SkillCannon

How to Use Claude Skills, Step by Step

Updated Jun 22, 2026

The fastest path depends on where you use Claude. In the Claude app, turn skills on in settings, then toggle the ones you want and let Claude trigger them automatically. In Claude Code, drop a skill's folder into .claude/skills/ and Claude detects it on its own, or invoke it by name. Below are the exact steps for each surface, plus how to use the same skills in Codex and OpenCode.

If you are new to the idea, start with what are Claude skills.

Using skills in the Claude app (web and desktop)

  1. Enable the feature. On Free and Pro plans, open Settings and go to Capabilities, and make sure code execution and file creation are on. On Team and Enterprise, an admin enables skills under Organization settings first.
  2. Open your skills. Go to Customize, then Skills. You will see the available skills, both the built-in ones (like creating Word, PowerPoint, and Excel files) and any you have added.
  3. Toggle the ones you want. Switch a skill on or off. An enabled skill is available to Claude in your conversations.
  4. Let it trigger, or ask for it. Claude detects when a skill applies from your prompt and uses it automatically. You do not have to invoke it by hand, just describe the task.
  5. Add a custom skill. In Customize, Skills, use the plus button to create a skill or upload one as a folder.

Using skills in Claude Code

  1. Put the skill where Claude looks. Personal skills go in ~/.claude/skills/ and are available across all your projects. Project skills go in .claude/skills/ inside the repo and are shared with your team when you commit them.
  2. Let Claude discover it. Claude Code reads each skill's name and description automatically and loads the full skill when your request matches. You do not paste anything.
  3. See and invoke skills directly. Type /skills to see what is active, or call a skill by name when you want it deliberately.
  4. Or install a plugin. Many skills ship inside a plugin that bundles several skills plus commands, hooks, and MCP servers. Add the plugin's marketplace, then install it as one unit.
  5. Configure any MCP dependency. If a skill relies on an MCP server (for example, an n8n or database server), set that server up too. The skill provides the method, the MCP server provides access.

Using the same skills in Codex and OpenCode

SKILL.md is an open format, so most skills work beyond Claude Code with little change.

  • Codex: place the skill folder in the Codex skills location (for example ~/.codex/skills/) or a shared .agents/skills/ directory. Codex needs the name and description frontmatter, which good skills already have.
  • OpenCode: it has native skill discovery and also reads the shared .claude/skills and .agents/skills directories, so a skill installed for Claude is often picked up automatically.

The caveat: Claude-specific features can degrade on other agents. Hooks, some MCP setups, and bundled scripts may behave differently, and the underlying model differs, so a skill can be excellent in Claude Code and merely good elsewhere. Every skill in our marketplace carries a cross-agent compatibility note for exactly this reason.

How to tell a skill is working

  • Ask for the task in plain language and watch whether Claude applies the skill's method.
  • In Claude Code, /skills shows what is active, and a skill that never triggers almost always has a weak or mismatched description, that line is how the agent decides to use it.
  • In the Claude app, confirm the skill is toggled on and that Capabilities are enabled.

Where to get skills worth using

Once you know how to install them, the question is which to install. Rather than a raw dump, our collection is curated and checked across agents. A few starting points:

Browse the full skills marketplace by role, or see the opinionated roundups for Claude Code, Codex, and OpenCode.

Frequently asked questions

Where do Claude Code skills go? ~/.claude/skills/ for personal skills, .claude/skills/ in a repo for shared ones.

Do I have to invoke skills manually? No. Claude detects when a skill applies and uses it automatically. You can also trigger one by name when you want it deliberately.

Why is my skill not triggering? Almost always the description is too vague or does not match how you phrased the request. Tighten it to name the situations the skill is for.

Do these steps work for Codex and OpenCode? Yes, with minor differences in where the folder goes, and with the caveat that Claude-specific features can degrade. Check each skill's compatibility note.

Want skills to actually install? Browse the curated marketplace, or learn what Claude skills are first.