How to create and use a Claude skill, step by step
- Do the task once with Claude. Walk Claude through the task one step at a time, or click the plus button and choose Record a skill to capture your screen, clicks, typing, and voice while you do it yourself.
- Say save this as a skill. When the task is done, type save this as a skill. Claude writes up the recipe and its description.
- Review and save. Claude asks if the skill looks good or needs changes. Make any edits, then click Save.
- Run it by asking. Next time, just ask for the task in plain English. Claude checks whether it has a skill for the request and uses it automatically.
- Or pick it with a slash. Type / in the message box to see your skills, hover to read what each one does, click one, then add context or attach files.
- Update it as you go. If you want something different, like a new logo or a changed step, tell Claude in the chat, then say update the skill so it follows the new instructions next time.
A skill is a recipe with the ingredients in the box
Ben calls skills the number one most important thing to learn in Claude. A skill is a little automation recipe, so you do not have to type the same prompts over and over and Claude can do the work quickly.
Think about making a pizza you love. You write down the recipe so you know exactly what to do next time. A Claude skill goes one step further. It is the recipe plus a box that already holds all the ingredients. The recipe on the outside tells Claude what to do, and the ingredients inside are ready to go, so everything Claude needs is contained in the skill.
What a real skill looks like inside Claude
Ben's example is a skill called the catch-up proposal, pun intended. Its description is the short set of instructions: create a catch-up style consulting proposal using Ben's branded Word template.
Under content there is a file called SKILL.md. MD just means Markdown, which is simple text, the same way .docx means a Word document and .pptx means a PowerPoint. SKILL.md lists every step Claude follows and every piece it needs, such as the client company name, contact name, title, the date, the phase one workflow, and which CRM the client uses.
Inside the box sits a Word template, so every proposal comes out in the same format instead of being rebuilt from scratch. It has the Heinz logo (hence the pun) and set spots for the contact name, company name, and date. Insurance agents can do the same thing for their own proposals.
Two ways to create a skill
The easiest way is to do the task once. One option is Record a skill, found under the plus button. Claude records your screen, clicks, typing, and voice while you do the process on your computer, then builds a skill from it.
The other option is to type the steps to Claude one at a time. For example: open agencyzoom.com and log in, then go to my leads, then click add a new lead. Once Claude has completed the process, type save this as a skill. Claude shows you the recipe and description and asks whether it looks good or needs changes. Click Save and you have a skill.
Skills can be shared with team members and even friends, so one person can build a skill and everyone else can use it.
Two ways to use a skill, and how to update one
Ben's favorite way is to simply ask for the task. Every time you send a message, Claude first checks whether it has a skill for the request and uses it if so. If an insurance agent has a compare policies skill and hands Claude last year's policy and the renewal, saying compare these two, Claude recognizes the documents and runs the skill.
The second way is the slash key. Type / and the full list of your skills appears. Hover over one to see what it does, click it, and then add context or attach files.
Updating is just as easy. Run the skill, notice what you want different, like another logo, new styling, or a changed step, and tell Claude. Then say update the skill so it follows the newer instructions next time. Once people see how easy this is they build dozens. Ben has around a hundred skills.