The Product System

Guide

The Skill Builder

Building a skill has never been easier. You don't have to be a developer. You don't need to write a line of code. You click a few things, then you talk.

Switch it on

Claude Code in the Claude app

A skill teaches Claude how you like a job done, once, so you stop explaining it every time. The thing that writes skills is already inside Claude. You switch it on, you talk to it, and it builds the skill for you. Ten minutes, start to finish, and you only do the setup once.

  1. 1.

    Open Settings.

  2. 2.

    Find Customize in the left-hand menu.

  3. 3.

    Click Skills, underneath it.

  4. 4.

    Click Browse, at the top right.

  5. 5.

    Type skill-creator in the search box.

  6. 6.

    Click the + on its card.

  7. 7.

    Click Capabilities, back in the left-hand menu.

  8. 8.

    Scroll down to “Code execution and file creation”.

  9. 9.

    Switch on “Cloud code execution and file creation”.

  10. 10.

    Close Settings. Setup is done.

How it works

  1. Part 1. Switch it on
  2. Part 2. Open Claude Code
  3. Part 3. Now talk to it
  4. Part 4. Check it's any good

First, what you're actually making

A skill is a note Claude reads when it needs it. That's all it is.

Think about the jobs you explain to Claude again and again. How your product update should read. How you want interview notes turned into themes. What has to be checked before a spec goes out. You explain it, it does a decent job, and next week you explain it again.

A skill is you explaining it once.

You're not going to write it. You describe the job, and Claude writes it.

Part 1. Switch it on

You only ever do this once. Ten clicks, and each line below is one click.

  1. 1.Open Settings.
  2. 2.Find Customize in the left-hand menu.
  3. 3.Click Skills, underneath it.
  4. 4.Click Browse, at the top right.
  5. 5.Type skill-creator in the search box.
  6. 6.Click the + on its card.
  7. 7.Click Capabilities, back in the left-hand menu.
  8. 8.Scroll down to “Code execution and file creation”.
  9. 9.Switch on “Cloud code execution and file creation”.
  10. 10.Close Settings.
skill-creator
Browse
/skill-creator+

Anthropic · 147.3K

Create new skills, modify and improve existing skills, and measure skill…

Browse, then search, then the +. It turns into a cog once added.

Where those two menu items live

Skills and Capabilities are in different parts of the same Settings menu, which is the bit everyone trips on.

Settings

  • General
  • Account
  • Privacy
  • Billing
  • Usage
  • Capabilities

Customize

  • Skills
  • Connectors
  • Plugins
The two places in Settings you need. Skills sits under Customize.

Part 2. Open Claude Code

Six more. Same thing, one click each.

  1. 1.Open the Claude app.
  2. 2.Switch to Claude Code, using the toggle at the top left.
  3. 3.Click New.
  4. 4.Look at the bottom right of the message box. It should say Opus 5.
  5. 5.Next to it, it should say High.
  6. 6.Look at the bottom left. It should say Auto.

Describe a task or ask a question

Auto
Opus 5High
The bottom of the message box. Three things to check.

If it doesn't say those things

Only if yours looks different. Otherwise skip this bit.

  1. 1.Click where it says the model name.
  2. 2.Choose Opus 5.
  3. 3.Click Effort in the same menu.
  4. 4.Choose High.
  5. 5.Click where it says the mode.
  6. 6.Choose Auto.

What those settings actually are

Opus 5 is the model. It's the most capable one. Sonnet and Haiku are faster and will give you a blander skill, so stay on Opus.

High is the effort. It's how long Claude thinks before it answers. High is the default and it's right for this. There's a Max above it, for a job with a lot of fiddly rules to hold in mind at once. Max is slower and uses up your allowance faster, so start on High and only reach for Max if what comes back feels thin.

One rule. Set them before you start, then don't touch them. Changing the model half way through makes Claude lose the thread of everything you've said, and you'll be repeating yourself.

The mode button, in one line each

Click where it says Auto and you get three choices.

  1. 1.Auto. Claude decides what it's allowed to do. This is the one you want, and it's already picked.
  2. 2.Accept edits. It changes files without asking you first. Not for now.
  3. 3.Plan. It writes out what it's going to do and shows you first. Useful when you point Claude at your real work files. You don't need it here, because the skill builder asks you questions before it writes anything.

Mode

  • AutoClaude handles permission decisions1
  • Accept editsAutomatically accept all file edits2
  • PlanCreate a plan before making changes3
What opens when you click Auto.

If you're not sure, just ask it

You don't have to remember any of this. Claude knows its own settings. Paste this in and it'll tell you.

Which model and effort should I use for what I'm about to do,
and should I be in Auto or Plan mode? Explain it like I'm not
technical, and tell me exactly what to click.

Part 3. Now talk to it

Here's where people go wrong. They try to write a specification. Don't. Ramble.

You're not describing how the skill should work. You're describing the job the way you actually do it, and letting Claude work out the rest. It will ask you questions. Your answers are where the quality comes from.

Put all four of these in one long messy message. Bad grammar is fine.

  1. 1.Say what you do now, step by step, including the daft bits.
  2. 2.Say what annoys you about doing it.
  3. 3.Say what a good one looks like. Paste a real one if you've got it.
  4. 4.Say what a bad one looks like. This teaches it more than the good one does.

Here's a real one

Deliberately scruffy. Yours can be worse than this.

Every couple of weeks I write up user interviews for the team. I've
got messy notes, sometimes a transcript, sometimes just what I
scribbled down.

I end up with a doc that has the main themes and two or three quotes
under each. Takes me most of a morning. I always end up quoting
whoever was loudest rather than the thing most people actually said.

A good one leads with what surprised us and is honest about where we
disagreed. A bad one is a list of complaints with no shape, and the
team skims it.

I'll paste one I was happy with and one I wasn't. Ask me whatever you
need.

Part 4. Check it's any good

Don't judge it by reading it. Put it to work on something you've already done.

  1. 1.Give it a job you've already done by hand.
  2. 2.Compare what it produced against what you produced.
  3. 3.Ask yourself one question. Would I send this without changing anything?
  4. 4.If no, say what you'd have changed, in your own words.
  5. 5.Ask it to update the skill. The skill, not the answer it just gave you.
  6. 6.Do that twice more.

Where this came from

The skill builder is Anthropic's own. It's in Claude's directory, it's free, and there's nothing here to download.

The guide is mine, because every version I could find was written for developers.

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Questions people ask

What is a Claude skill?
A Claude skill is a note Claude reads when it needs it. It teaches Claude how you want one particular job done, so you explain it once instead of every time. Skills work in Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Claude Cowork and Claude on the web.
How do I add the skill builder to Claude?
Open Settings. Find Customize in the left-hand menu and click Skills. Click Browse, type skill-creator in the search box, and click the plus on its card. Then click Capabilities and switch on Cloud code execution, because skills cannot run without it.
Do I need to be a developer to build a Claude skill?
No, and you do not need to write any code. You describe the job in your own words and Claude writes the skill, tests it and adds it for you. There is nothing to download and nothing to unzip.
Which model and effort should I use to build a Claude skill?
Opus 5 on High effort, which is what Claude Code already gives you, so usually you change nothing. Use Max effort only if the job has a lot of fiddly rules, or if the first attempt comes back thin, because Max is slower and uses your allowance faster. Set them before you start and do not change part way through.
When should I use Plan mode in Claude Code?
Plan mode makes Claude write out what it intends to do and show you before it changes anything. Use it when you point Claude at real work files and want to see the intent first. You do not need it to build a skill, because the skill builder already asks you questions before it writes.
What should I say to the skill builder?
Ramble rather than specify. Say what you do now, what annoys you about it, what a good result looks like and what a bad one looks like, and paste real examples of both. It asks questions from there, and your answers are where most of the quality comes from.
What would a product manager use a Claude skill for?
Anything you explain to Claude more than once. Turning user interview notes into themes and quotes. Writing the weekly product update the way your exec team likes it. Checking a spec against your launch checklist before you send it.
Is the skill builder free?
Yes. It is Anthropic's own skill-creator, published free in Claude's built-in directory. You need a Claude account to use it. There is nothing to buy and nothing to download.