude a repeatable task, such as building a spreadsheet or following your team's report format. This guide shows how to switch them on, which ones come built in, how to add your own, and where they run.

Updated 30 October 2026

Quick answer: first turn on Code execution and file creation in Settings > Capabilities, then open Customize > Skills and switch on the skills you want. To add your own, zip a skill folder that contains a SKILL.md file and upload it from the + button on the same screen. Skills are on every plan, from Free to Enterprise.

Menu names below follow Anthropic's Help Center as of October 2026. Claude's settings have been reorganized more than once, so some labels may differ slightly in your account.

Turn on Skills (Free, Pro and Max)

Skills run inside Claude's code execution environment, so that has to be on before any skill works.

In Claude, open Settings and go to Capabilities.
Switch on Code execution and file creation. In the newer settings layout this switch is called Create and edit files.
Go to Customize > Skills.
Use the toggle next to each skill to turn it on or off.

Turn on Skills for a Team or Enterprise organization

On organization plans, an Owner controls whether members can use skills at all.

As an Owner, open Organization settings > Plugins & skills.
Open the Policy tab.
Make sure both code execution and file creation and Skills are enabled. On Team plans they start out on.
Optionally, provision skills for everyone. They appear in each member's list marked as coming from the team.

Enterprise Owners can also switch on skill scanning, which checks third-party skills for malicious content before they run.

The built-in skills

Anthropic provides skills for common file work:

creating and editing Excel spreadsheets
creating Word documents
generating PowerPoint presentations
creating and processing PDF files

You don't need to invoke these. Ask for something like turn this table into a spreadsheet with a total row and Claude uses the matching skill when it's enabled. If you mainly want Claude to build a page or a small app you can view in the chat, see how to use Claude Artifacts.

Upload your own skill

A custom skill is a folder with instructions (and any supporting files) that you package once and reuse.

Create a folder named after your skill. Use the skill's name for the folder: a mismatch is a common reason uploads fail.
Put a SKILL.md file inside with the skill's name, a short description and the instructions Claude should follow. Add any templates or reference files it needs.
Compress the folder into a ZIP file.
In Claude, go to Customize > Skills and click +.
Choose + Create skill, then Upload a skill, and pick your ZIP.
Make sure the new skill's toggle is on, then try it with a request that matches its description.

Write the description carefully: it is what tells Claude when the skill applies. A vague description means the skill may not be picked up.

Where skills work

Where	How skills are used
Claude chat and Cowork	Enabled skills are used automatically when they fit the request.
Claude for Excel, PowerPoint, Word and Outlook	The add-ins use your enabled skills. Type `/` in the sidebar to pick one, or just describe the task.
Claude Code	Skills sync from your Claude account when you sign in with it (version 2.1.273 or later). Run `/skills` to list them.
Claude API	Available in beta through the code execution tool.

New to Claude Code? Start with how to get started with Claude Code.

Good to know

Plans: Skills are available on Free, Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise.
Privacy: a skill you upload is private until you share it.
Sharing on Team and Enterprise: Share gives specific people (or, on Enterprise, groups) view-only access. Publish to org submits the skill to the organization's library, where it may need a review or security scan first, depending on your Owner's settings.
Trust: skills can include instructions and code that Claude runs. Only add skills from sources you trust.

If it doesn't work

No Skills section, or skills never trigger: check that code execution and file creation is switched on in Settings > Capabilities. On a Team or Enterprise plan, ask your Owner whether Skills is enabled in the organization's policy.
Upload fails: the usual causes are a ZIP over the size limit, a folder name that doesn't match the skill name, a missing SKILL.md, or invalid characters in the name or description.
Claude ignores your skill: confirm its toggle is on, and rewrite the description so it clearly says what kind of request the skill is for.
Missing in Claude Code: update Claude Code, and sign in with your Claude account rather than an API key.

Sources

Use skills in Claude (Claude Help Center, checked 2026-10-30)

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to call a skill by name?

No. In chat and Cowork, Claude picks an enabled skill by itself when your request fits it. In the Microsoft 365 add-ins you can also type / in the sidebar to choose one.

Can other people see a skill I upload?

Not unless you share it. Custom skills stay private to you. On Team and Enterprise plans you can share a skill with specific people, who get view-only access, or submit it to your organization's library.

Why don't my skills show up in Claude Code?

Skills sync to Claude Code only when you sign in with the same Claude account, on version 2.1.273 or later. They don't sync if you sign in with an API key or use a cloud provider such as Amazon Bedrock.