Extend Claude with skills changedskills
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Upstream edited this page at 25 Sep 2026 22:47 UTC, give or take a minute or two: the time comes from Anthropic’s own sitemap rather than from a commit. This site recorded the change at 25 Sep 2026 23:07 UTC.
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6464 </Step>
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6666 <Step title="Write SKILL.md">
67 Every skill needs a `SKILL.md` file with two parts: YAML frontmatter between `---` markers that tells Claude when to use the skill, and markdown content with the instructions Claude follows when the skill runs. The directory name becomes the command you type, and the `description` helps Claude decide when to load the skill automatically.
67 Every skill needs a `SKILL.md` file with two parts: YAML frontmatter between `---` markers that tells Claude when to use the skill, and markdown content with the instructions Claude follows when the skill runs. The directory name, or the frontmatter `name` when you set one, becomes the command you type, and the `description` helps Claude decide when to load the skill automatically.
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6969 Save this to `~/.claude/skills/summarize-changes/SKILL.md`:
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139139Skills in a `.claude/skills/` directory below where you started don't load at startup. They load the first time Claude reads or edits a file in that subdirectory and stay available for the rest of the session. Until then they don't appear in the `/` menu and you can't invoke them by name. To load them sooner, run `/add-dir` with the subdirectory's path, which requires Claude Code v2.1.257 or later.
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141When a nested skill shares a name with another skill, both stay available. With a `deploy` skill at the repository root and another in `apps/web/.claude/skills/`:
141When a nested skill's directory name matches another skill's name, both stay available. With a `deploy` skill at the repository root and another in `apps/web/.claude/skills/`:
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143143* `/deploy` runs the root skill. Claude Code also lists the directory-qualified variants for Claude, with an instruction to invoke the one whose directory holds the files it's working on, so the nested skill still applies to work in `apps/web/`.
144144* `/apps/web:deploy` runs the nested skill on its own. Its description names the directory it applies to.
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156156### Resolve skills that share a name
157157
158When two skills share a name, where each one came from decides which one `/name` runs. The table covers the enterprise, personal, project, nested, plugin, and claude.ai locations, bundled skills, and command files:
158When two skills share a directory or file name, where each one came from decides which one `/name` runs. For a name set by the frontmatter `name` field, see [How a skill gets its command name](#how-a-skill-gets-its-command-name). The table covers the enterprise, personal, project, nested, plugin, and claude.ai locations, bundled skills, and command files:
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160160| Same name in | Which one runs |
161161| :------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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342342| Field | Required | Description |
343343| :------------------------- | :---------- | :--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
344| `name` | No | Display name shown in skill listings. Defaults to the directory name. See [How a skill gets its command name](#how-a-skill-gets-its-command-name) for how the field interacts with the name you type to invoke the skill. |
344| `name` | No | Command name shown in the `/` menu. Defaults to the directory name. See [How a skill gets its command name](#how-a-skill-gets-its-command-name) for how the field interacts with the name you type to invoke the skill. |
345345| `description` | Recommended | What the skill does and when to use it. Claude uses this to decide when to apply the skill. If omitted, uses the first non-empty line of the markdown content. Put the key use case first: the combined `description` and `when_to_use` text is truncated at 1,536 characters in the skill listing to reduce context usage. |
346346| `when_to_use` | No | Additional context for when Claude should invoke the skill, such as trigger phrases or example requests. Appended to `description` in the skill listing and counts toward the 1,536-character cap. |
347347| `argument-hint` | No | Hint shown during autocomplete to indicate expected arguments. Example: `[issue-number]` or `[filename] [format]`. |
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384384#### How a skill gets its command name
385385
386The command you type to invoke a skill comes from where the skill file lives and, for plugin skills, also from the frontmatter `name` field. In a personal or project skill, `name` sets only the display label shown in skill listings, and the command still comes from the directory name. In a plugin skill, `name` sets the last segment of the command and the plugin prefix stays in place.
386The command you type to invoke a skill comes from where the skill file lives and, for skill directories and plugin skills, from the frontmatter `name` field. In a personal or project skill directory, `name` sets the command that the `/` menu shows and that you type, unless another command already uses that name. The directory name also invokes the skill. In a plugin skill, `name` sets the last segment of the command and the plugin prefix stays in place.
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388388The table below shows where the command name comes from for each layout:
389389
390| Skill location | Command name source | Example |
391| :------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | :------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | :------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
392| Skill directory under `~/.claude/skills/` or `.claude/skills/` | Directory name | `.claude/skills/deploy-staging/SKILL.md` → `/deploy-staging` |
393| [Nested](#where-skills-live) `.claude/skills/` directory, when the name clashes with another skill | Subdirectory path relative to the working directory, then the skill directory name | `apps/web/.claude/skills/deploy/SKILL.md` → `/apps/web:deploy` |
394| File under `.claude/commands/` | File name without extension | `.claude/commands/deploy.md` → `/deploy` |
395| File in a subdirectory of `.claude/commands/` | Subdirectory path relative to `commands/` with each `/` replaced by `:`, then the file name without extension | `.claude/commands/frontend/component.md` → `/frontend:component` |
396| Plugin `skills/` subdirectory | Frontmatter `name` or the directory name, namespaced by plugin | `my-plugin/skills/review/SKILL.md` → `/my-plugin:review`, or `/my-plugin:fancy` with `name: fancy` |
397| Plugin root `SKILL.md` | Frontmatter `name`, with the plugin directory name as a fallback | `my-plugin/SKILL.md` with `name: review` → `/my-plugin:review`. See [a single skill at the plugin root](/docs/en/plugins/components#skills) |
398| Skill [synced from claude.ai](#how-synced-skills-behave) | The skill's name on your claude.ai account, prefixed with `anthropic-skills:` | Account skill `deploy` → `/anthropic-skills:deploy`, or `/deploy` while no other command uses that name |
390| Skill location | Command name source | Example |
391| :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | :------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | :------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
392| Skill directory under `~/.claude/skills/` or `.claude/skills/` | Frontmatter `name` or the directory name | `.claude/skills/deploy-staging/SKILL.md` → `/deploy-staging`, or `/deploy` with `name: deploy` |
393| [Nested](#where-skills-live) `.claude/skills/` directory, when the directory name clashes with another skill | Subdirectory path relative to the working directory, then the skill directory name | `apps/web/.claude/skills/deploy/SKILL.md` → `/apps/web:deploy` |
394| File under `.claude/commands/` | File name without extension | `.claude/commands/deploy.md` → `/deploy` |
395| File in a subdirectory of `.claude/commands/` | Subdirectory path relative to `commands/` with each `/` replaced by `:`, then the file name without extension | `.claude/commands/frontend/component.md` → `/frontend:component` |
396| Plugin `skills/` subdirectory | Frontmatter `name` or the directory name, namespaced by plugin | `my-plugin/skills/review/SKILL.md` → `/my-plugin:review`, or `/my-plugin:fancy` with `name: fancy` |
397| Plugin root `SKILL.md` | Frontmatter `name`, with the plugin directory name as a fallback | `my-plugin/SKILL.md` with `name: review` → `/my-plugin:review`. See [a single skill at the plugin root](/docs/en/plugins/components#skills) |
398| Skill [synced from claude.ai](#how-synced-skills-behave) | The skill's name on your claude.ai account, prefixed with `anthropic-skills:` | Account skill `deploy` → `/anthropic-skills:deploy`, or `/deploy` while no other command uses that name |
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400400In a plugin skill, the frontmatter `name` replaces the directory name in the last segment of the command, so `my-plugin/skills/review/SKILL.md` with `name: fancy` becomes `/my-plugin:fancy`. The bare `/fancy` also invokes the skill unless another command already uses that name. If the `name` you write already starts with the plugin's own prefix, Claude Code doesn't add the prefix again on v2.1.246 or later. For example, `name: my-plugin:fancy` still becomes `/my-plugin:fancy`. From v2.1.216 through v2.1.245, Claude Code doubled the prefix when the `name` already carried it.
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