What are skills?
Skills are reusable instructions that tell an AI how you want something done.
It's like asking an AI for good dinner ideas vs. asking, while sharing a recipe book by Anthony Bourdain.
When to use Skills
- To specify taste, design style, or writing voice while avoiding generic work.
- To apply world-class expertise and judgment to a task.
- To encode workflows you repeat and stop re-explaining them.
- To reduce the agent's freedom to cut corners.
- To share and adopt other people's taste, ideas, and workflows.
Some examples
- "Use /swiftui-pro to create an iOS app signup screen following Apple's best practices."
- "Use the /grill-me skill to ask me questions until I fully explain my idea."
- "Use the /ad-creative skill to generate 10 ad alternatives for my Instagram campaign."
When not to use Skills
- One-off tasks: just prompt it.
- Things the model already does well.
- Live data or system access: those are connections, not instructions.
How to use a Skill
Install them by sharing a GitHub link with your agent, or using the omgskills app.
Use them automatically, they just work. Or you can type /skill-name during a chat session with your prompt.
How to find good Skills
Most people host them on GitHub and share them on X, Twitter, and Reddit.
You can use tools like omgskills.com, skills.sh, or others to make finding, reading, installing, and sharing them easier.
How to make a Skill
Ummmm... just ask your agent. He gotcha.
Sharing skills as a team
What is the easiest way to share skills with a team?
Start with a shared GitHub repo using the Agent Skills format. Keep approved skill folders there so they are versioned, reviewable, discoverable, and easy for teammates to install.
How should shared skills be reviewed?
Use pull requests. Let someone draft the skill, have another person review it, and add simple checks for frontmatter, broken links, and secrets.
How do you keep a shared skill library useful?
Give every shared skill an owner, start with a small set of high-value skills, and remove or rewrite skills that do not improve real work.
Should teams install public skills directly?
Treat public skills like open-source packages. Review and scan them first, especially if they include scripts, before sharing them across a team.
How should teams measure shared skills?
Track which skills activate, which ones are reused, and which ones under-trigger. That feedback loop tells you what to improve or prune.
But skills are just markdown files
Yup, we agree. And even so, skill use keeps growing.
As models improve, skills simply get more general. We will always want to specify the outcomes we want from them.
Skills vs plugins vs MCP
They compose: a skill can teach the agent how to use an MCP server well.
Are skills safe?
Mostly, but not all. Skills are instructions, not code, but agents act on instructions. Like other software, it is best to use skills by trusted creators with large user bases, or ones you create yourself or with your team.
How does an agent know when to use a skill?
Each skill has a description that tells the agent when to use it. The agent scans installed skill descriptions at the start of a session, then loads the full skill only when your request matches. This is called progressive disclosure.
How many skills should I install?
Fewer than you think. Start with a small starter pack, add skills when you feel a gap, and prune what you do not use. If output gets noisy, try skills focused on reducing token usage.
Where are skills stored?
~/.claude/skills/ for Claude Code and ~/.codex/skills/ for Codex. A skill is just a folder with a SKILL.md inside.
Why isn't my skill activating?
Usually the description is too vague for the agent to match. Make it say when to use the skill, concretely. Also check that it is in the right folder and restart the session, because skills load at session start.
What's the difference between a skill and CLAUDE.md or AGENTS.md?
CLAUDE.md and AGENTS.md are standing project instructions. Skills load on demand and travel across projects. Put project rules in those files; put reusable know-how in skills.
What are the best skills?
It depends what you do. That is why omgskills curates skills by source and collections by use case. For an all-round set, start with the most-used skills.
Are skills free?
Yes. Skills are open-source markdown files on GitHub. All 49,000+ indexed here are free.
Why skills?
Find skills faster
Browse 49,000+ free skills and install the ones you want from your Mac menu bar.