The short answer
- 1Put the Skill’s folder in
~/.claude/skills/to use it in every project, or in.claude/skills/to keep it to one repository. - 2Installing with the Skillry CLI? Add
--agent claude-code. Without it, the Skill lands in~/.agents/skills/, which Claude Code doesn’t read. - 3Type
/skillsto confirm it’s there, then type/skill-namefollowed by your request to run it.
How to add Skills to Claude Code
You can paste an install prompt into Claude Code, run the Skillry CLI yourself, or copy the folder in by hand. Each route ends the same way, with the Skill’s folder inside ~/.claude/skills/.
The one flag people miss
The Skillry CLI installs to ~/.agents/skills/ by default, because Codex and Cursor both read that folder. Claude Code reads its own, ~/.claude/skills/. Leave off --agent claude-code and the install still reports success, but Claude Code never sees the Skill.
- 1
Open the Skill on Skillry, select Copy install prompt, then select Copy in the dialog.
- 2
Paste it into Claude Code and send it. The agent reads Skillry’s install instructions and runs the right command itself.
Install prompt Read https://skillry.dev/skills/<slug>/install.md and follow the instructions to install the skill. - 3
When your browser asks you to approve a device code, approve it.
You should see: Claude Code reporting the version it installed and the folder it used, under
~/.claude/skills/.
- 1
Sign in once. A browser window opens with a device code for you to approve.
Terminal npx --yes skillry-cli@latest login - 2
Install, with
--agent claude-codeon the end.Terminal npx --yes skillry-cli@latest install <slug> --agent claude-codeYou should see:
Installed <slug> <version> to ~/.claude/skills/<slug>
Select Download ZIP on the Skill’s page, or use a Skill folder you got somewhere else. Read SKILL.md and anything in scripts/ before you install, since the agent follows those instructions and can run those scripts. Then move the whole folder:
mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills
mv ~/Downloads/my-skill ~/.claude/skills/ZIPs often unpack with an extra level, like my-skill/my-skill/SKILL.md. SKILL.md has to sit directly inside the Skill’s folder, or the agent won’t find it.
Check that Claude Code can see it
Type /skills. The list shows your own Skills plus a few that ship with Claude Code, such as /code-review. Press t to sort them by how much context each one takes up.
You don’t need to restart. Claude Code picks up new and edited Skills in the current session. The one exception: if ~/.claude/skills/ didn’t exist when the session started, run /reload-skills once.
Run a Skill as a Claude Code slash command
Every Skill you install shows up as a slash command with the Skill’s name. Type the command, then say what you want on the same line:
/launch-page Parcelo, a parcel-tracking dashboard for small online shopsEverything after the name reaches the Skill as $ARGUMENTS. Once you’ve seen it work, you can usually skip the command and describe the task in plain words. Claude loads a Skill on its own when your request matches the Skill’s description. How to use Skills has more on getting good results.
Where Claude Code looks for Skills, and which copy wins
Claude Code collects Skills from five places. Most people only use the personal and project folders; the others come up on a team or when you install plugins.
| Source | Location | Command |
|---|---|---|
| Enterprise | Managed settings | /skill-name |
| Personal | ~/.claude/skills/<name>/ | /skill-name |
| Project | .claude/skills/<name>/ | /skill-name |
| Plugin | <plugin>/skills/<name>/ | /plugin-name:skill-name |
| Your claude.ai account | Synced to ~/.claude/skills/synced/ | /name or /anthropic-skills:name |
When the same name exists in two places, enterprise beats personal and personal beats project. Skills in a subfolder’s .claude/skills/ load the first time Claude works with files in that subfolder, so Skills for one package in a large repo stay out of the way until you need them.
The SKILL.md settings that control when it runs
These fields go in the frontmatter at the top of SKILL.md. You only need them when a Skill runs too often, not often enough, or stops to ask permission at every step.
| Field in SKILL.md | What it does |
|---|---|
description | What Claude reads to decide whether to use the Skill. Together with when_to_use, it’s cut off at 1,536 characters in the Skill list. |
allowed-tools | Tools Claude can use without asking, during the turn that invokes the Skill. |
paths | File patterns. Claude loads the Skill automatically only when it’s working with matching files. |
Claude Code Skill not working? Check these first
Work down from the top. The first row, a Skill in the wrong folder, is the most common cause.
Not in /skills
Wrong folder, or an extra level from the ZIP. Move it so the path reads ~/.claude/skills/<name>/SKILL.md, or reinstall with --agent claude-code.
The folder is brand new
Run /reload-skills.
Missing in a cloud session
Commit it to the repo’s .claude/skills/, or enable it on claude.ai.
Missing in Cowork
Enable it on your claude.ai account.
Listed but never chosen
Call it with /name to confirm it works, then make its description more specific. See Triggering.
Anything else is covered in Troubleshooting.
Common questions
Do Skills work in Claude Code?
Yes. Claude Code follows the open Agent Skills standard and loads Skills from your personal folder, the current project, plugins, your organization, and your claude.ai account.
Where are Claude Code Skills stored?
Your own Skills go in ~/.claude/skills/<name>/SKILL.md. Skills for one project go in .claude/skills/<name>/SKILL.md inside that repository.
What happened to custom slash commands?
They still work. A file at .claude/commands/deploy.md and a Skill named deploy both give you /deploy. If you have both, the Skill wins.
Why does the Skillry CLI need --agent claude-code?
Its default folder is ~/.agents/skills/, which Codex and Cursor share. Claude Code reads ~/.claude/skills/ instead, and the flag points the install there.
Sources
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