Skills: teach Claude your way

What a skill is

A skill is a folder with one markdown file inside:

• A name and a description. Claude reads the description to decide when to use it.
• Your rules in plain language. No code required.

Why skills stay light

Skills load in layers:

1. The name and description are always visible.
2. The full instructions load when your task matches.
3. Linked files like templates open only if needed.

Start with the skills every team shares

• Brand voice
• Ideal customer
• Personas and messaging

Update one file and every output downstream follows.

Build your own in three steps

1. Define one specific task. What would you tell a new hire?
2. Write the skill, or just ask Claude to "create a skill for this task."
3. Test it, fix what's off, and repeat.

Recap

Skills package your know-how, so Claude does it your way every time.

Your mission: ask Claude to create a skill for your most repeated task, then test it twice.

Next lesson: connectors, plug Claude into your tools.