How to Install a Claude Skill
Updated September 17, 2026
Installing a Claude skill means putting a folder where the product you use looks for it. There are three products with three different answers, and skills do not sync between them. This guide gives the exact location for each, what to check before installing a skill someone else wrote, and why a skill sometimes fails to appear.
The short answer
| Where you use Claude | How to install | Who can use it |
|---|---|---|
| Claude Code, this project | Put the folder at .claude/skills/<name>/ and commit it | Anyone who clones the repository |
| Claude Code, all projects | Put the folder at ~/.claude/skills/<name>/ | You, on this machine |
| Claude Code, from a plugin | /plugin install <plugin>@<marketplace> | Wherever the plugin is enabled, as /plugin:skill |
| claude.ai | Zip the folder; upload under Settings with code execution enabled | You only; each person uploads their own |
| Claude API | Upload through the Skills endpoints and reference the skill_id | Everyone in the workspace |
Claude Code
A skill is installed the moment its folder exists in a location Claude Code reads. For a single project, that is .claude/skills/<skill-name>/SKILL.md in the repository root; commit it and teammates receive it with their next pull. For every project on your machine, use ~/.claude/skills/<skill-name>/SKILL.md. Both folders are watched, so a new skill appears in the running session without a restart. A skill folder can also be a symlink. Type /skills to see what loaded.
Plugins are the distribution route for skills you want many people to install without copying folders. A plugin bundles skills alongside agents and other files, is installed with /plugin install name@marketplace, and its skills are invoked with the plugin's namespace, as in /my-plugin:my-skill. Skills you enable on your claude.ai account are also synced into Claude Code sessions signed in to that account, under ~/.claude/skills/synced/.
claude.ai
Custom skills in claude.ai are uploaded as a zip of the skill folder through Settings, on Pro, Max, Team, and Enterprise plans, and only when code execution and file creation are turned on; with that off, the Skills section is unavailable. Skills are individual to each user. Anthropic's documentation states they are not shared organisation-wide and cannot be centrally managed by an admin, so each teammate uploads their own copy.
The upload validates the frontmatter against the Agent Skills specification. Only name, description, license, compatibility, metadata, and allowed-tools are accepted. A file carrying Claude Code fields such as model or paths is rejected, so strip those before zipping. The SKILL.md format explained lists which fields belong to which surface.
The Claude API
For applications built on the API, skills are uploaded through the Skills endpoints under /v1/skills and then referenced by skill_id in the container parameter alongside the code execution tool, which is required because skills run inside its sandbox. Uploaded skills are shared across the whole workspace. The sandbox has no network access and no runtime package installation, so a skill that depends on fetching something or installing a library at runtime will not work there even if it works in Claude Code.
Before installing a skill you did not write
Anthropic's guidance is to use skills only from trusted sources, meaning ones you created or obtained from Anthropic, and to treat anything else the way you would treat installing software. A skill is instructions plus, optionally, code, and either can direct Claude to use its tools in ways the description does not mention.
- Read SKILL.md in full, including any reference files it points to.
- Read every script in the folder. Look for network calls, file access outside the task, or anything unrelated to the stated purpose.
- Be wary of skills that fetch external URLs. Fetched content can carry instructions, and a skill that was safe can change if its external dependency changes.
- Prefer sources that publish the files openly. Anthropic's own open-source skills repository on GitHub is the reference example.
- Install into a project first, not your personal folder, so the blast radius is one repository.
Why a skill did not show up
- The folder name and the name field differ. They must match exactly.
- The frontmatter does not start on line one, or is missing a closing line of dashes.
- The description is missing, so Claude has nothing to match. Claude Code will list the skill but never trigger it.
- Wrong folder. Common slips: .claude/skill/ (singular), or the file named skill.md in lowercase.
- A reserved name. synced is reserved in Claude Code; names containing claude or anthropic are rejected on upload.
- claude.ai has code execution off, or the plan does not include custom skills.
- Plugin skill after an update: run /reload-plugins.
If you are installing a skill you are still writing, the SKILL.md Generator checks the frontmatter for the first five problems in that list as you edit, and shows the folder path the file expects. Once the file is right, installing it is a copy.
Common questions
- Do skills sync between Claude Code and claude.ai?
- Not automatically in both directions. Skills enabled on your claude.ai account are synced into Claude Code sessions signed in to that account. Skills created on disk in Claude Code, and skills uploaded through the API, stay where they are. Anthropic's documentation is explicit that custom skills must be uploaded separately to each surface.
- Which claude.ai plans support custom skills?
- Pro, Max, Team, and Enterprise, with code execution and file creation enabled in settings. Pre-built document skills such as the PowerPoint and Excel ones need no setup.
- Can an admin install a skill for the whole team in claude.ai?
- No. Anthropic's documentation says custom skills in claude.ai are individual to each user and cannot be centrally managed. For team-wide distribution, use a project skill in a shared repository, a Claude Code plugin, or the API, where uploaded skills are workspace-wide.
- How do I uninstall a skill?
- In Claude Code, delete or move the folder; the change is picked up live. For a plugin, uninstall the plugin. In claude.ai, remove it from the Skills section in Settings. In the API, delete it through the Skills endpoints.
- Is it safe to install skills from a directory website?
- Only after reading everything in the folder. A skill is code and instructions that Claude will follow with whatever access it has. Anthropic recommends treating it like installing software and auditing scripts, external fetches, and file access before use.
Try it yourself
These live under Developer tools, alongside the rest of the claude skills & skill.md guides on the guides page.