How do I properly activate a Claude Code skill?

Skills activate automatically when your request matches the skill description. If one is not firing: name it explicitly ("use the seo-page-audit skill"), start a fresh session so the registry reloads, and check the description is specific. Vague descriptions are the cause of at least 80% of activation problems.

Where do Claude Code skills live on disk?

Project skills: .claude/skills/ /SKILL.md relative to the repo root. Personal skills: ~/.claude/skills/ /SKILL.md. Plugins can also bundle skills, which install through the plugin marketplace commands.

How do I install Claude skills from GitHub?

Clone or download the repo, then copy the skill folder (the one containing SKILL.md) into .claude/skills or ~/.claude/skills. Read the SKILL.md and any scripts before installing, exactly like you would audit any dependency.

Why is my Claude Code skill not activating?

In order of likelihood: the description is too vague to match your phrasing, the folder is in the wrong place (SKILL.md must be directly inside the skill folder), the session started before you installed it, or two skills have overlapping descriptions and the other one wins. Naming the skill explicitly bypasses matching entirely.

What is the difference between skills and plugins in Claude Code?

A skill is a single procedure (folder + SKILL.md). A plugin is a distribution package that can bundle skills, commands, agents, and MCP servers together, installed via plugin marketplaces. If you just want one procedure, a skill folder is simpler.

Do skills work with CLAUDE.md?

Yes, they complement it. CLAUDE.md is always-on project context (stack, conventions, commands). Skills are task-scoped procedures that load on demand. Keep CLAUDE.md lean and move repeatable procedures into skills.

Can I share skills with my team?

Commit .claude/skills to your repo. Everyone running Claude Code in that repo gets the same skills, versioned with the code. This is the single easiest way to standardize how your team uses AI.

How many skills can I install in Claude Code?

There is no meaningful practical limit for normal use. Claude holds only names and descriptions until a skill activates, so dozens of installed skills cost almost nothing. Overlapping descriptions, not volume, is what causes trouble.

Do Claude Code skills work in the Claude app too?

The format is identical. A skill you build for Claude Code can be uploaded to the Claude web or desktop app (settings, capabilities, skills) and vice versa. Write once, run in both.

Are there skills for non-coding work in Claude Code?

Yes, and they are underrated. Claude Code is a general agent in a terminal: it can run research, write documents, and produce audits. Our 31 marketplace skills (positioning, SEO, GEO, GTM, copy, UX) all run in Claude Code as well as the Claude apps.

How do I update or remove a skill?

Edit or delete the folder. Skills are plain files, so version them like code: change the SKILL.md, commit, and the whole team gets the update on their next session.

Claude Skills / Claude Code

Claude Code skills: install, activate, and actually get value

Everything about skills in Claude Code in one place: where skill folders live, how activation really works, why your skill is not firing, and how to share skills with your team through git.

// Last updated July 3, 2026. Written by the two founders of HuntingHydra.

Installing skills in Claude Code

Skills are folders. Claude Code looks for them in two places:

# Project skills — shared with your team via git
your-repo/
└── .claude/
    └── skills/
        └── seo-page-audit/
            └── SKILL.md

# Personal skills — available in every project
~/.claude/
└── skills/
    └── sales-call-debrief/
        └── SKILL.md

That is the entire install: put the folder in place and start a session. Project skills win when you want the whole team on the same procedures, because they version with the codebase. Personal skills are for your own workflow.

Installing from GitHub

Community skills ship as repos. Copy the folder that contains SKILL.md into one of the two locations above. Read the file first, and read any scripts twice: a skill is a dependency, and you audit dependencies.

Plugins, for completeness

Plugins bundle skills with commands, agents, and MCP servers, installed through plugin marketplaces. If you just want one procedure, skip the machinery: a plain skill folder does the job.

How activation actually works

Claude Code keeps the name and description of every registered skill available. When your request matches a description, the skill loads and its instructions take over the task. You do not run skills, you trigger them.

You can force the issue by naming the skill:

> use the seo-page-audit skill on https://example.com/pricing

If you take one thing from this page: activation quality equals description quality. The description must name the task, the inputs, and the phrases a person would actually type.

Skill not activating? Run this checklist

1. Name it explicitly. If "use the X skill" works but natural phrasing does not, the description needs trigger phrases.
2. Check the path. SKILL.md must sit directly inside the skill folder: .claude/skills/my-skill/SKILL.md. One level off and it is invisible.
3. Fresh session. Skills register at session start. Installed mid-session means restart.
4. Check the frontmatter. Broken YAML (a stray colon, bad indentation) silently disqualifies the skill.
5. Look for overlap. Two skills with similar descriptions compete. Sharpen both descriptions until each owns its territory.

Fixing the description solves most of it. The pattern that works: one sentence on what the skill does, one on the inputs it expects, one starting with "Use when" listing trigger phrases.

What to install first

Anthropic's document skills and skill-creator are the free baseline. Then install for your actual job. Developers: a frontend design skill and a code review checklist skill. Founders and marketers: this is where our library lives, 31 skills for positioning, SEO, GEO, GTM, copy, and UX, all of which run in Claude Code. Our picks with reasoning: best Claude skills.

Want to encode your own process instead: how to build a Claude skill. New to the concept entirely: what are Claude skills.

Questions, answered

Save the skill folder into .claude/skills inside your project (shared with your team via git) or into ~/.claude/skills in your home directory (personal, all projects). Claude Code registers it automatically on the next session. No command or config needed for folder-based installs.

Your terminal can run our whole playbook.

31 Claude skills for growth work, all Claude Code compatible. Drop them in .claude/skills and go. $29/month.

Browse the Claude Skills Marketplace See all 31 skills

Keep reading

Claude Skills Hub/claude-skills What Are Claude Skills/claude-skills/what-are-claude-skills Best Claude Skills/claude-skills/best-claude-skills Build a Skill/claude-skills/how-to-build-a-claude-skill