How do I install a skill in Claude Code?

01

What are you installing?

A Claude Code skill is a folder of reusable instructions for one type of work. The required file is named SKILL.md. Other files may provide examples, templates, or scripts. You install a standalone skill by placing the complete folder where Claude Code looks for personal skills; there is no coding step in this beginner route.

This guide uses personal scope, which makes the skill available to your local Claude Code projects on that computer. It does not cover Claude plugins or account-synced skills. Anthropic documents those as separate distribution methods.

• Source: Extend Claude with skills
• Source: Extend Claude Code

02

What do you need before installing a Claude Code skill?

Start with a skill from a publisher you trust. Download the package, unzip it, and open the resulting folder. You should be able to see SKILL.md inside it. Keep the other supplied files with SKILL.md because the skill may refer to them while it works.

For an AEC example, the archiPrompt Drawing Set Coordination Review and BIM Model QA Checklist listings are published Agent skills with Claude compatibility. Read the listing's inputs, outputs, permissions, version, and limitations before downloading or using either one.

• — A current local Claude Code installation
• — One unzipped skill folder from a trusted publisher
• — A visible SKILL.md directly inside that folder
• — A non-confidential practice task for verification

• Source: Extend Claude with skills
• Source: Drawing Set Coordination Review
• Source: BIM Model QA Checklist

03

Where do you put the skill folder on Mac or Windows?

On a Mac, open Finder, choose Go from the menu bar, select Go to Folder, enter ~/.claude/skills, and press Return. On Windows, open File Explorer, select the address bar, enter %USERPROFILE%\.claude\skills, and press Enter. Create the skills folder if it does not exist.

Move the complete unzipped skill folder into that skills folder. Do not move only SKILL.md, and do not add another copy of the same folder around it. The final structure must have one skill-named folder followed immediately by SKILL.md.

• — Open the personal skills location
• — Create the skills folder only if it is missing
• — Move the complete unzipped skill folder inside
• — Confirm SKILL.md is directly inside the skill-named folder

Mac: ~/.claude/skills/<skill-name>/SKILL.md
Windows: %USERPROFILE%\.claude\skills\<skill-name>\SKILL.md

• Source: Extend Claude with skills
• Source: Explore the .claude directory

04

How do you check that Claude Code loaded the skill?

Open a local Claude Code session. If Claude Code was already running when you created the top-level skills folder, close and reopen it once. Anthropic says edits inside an existing skills folder are normally detected live, but a newly created top-level folder requires a restart before Claude Code can watch it.

Type / in Claude Code, or in the Desktop app choose the plus button and then Slash commands. Look for the name of the folder you installed. Select it and ask the skill to explain the inputs it needs without opening or changing any files. This confirms discovery before you use a real project document.

• — The skill appears in the slash-command menu
• — Its displayed name matches the installed folder
• — Claude can explain its required inputs
• — The first check uses no confidential project information
• — No file access or command is approved during this discovery test

• Source: Extend Claude with skills
• Source: Use Claude Code Desktop

05

Why is the installed Claude Code skill not showing?

If the skill is missing, check the folder before changing anything else. The file must be named exactly SKILL.md, and it must be directly inside one skill-named folder. A common download mistake creates an extra nested folder, so Claude Code finds <skill-name>/<skill-name>/SKILL.md instead of the required structure.

Restart Claude Code once if the personal skills folder was created after the session started. Also confirm that you are testing a local Code session. A skill stored only on your computer does not automatically appear in Cowork or a cloud session; those surfaces use account-enabled or repository-supplied skills.

• — Confirm the filename is exactly SKILL.md
• — Remove one accidental extra folder level
• — Restart once after creating the top-level skills folder
• — Test in a local Claude Code session
• — Use the storage guide below if you need project, plugin, or cloud scope

• Source: Extend Claude with skills
• Source: Where are Claude Code skills stored?

06

How do you test and remove a Claude Code skill safely?

Before giving the skill a drawing, model export, spreadsheet, contract, or client record, read SKILL.md and every referenced script or file. Anthropic says users remain responsible for reviewing proposed commands and changes. Use sanitized sample material, keep Manual permission mode for the first run, and decline access that is unrelated to the stated task.

To roll back this personal installation, close the session, move the skill folder outside ~/.claude/skills, and open a fresh session. Confirm that it no longer appears in the slash-command menu. Moving the folder first is safer than immediately deleting it because you can restore the tested version if the removal was accidental.

• — Read SKILL.md and every referenced file
• — Use a sanitized practice input
• — Review every requested permission
• — Check the result against a known expected outcome
• — Move the folder outside the skills location to roll back
• — Verify removal in a fresh local session

• Source: Claude Code security
• Source: Extend Claude with skills

07

Which Claude Code skill should an architect try first?

You now have the shortest local installation route: inspect one trusted package, put the complete folder in the personal skills location, restart only when needed, and confirm it in the slash-command menu before using project data.

Next, open the Drawing Set Coordination Review or BIM Model QA Checklist listing below to compare two real AEC Agent skills. If you need to decide between personal, project, plugin, enterprise, or cloud scope, read the separate archiPrompt guide Where are Claude Code skills stored? rather than expanding this first installation into an office-wide setup.

• — Drawing Set Coordination Review — an Agent skill for evidence-linked PDF coordination review
• — BIM Model QA Checklist — an Agent skill for transparent checks of exported BIM information
• — Keep professional review and project approval outside the AI skill

• Source: Drawing Set Coordination Review
• Source: BIM Model QA Checklist
• Source: Where are Claude Code skills stored?