How to make your first Claude skill from a doc you already have

What a skill is, in one paragraph

A skill is a folder of instructions an AI loads when a task needs them. Its SKILL.md file begins with a short header (a name and a description) and then the instructions. Claude reads only the descriptions of your skills until a request matches one, then loads that skill's full instructions. That's why one well-written description makes the difference between a skill that's used and one that sits there. The format is open, so the same file also works in other AI tools that read Agent Skills. More background: AI skills, explained.

A worked example: from a checklist to a skill

Illustration: a made-up business. Carlos runs a 6-person landscaping company. He has a Google Doc called "Quote follow-up", which his team is meant to follow two days after sending a quote: what to check, what to say, when to offer a site visit, and the sentence about the 30-day price guarantee. Half the team forgets it exists.

He turns it into this SKILL.md:

---
name: quote-follow-up
description: Writes the follow-up email two days after a landscaping quote. Use when someone asks to follow up on a quote, chase a quote, or check in with a prospect.
---

# Quote follow-up

1. Ask for: customer first name, job (e.g. "back garden patio"),
   quote amount, date sent, anything they asked during the visit.
2. Open with the job, not with "just checking in".
3. Answer any question they asked during the visit, in one line each.
4. If the quote is over 5,000, offer a second site visit.
5. Always end with: "Prices in this quote are held for 30 days."
6. Under 120 words. Friendly, no exclamation marks.

## Example
[one real follow-up that won a job, names removed]

Note what changed from the doc: the description says when to use it in the words the team types ("chase a quote"), the steps are numbered actions, and there's one real example. The rest of the doc (the history of why they do this) stays in the doc.

Make yours, step by step

1. Turn on code execution. In Claude, Settings > Capabilities. On Team and Enterprise, an owner enables skills for the organization first.
2. Pick one doc for one task you or your team do weekly. One task per skill.
3. Write the header: a name (lowercase words joined by hyphens, up to 64 characters) and a description that says what it does and when to use it (up to 200 characters in Claude).
4. Rewrite the doc as steps: what to ask for, what to do in order, the fixed sentences, one example.
5. Save and zip: a folder named like the skill, with SKILL.md inside; zip the folder itself, so the folder sits at the root of the archive.
6. Upload in Customize > Skills, turn the skill on, and try three requests worded the way your team would ask. If Claude doesn't use it, fix the description, not the steps.

Two shortcuts. On Pro, Max, Ultra and Team, Claude's Cowork on a Mac can record a skill while you do the task on screen. And you can paste your doc into a chat and ask Claude to turn it into a skill for you; Anthropic publishes a skill-creator skill for exactly this.

Common first-skill mistakes

• A vague description ("Helps with emails"). Claude can't tell when it applies.
• Five tasks in one skill. Split them; each gets its own description.
• Background instead of steps. The AI needs what to do, not the story of why.
• Secrets inside. Anyone whose AI uses a skill can ask to see it. Leave out passwords, client lists and prices you wouldn't show.

Once it works: sharing it

A skill you made helps one person until you share it. In Claude, sharing works inside one Team or Enterprise organization; colleagues on Pro, Max or ChatGPT need another route. The best ways to share AI skills with a team compares seven, and the cheapest way to share AI prompts with a small team looks at what each costs. On Pro or Max without a Team plan, see sharing Claude skills without a Team plan.

The AI skill below writes the SKILL.md for you: paste the doc or a prompt that works, and your AI returns a valid name, a description that says when to use it, the steps, a template, an example and checks.

Questions

How do I create a Claude skill?

Write a SKILL.md file that starts with a name and a description between two lines of three dashes, then your instructions. Put it in a folder, zip the folder, and upload it in Claude under Customize > Skills. Turn it on and test it with requests that should trigger it.

Do I need a paid plan to use Claude skills?

No. Anthropic lists skills on Free, Pro, Max, Ultra, Team and Enterprise, with code execution turned on in Settings > Capabilities. Recording a skill from your screen needs Pro, Max, Ultra or Team in Cowork on a Mac.

Why doesn't Claude use my skill?

Usually the description. Claude decides from it whether your request needs the skill, so it must say what the skill does and when to use it, in the words people actually type. Name the skill in your request to test it, then fix the description.

Can I share my Claude skill with my team?

Inside a Claude Team or Enterprise organization, yes. Colleagues on Pro, Max or another AI need the file, or a shared skill library their AI connects to.