How to Add Skills to Claude Code (Every Method, 2026)

Adding a skill to Claude Code means putting a SKILL.md file in the right folder. That's it. No package manager, no build step, no configuration file. Here are the four ways to do it.

Method 1: Download from Agensi

The fastest way to add a skill is downloading one from a marketplace.

1. Go to Agensi and find a skill
2. Download the zip file
3. Unzip it into your skills folder:

mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills/
unzip code-reviewer.zip -d ~/.claude/skills/

4. Start a new Claude Code session. The skill is now active.

Every skill on Agensi is security-scanned before listing. You get a zip containing a SKILL.md file and any supporting files the skill needs.

Method 2: Clone from GitHub

Many open-source skills live in GitHub repositories.

cd ~/.claude/skills/
git clone https://github.com/username/skill-name.git

After cloning, verify the SKILL.md file is at the right depth:

ls ~/.claude/skills/skill-name/SKILL.md

If the repo has the SKILL.md nested inside a subfolder, move it up or adjust your clone:

# If SKILL.md is at repo-name/src/SKILL.md, restructure:
mv ~/.claude/skills/repo-name/src/SKILL.md ~/.claude/skills/repo-name/

The risk with GitHub skills is that they're unvetted. Check the SKILL.md content before adding it. Look for anything that asks Claude to run shell commands you don't recognize, access credentials, or make network requests.

Method 3: Create your own

You don't need to download anything. You can write a SKILL.md from scratch.

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

Create the SKILL.md file with your editor:

---
name: my-custom-skill
description: Enforces our team's React component conventions
---

# React Component Standards

When generating React components:

- Use functional components with TypeScript
- Put styles in a co-located `.module.css` file
- Export components as named exports, not default
- Include a basic unit test file alongside every component
- Use our custom `useApi` hook for data fetching, never raw fetch

That's a complete skill. The frontmatter (name and description) tells Claude what the skill is for. The body contains the instructions Claude follows when the skill is triggered.

For more on writing effective skills, see How to Write a SKILL.md Description That Actually Triggers.

Method 4: Add project-level skills for your team

Instead of putting skills in your personal ~/.claude/skills/ directory, you can add them to a specific project:

mkdir -p .claude/skills/
cp -r ~/some-skill/ .claude/skills/

Commit this to your repo:

git add .claude/skills/
git commit -m "Add code review skill for team"

Now everyone who clones the project gets the skill automatically. This is how teams standardize AI-assisted workflows. Your frontend team can share a component generation skill. Your backend team can share an API design skill. No individual setup required.

Personal vs project skills

You can have both. Claude Code loads personal skills first, then project skills. If two skills cover the same task, both are available.

Verifying a skill was added

After adding a skill, start a new Claude Code session and ask:

"What skills do you have access to?"

Claude will list the skills it found. If your new skill doesn't appear:

• Check the path: ls ~/.claude/skills/skill-name/SKILL.md
• Make sure the file is named exactly SKILL.md (case-sensitive)
• Make sure the frontmatter starts with --- on the first line
• Restart the Claude Code session (skills load at startup)

Adding skills on different platforms

The process is the same everywhere, only the path differs:

Skills built on the SKILL.md standard work across all of these agents without modification.

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Find ready-to-use skills for Claude Code, OpenClaw, Codex CLI, and more on Agensi.