How to Add Skills to Claude Code: 3 Methods (2026 Guide)

Claude Code supports reusable skills — packaged instructions, tool definitions, and workflows that extend what the agent can do out of the box. There are three ways to add them: Claude Code's built-in plugin browser, manual file installation, or a third-party registry. This guide walks through all three methods with step-by-step instructions.

What Are Claude Code Skills?

A skill is a reusable package of instructions that Claude Code loads into its context when relevant. Each skill is a SKILL.md file — YAML frontmatter for metadata, followed by markdown instructions that tell Claude how to behave.

Skills can do different things depending on what you need:

• Coding standards — enforce naming conventions, file structure, or review checklists across a team
• Workflow automation — define multi-step processes like "run tests, lint, then commit with a conventional message"
• Domain expertise — give Claude specialized knowledge about your stack, your API, or a specific framework
• Custom commands — create slash commands like /deploy or /review-pr that trigger specific behavior

Skills live in one of two places: ~/.claude/skills/ for personal skills that apply everywhere, or .claude/skills/ inside a project for repo-scoped skills that travel with the codebase. Claude Code detects them automatically — no restart required. Once you understand how to use Claude Code skills, they become one of the fastest ways to standardize workflows across a team.

Method 1: Claude Code's Built-In Plugin Browser

Claude Code has a built-in plugin system for discovering and installing skills without leaving your terminal. Plugins are packages that bundle skills alongside other extensions like hooks and MCP server configurations.

Step 1: Open the plugin browser

In any Claude Code session, type:

/plugin

This opens an interactive browser with four tabs:

• Discover — browse available plugins from connected marketplaces
• Installed — view and manage plugins you've already added
• Marketplaces — add, remove, or update marketplace catalogs
• Errors — debug plugin loading issues

Step 2: Browse and install

Navigate to the Discover tab, find a plugin, and press Enter to install it. You'll be asked to choose a scope:

Step 3: Add more marketplaces (optional)

The official marketplace is available by default. To add community or third-party marketplaces:

/plugin marketplace add owner/repo

This accepts GitHub repositories, Git URLs, local paths, or remote URLs. Once added, plugins from that marketplace appear in the Discover tab.

Pros: Zero setup, integrated into Claude Code, curated official marketplace available out of the box.

Cons: Limited to what's published to connected marketplaces. No cross-agent compatibility — plugins only work with Claude Code.

Method 2: Installing Skills from the Filesystem

You don't need a marketplace to install Claude Code skills. Claude Code watches the ~/.claude/skills/ and .claude/skills/ directories and loads any valid SKILL.md files it finds.

Step 1: Create the skill directory

mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills/my-skill

Use ~/.claude/skills/ for personal skills or .claude/skills/ in a project root for team skills that get committed to version control.

Step 2: Write the SKILL.md file

Create ~/.claude/skills/my-skill/SKILL.md with two parts — YAML frontmatter and markdown instructions:

---
name: my-skill
description: Enforces our team's TypeScript conventions and review checklist.
user-invocable: true
---

When writing or reviewing TypeScript code, follow these rules:

1. Use explicit return types on all exported functions
2. Prefer `interface` over `type` for object shapes
3. No `any` — use `unknown` and narrow with type guards
4. All async functions must have error handling

Step 3: Verify it loaded

Start a new Claude Code session (or continue an existing one) and type / followed by your skill name. If the skill appears in the autocomplete list, it's loaded. Claude will also invoke it automatically when its description matches the current conversation context.

Frontmatter reference

The YAML frontmatter supports these fields:

Pros: Full control over skill content, works with private and proprietary instructions, skills committed to .claude/skills/ travel with the repo.

Cons: Manual setup for each skill. No discovery or search — you need to know what you want before creating it.

Method 3: Using the PolySkill Registry

PolySkill is a third-party, open-source registry for AI agent skills. It works with Claude Code but isn't limited to it — published skills use an open format that adapters translate for different agents.

Step 1: Install the CLI

npm install -g @polyskill/cli

Step 2: Search for skills

polyskill search "typescript conventions"

Or browse the web UI at polyskill.ai/browse for category-based discovery with full-text search.

Step 3: Install a skill

polyskill install @author/skill-name

This downloads the skill and places it in ~/.claude/skills/ where Claude Code picks it up automatically.

What makes this different

• Includes Claude Code's official skills — all of the skills available through Claude Code's built-in plugin marketplace are also published on this registry, so you get everything from Method 1 plus community contributions.
• Cross-agent compatibility — skills from this registry aren't locked to Claude Code. They work with other AI agents that support the open skill format.
• Security scanning — every published skill goes through static content analysis that checks for credential exfiltration, destructive commands, and pipe-to-shell patterns before it's listed.
• Searchable registry — full-text search across skill names, descriptions, keywords, and categories.

Pros: Searchable registry with security scanning, cross-agent skills, web-based browsing.

Cons: Requires a separate CLI install. Smaller catalog than Claude Code's native ecosystem.

Which Method Should You Use?

Now that you know how to add skills to Claude Code, which method should you actually pick? The three methods aren't mutually exclusive — you can use all of them. Here's a decision guide based on what you're trying to do:

Most developers start with the built-in browser for quick wins, then create filesystem skills as their team's conventions solidify. If you're working across multiple AI coding agents or want to share skills with a broader audience, a third-party registry adds cross-agent distribution and security scanning on top.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Skill doesn't appear in slash commands

Check the file path — the structure must be ~/.claude/skills/<folder>/SKILL.md, not just a loose SKILL.md in the skills directory. The file name must be exactly SKILL.md (uppercase). Also verify the YAML frontmatter has user-invocable: true if you want it in the / menu.

Claude ignores the skill instructions

Check the description field in your frontmatter. Claude uses this to decide when a skill is relevant. A vague description like "useful tool" won't trigger auto-invocation — be specific about when the skill should activate. You can always invoke it manually with /skill-name to confirm it works.

YAML frontmatter parse errors

The frontmatter must start and end with exactly --- on its own line. Common mistakes: indentation with tabs instead of spaces, missing quotes around strings that contain colons, or forgetting the closing ---.

Third-party CLI install fails

Requires Node.js 18 or later. If you see EACCES permission errors on macOS or Linux, either use a Node version manager like nvm (recommended) or fix npm's global directory permissions instead of using sudo.

Two skills with the same name

If a personal skill (~/.claude/skills/) and a project skill (.claude/skills/) share the same name, the project-scoped skill takes precedence. Rename one of them to avoid confusion.

Related: Claude Code Router: Complete Guide (2026) | Codex vs Claude Code: Full Comparison (2026) | Claude Code vs Cursor: Full Comparison (2026)

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