Free tool
Turn a Gemini Gem into a skill
If you're 18 or over and use a personal Google account, your Gemini Gems turn read-only on 17 November 2026 and are removed on 17 December. Paste a Gem's name, description, instructions and the names of its knowledge files below, and you get a SKILL.md your team can share: one skill that runs in Gemini, Claude, ChatGPT and coding agents. It's free, and the conversion happens in your browser; nothing is sent unless you click Keep it and share it with your team.
Your Gem in, a skill out
At gemini.google.com, click Open sidebar, then Gems (if you don't see it, click More first), then Edit next to the Gem. Copy each field from there.
Gemini and Claude pick a skill by its description, so say when it should run.
The files listed under Knowledge in the Gem. The skill names them; you add the files to its folder yourself.
JavaScript is off, so here is the same job by hand:
- Make a folder named after your Gem in lowercase with hyphens, such as
reply-to-tenants. - In it, make a file named
SKILL.mdthat starts with three hyphens,name: reply-to-tenants,description: "What the Gem does. Use when …", and three hyphens again. - Under that, paste the Gem's instructions.
- Download the Gem's knowledge files, put them in the same folder, and name them in the instructions.
Next: share it with your team on AI Skill Pod
On personal accounts (18 and over), a shared Gem turns read-only on 17 November like every other Gem, and skills in Gemini can't be shared yet. AI Skill Pod gives your skill one pod and one invite link: teammates and clients connect Claude, ChatGPT (Pro, Business or Enterprise), Claude Code, Codex, Cursor or OpenCode through one MCP link, and personal emails are welcome. Teammates who stay in Gemini upload the skill's SKILL.md there.
Where to find each part of a Gem
From Google's Gemini Apps Help, read 6 November 2026. On a computer, at gemini.google.com:
- Name, description and instructions: click Open sidebar, then Gems (click More first if you don't see it). Next to the Gem, click Edit, and copy each field into the converter.
- Knowledge files: on the same page, under Knowledge, click each file, then Download. Google has you download them one at a time.
- Everything at once: Google Takeout exports your Gems. At takeout.google.com, click Deselect all, check Gemini, click Next step, then Create export. Google emails you a link when the archive is ready, which can take hours or days, and its help doesn't say what the Gems part holds, so don't wait on it to copy your Gems.
- After 17 November: Google says you can still access a read-only Gem, but not use or edit it, and you can download its files until 17 December. The skill Google made from it downloads too: Customize, Skills, then More and Download next to the skill.
What to do with the knowledge files
A Gem's knowledge travels in the skill's folder, not in SKILL.md. Google's own move, and the converter, leave the files to you:
- Download every file from the Gem, as above. Files from Google Drive or a NotebookLM notebook aren't files on your device: save a copy as a file you can put in a folder, because Google leaves Drive files and notebooks out of a skill's download.
- Re-save what won't move. Google says .doc, .xls and .ppt files don't carry over, so save them again as .docx, .xlsx or .pptx. Audio, video, archives (.zip, .rar and the like) and GitHub files don't move either.
- Put them next to SKILL.md in a folder with the skill's name, such as
reply-to-tenants/. The converter lists them in the skill under Reference files, so the AI knows to read them. - Upload the folder. In Gemini: Customize, Skills, Create, then Upload, and pick the folder; a skill holds up to 100 MB of files. In Claude, zip the folder, then under Customize, Skills, click +, Create skill and Upload a skill.
AI Skill Pod keeps only a skill's SKILL.md, not the files beside it. Before you keep the skill in your pod, paste what the AI needs from the files into the instructions, or put the files in a shared Drive folder and link it from the instructions.
What the converter changes
| Gem part | In the skill |
|---|---|
| Name | The skill's name, in lowercase with hyphens. A name in Japanese or another script has no letters to keep, so type one |
| Description | The start of the skill's description, then "Use when…" from the field of that name. Gemini reads only the name and description to decide whether to use a skill |
| Instructions | The body of SKILL.md, under the Gem's name as its title. Lines labelled Persona, Task, Context or Format, the four parts Google suggests for a Gem, become the sections Role, Task, Context and Output format; "this Gem" becomes "this skill"; your own headings move one level down |
| Knowledge files | A Reference files list: the AI reads the file that fits when it's in the folder, and asks for it when it isn't (as in the pod, which keeps only SKILL.md). Each file goes into the folder by hand |
| Sharing | Not carried over. Google says sharing skills in Gemini arrives "in the coming weeks"; until then, a skill there is yours alone |
What the keep button does
- It sends only the SKILL.md text to AI Skill Pod. The knowledge files stay on your device.
- The text waits 24 hours while you sign up with your email. It isn't in a pod yet.
- You check it and save it. You see the name, description and first lines, and it goes into your pod when you click Save to my pod. A new pod is free for 14 days, with no card.
- You connect your AI and invite your team. Connect Claude, ChatGPT (Pro, Business or Enterprise) or Cursor with one link, try the skill once, and send your team the invite link. Personal emails work too.
The Free plan holds up to 10 skills for up to 3 members.
The whole move, step by step
For the dates by account type, Google's steps to recreate a Gem in Gemini, and the files that won't carry over, read Gemini Gems go read-only on 17 November. To keep one copy for a team across Gemini and other AI tools, read how to share Gemini Gems with your team.
Questions
Can I export a Gemini Gem?
Google Takeout includes Gems: at takeout.google.com click Deselect all, check Gemini, click Next step, then Create export. Google's help doesn't say what the Gems part of the archive holds, so copy the name, description and instructions from the Gem's edit page as well, and download each knowledge file there.
Doesn't Google turn my Gems into skills anyway?
On a personal account, if you're 18 or over, yes, on 17 November 2026; under 18, later. Converting one yourself first lets you check it while the Gem still works, give it a description that says when to use it, and keep a SKILL.md outside Gemini that your team can use in other AI tools too.
Will the skill work in Claude?
Yes. SKILL.md is the Agent Skills format that Claude, Claude Code, Codex and Cursor read. To upload it in claude.ai, keep the description under 200 characters; the converter tells you when it is longer.
Is my Gem sent anywhere?
No. The conversion runs in this tab. Only the Keep it and share it with your team button sends something: the SKILL.md text, to AI Skill Pod, when you click it.
What about Gems on a work or school account?
They move later: Google Workspace business, enterprise and non-profit accounts in March 2027, education accounts in June 2027. You can convert a work Gem here today, but skills aren't on work and school accounts in Gemini yet.
Sources
- Gemini Apps Help: About the transition from Gems to skills — personal accounts 18 and over: Gems become skills and turn read-only on 17 November 2026, and are removed on 17 December 2026; Workspace business, enterprise and non-profit in March 2027, education in June 2027; the three steps to recreate a Gem (Open sidebar, Gems, Edit, Knowledge, Download; Customize, Skills, Create, Create manually; More options, Replace skill); 100 MB of files; the file types that don't move; SKILL.md import from other platforms (read 2026-11-06)
- Gemini Apps Help: Use Gems in Gemini Apps — a Gem's Knowledge takes files from your device, from Google Drive and NotebookLM notebooks (read 2026-11-06)
- Gemini Apps Help: Tips for creating custom Gems — instructions in four parts: Persona, Task, Context and Format (read 2026-11-06)
- Gemini Apps Help: Download your Gemini Apps data — Google Takeout: Deselect all, check Gemini to include Gems, Next step, Create export; the page doesn't say what the Gems part holds (read 2026-11-06)
- Gemini Apps Help: Create & manage skills for Gemini Apps — 18 or over, signed in, Keep Activity on; upload a SKILL.md, a folder or a .zip; Download gives a .zip without Drive files and notebooks; 100 MB in all (read 2026-11-06)
- Gemini Apps Help: Write effective skills for Gemini Apps — Gemini checks only the name and description; a third-person statement, then "Use when…", within 1,024 characters (read 2026-11-06)
- Claude Help Center: How to create custom skills — description up to 200 characters; the folder named like the skill; the ZIP holds the folder (read 2026-11-06)
- Claude Help Center: Using skills in Claude — Customize > Skills, +, Create skill, Upload a skill, with a ZIP of the skill's folder (read 2026-11-06)
- Agent Skills specification — name up to 64 lowercase letters, numbers and hyphens, matching the folder; description up to 1,024 characters; SKILL.md under 500 lines (read 2026-11-06)