Skills

Platforms: claude openai (via Codex CLI) · gemini (via Gemini CLI) · m365-copilot (via VS Code Copilot)

What Skills Are

Skills are folders containing instructions, scripts, and resources that the AI discovers and loads dynamically when relevant to a task. They encapsulate a specific capability — instructions, context, and output format bundled together — so you don’t have to re-explain the same task every time.

Skills are now an open standard and being adopted broadly across platforms. Think of them as upgraded prompts: they package a prompt with its context into something reusable, shareable, and automatically invocable.

Key Characteristics

Encapsulates a specific capability — instructions, context, and output format bundled together
Dynamically loaded or directly invoked — the AI discovers and loads skills automatically when relevant, or you invoke them with a slash command (/plugin-name:command)
Reusable across conversations — write once, use every time the task comes up
Shareable — skills can be distributed to others through plugins or file sharing
Becoming an open standard — the skill format is being adopted across compatible platforms

When to Use a Skill

Use a skill when:

You find yourself writing the same prompt repeatedly
A workflow step is well-defined enough to package as a repeatable routine
Consistency matters — the output should follow the same structure every time
You want others to be able to run the same task with the same quality

A good rule of thumb: if you give an AI the same instructions more than three times, it’s time to package those instructions as a skill.

Platform Implementations

Agent Skills are an open standard — the same SKILL.md format works across platforms. Each platform reads skill files from its own directory, but the file format is identical:

Platform	Skill Directory	Notes
Cowork	Managed by plugin system	Install via + > Add plugins — no file placement needed
Claude Code	`.claude/skills/`	Also installable via plugins (`/plugin install`)
Claude.ai (web)	Uploaded via Settings	ZIP upload under Settings > Capabilities > Upload skill
Cursor	`.cursor/skills/`, `.claude/skills/`, `.codex/skills/`, or `.agents/skills/`	Reads from Claude and Codex directories too — no need to move files
Codex CLI	`.agents/skills/`	Same SKILL.md format
Gemini CLI	`.gemini/skills/` or `.agents/skills/`	Same SKILL.md format
VS Code Copilot	`.github/skills/` or `.agents/skills/`	Same SKILL.md format

Anatomy of a Skill

A skill is a folder containing:

skill-name/
├── SKILL.md          # Instructions — what the skill does and how
└── references/       # Optional context files the skill needs
    ├── style-guide.md
    └── template.md

The SKILL.md file contains the instructions. The references/ folder holds any context the skill needs — style guides, templates, examples, or data.

On Claude Code, skills with user_invocable: true and a command: field in their frontmatter can be invoked directly as slash commands.

How to Add Skills to Your Platform

Without a skill, you write a detailed prompt every time you want consistent output. With a skill installed, you just say “edit this article” and the AI applies your editorial standards automatically — same quality, every time, no re-explaining.

Skills are plain-text Markdown — no compiled code, no special format. A plugin is a bundle that may contain multiple skills. On platforms that support plugins (Cowork, Claude Code), you install the whole plugin. On other platforms, you download and place individual skill folders.

Pick your platform below for the complete install steps.

Quick reference

Method	Platforms	Terminal required?
Claude Cowork UI (+ button)	Claude Desktop	No
`/plugin install`	Claude Code	Yes
Upload a compressed skill folder (ZIP)	Claude.ai (web)	No (Finder method available)
Download + copy	Cursor, Codex CLI, Gemini CLI, VS Code Copilot	Recommended but not required

Install steps by platform

The simplest path — no terminal needed.

Open Claude Desktop and click Cowork in the sidebar
Click the + button at the bottom of the screen
Select Add plugins… and browse or search for a plugin

Skills from the plugin are available immediately in Cowork.

→ Full Cowork plugin guide

One command installs everything.

/plugin install business-first-ai@handsonai

First time? Add the marketplace first (one-time setup):

/plugin marketplace add jamesgray-ai/handsonai-plugins

→ Full Claude Code plugin guide

Upload skills as ZIP files — no terminal required.

Go to the GitHub plugins page. Click the green Code button > Download ZIP. Extract the ZIP, then navigate to plugins/<plugin-name>/skills/<skill-name>/ to find the skill folder you need.
Compress the skill folder into a .zip file (right-click > Compress in Finder)
Go to Settings > Capabilities > Upload skill and select the ZIP

→ Detailed ZIP upload walkthrough

Download skill folders and place them in your project. Your project root is the top-level folder you opened in your editor.

Go to the GitHub plugins page. Click the green Code button > Download ZIP. Extract the ZIP, then navigate to plugins/<plugin-name>/skills/<skill-name>/ to find the skill folder you need.
Copy the skill folder into .cursor/skills/ in your project root

Cursor also reads from .claude/skills/, .codex/skills/, and .agents/skills/ — so if you already have skills installed for Claude Code, Cursor picks them up automatically.

Download skill folders and place them in your project. Your project root is the top-level folder you opened in your editor or terminal.

Go to the GitHub plugins page. Click the green Code button > Download ZIP. Extract the ZIP, then navigate to plugins/<plugin-name>/skills/<skill-name>/ to find the skill folder you need.
Copy the skill folder into .agents/skills/ in your project root