What it is: A current catalog of every official Claude Skill Anthropic publishes for free in their public skills repository — what each one does, who it’s for, and how to actually install and use them in Claude Code, Claude Desktop, or the Claude API.
Who it is for: Anyone using Claude in 2026 who wants to extend its capabilities without writing custom code — from solo operators automating documents to developers building production AI workflows.
Best if: You want a vendor-source-of-truth list of every Claude Skill, sorted by use case, with installation instructions.
Skip if: You’re looking for community or third-party skills — this catalog covers only Anthropic’s official skills. For the broader picture of what Claude Skills are, start with our skills hub. For daily AI news in one email, subscribe to our free daily newsletter.
Related Anthropic resource: Beyond Skills, Anthropic also ships the Computer Use and Browser Use tools for direct screen interaction. We summarize their production best-practices at Claude Computer Use Best Practices (2026).
Bottom line up front: Anthropic publishes 17 official Claude Skills in their public GitHub repository as of May 2026. They cover document creation (PDF, Word, PowerPoint, Excel), design and branding (canvas design, brand guidelines, theme factory), engineering workflows (Claude API helper, MCP builder, webapp testing), and content production (algorithmic art, internal comms, Slack GIFs). All free. All open-source. All work with Claude Code, Claude Desktop, and the Claude API.
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What is a Claude Skill?
A Claude Skill is a reusable instruction package — a folder containing a SKILL.md file (plain English directions for Claude), optional scripts, reference documents, and resources — that extends what Claude can do without changing the model itself. Skills launched in October 2025 and quickly became the dominant way to give Claude domain-specific capabilities in Claude Code, Claude Desktop, and the Claude API. Anthropic published the official skills repository at github.com/anthropics/skills as a working reference for how skills should be structured. As of May 2026 the repo has 135,000+ stars and 16,000+ forks, making it one of the most-watched AI tooling repositories on GitHub.
Skills are not models, plugins in the WordPress sense, or paid add-ons. They are open-source markdown instructions plus supporting files. You can read every one of them on GitHub before you install anything. The combination of “free + official + Anthropic + skills” is exactly the pattern that has made Anthropic Academy our top-traffic page in 2026 — and Claude Skills sits in the same intersection.
Every official Claude Skill, categorized by use case
Below is every skill in the official Anthropic repository as of May 2026, grouped by what they actually do. Each entry includes the GitHub anchor, the use case, and our take on who it’s best for.
Document creation skills (file-format handlers)
1. pdf — Generate, edit, and extract from PDFs
The pdf skill lets Claude create, fill, edit, and extract data from PDF files programmatically. The most-used skill in the entire library — PDFs are the lingua franca of business documents, and the ability to produce or scrape one accurately is what most non-developers want from Claude. Best for: anyone generating reports, invoices, contracts, or summaries.
2. docx — Create and edit Microsoft Word documents
The docx skill produces, edits, and reads .docx files with proper styles, headings, tables, and tracked changes. Crucial for businesses where Word is the deliverable format. Best for: consultants, lawyers, project managers producing client-facing documents.
3. xlsx — Create and analyze Excel spreadsheets
The xlsx skill creates, edits, and parses Excel files with formulas, formatting, and pivot tables intact. Best for: financial analysts, operations teams, and anyone who lives in spreadsheets but wants AI to handle the formula-and-format glue work.
4. pptx — Generate PowerPoint presentations
The pptx skill produces editable PowerPoint decks with text, images, charts, and proper slide masters. Pair with the brand-guidelines skill for branded output. Best for: anyone who builds decks weekly — sales, training, executive briefings.
Design and branding skills
5. brand-guidelines — Apply your brand consistently across outputs
The brand-guidelines skill takes your brand colors, fonts, voice rules, and logo placement and enforces them across everything Claude produces — PDFs, decks, web artifacts, internal comms. One of the most under-used skills relative to its leverage. Best for: marketing teams, agencies, founders who want consistent output without micromanagement.
6. canvas-design — Design visuals on a structured canvas
The canvas-design skill gives Claude the ability to compose visuals on a 2D canvas with layers, typography, and spacing — the same primitives Canva and Figma use. Best for: solo operators producing social-media graphics, infographics, or simple marketing visuals.
7. theme-factory — Generate consistent design themes
The theme-factory skill produces complete color palettes, typography sets, and component styles for product or content design. Pairs naturally with frontend-design and brand-guidelines. Best for: designers and design-adjacent operators iterating fast on visual identity.
8. algorithmic-art — Generate procedural and generative art
The algorithmic-art skill creates parametric and procedural artwork — the kind of generative-art Processing sketches but driven by Claude instead of hand-written code. Niche but delightful. Best for: creative coders, NFT or product-art experimentation.
Engineering and development skills
9. claude-api — Build with the Claude API correctly
The claude-api skill teaches Claude itself the up-to-date patterns for calling the Anthropic API correctly — authentication, streaming, tool use, vision, batching, prompt caching. The “Claude that knows how to use Claude” skill. Best for: developers shipping production code against the Anthropic API.
10. mcp-builder — Scaffold MCP servers and tools
The mcp-builder skill helps Claude generate Model Context Protocol servers — the open standard for letting AI tools talk to your databases, APIs, and SaaS accounts. Critical for anyone building agentic workflows in 2026. Best for: engineers integrating Claude into internal tools.
11. frontend-design — Build modern frontend interfaces
The frontend-design skill instructs Claude on modern frontend patterns — React, Tailwind, accessibility, responsive layouts, modern CSS — so that web UI generated by Claude looks like it was built by a senior designer instead of a 2015 bootstrap dump. Best for: developers using Claude Code to build UIs.
12. web-artifacts-builder — Generate self-contained web artifacts
The web-artifacts-builder skill produces self-contained HTML/JS artifacts — single-file demos, interactive explainers, prototype UIs — that run anywhere without a build step. Best for: educators, product folks, anyone building “show, don’t tell” deliverables.
13. webapp-testing — Test web applications automatically
The webapp-testing skill equips Claude to write Playwright or Puppeteer tests and run them headlessly — closing the “I generated code but didn’t verify it works” gap that has historically been the biggest weakness in AI-generated frontend code. Best for: engineers who want Claude to test what it builds.
Communication and content skills
14. doc-coauthoring — Collaborate on long-form documents
The doc-coauthoring skill gives Claude the patterns for working alongside a human writer on long documents — tracking changes, preserving voice, suggesting rather than rewriting, asking clarifying questions. This is the skill behind the 44% Rule editorial pattern. Best for: serious writers using Claude as an editor without losing voice.
15. internal-comms — Draft internal team communication
The internal-comms skill standardizes the format and tone of all-hands updates, status reports, announcements, and similar internal communication. Best for: founders, managers, comms teams who want consistent internal voice without writing every memo from scratch.
16. slack-gif-creator — Generate animated reaction GIFs
The slack-gif-creator skill produces custom animated GIFs sized for Slack reactions and inline replies. Pure delight. Best for: team-culture moments, internal-comms flair, breaking the tension on long days.
Meta-skill
17. skill-creator — Build your own custom Claude Skills
The skill-creator skill is the meta-skill: it walks Claude through generating new custom skills for you, in the standard SKILL.md format, so you can extend Claude with your team’s workflows without learning the spec from scratch. The single highest-leverage skill in the library once you understand the basics. Best for: every team that wants to standardize how Claude works for their domain.
Which skills should you install first?
A practical starting stack for most users:
- If you produce documents weekly: pdf, docx, xlsx, pptx. Cover 90% of business-document output.
- If you build products or content: brand-guidelines, doc-coauthoring, web-artifacts-builder.
- If you’re a developer: claude-api, mcp-builder, frontend-design, webapp-testing.
- If you manage a team: internal-comms, brand-guidelines, slack-gif-creator.
- Once you’ve used a few: install skill-creator and start writing your own.
How do you install a Claude Skill?
Installation depends on where you run Claude. In Claude Code, drop the skill folder into ~/.claude/skills/ and Claude Code picks it up automatically; the skill activates whenever its declared trigger matches your request. In Claude Desktop, use the Skills panel in settings to load skill folders from disk or directly from the Anthropic repo. For the Claude API, reference the skill in your system prompt or as a tool definition; the official skill folders include example wiring for each surface.
The fastest install path: clone the entire anthropics/skills repository, point your client at the skills/ directory inside, and you have all 17 active immediately. For details, see Anthropic’s Agent Skills overview documentation.
How do Claude Skills compare to other AI extensibility options?
| Extension type | Cost | Best for | Source of truth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Skills | Free (open-source) | Reusable instructions + supporting files for Claude | Vendor (Anthropic) |
| MCP servers | Free (open standard) | Connecting Claude (or any AI) to external data and tools | Open spec |
| OpenAI Custom GPTs | Free with ChatGPT Plus | Custom chatbots inside ChatGPT | Vendor (OpenAI) |
| OpenAI Assistants / Agents API | Pay-per-use | Production assistant deployment | Vendor (OpenAI) |
| Cursor / Windsurf rules | Free with editor | IDE-specific behavior customization | Vendor |
| Claude Code plugins | Free (open-source) | CLI tooling extensions in Claude Code | Community + vendor |
The big distinction in 2026: skills are instructions, MCP servers are connections, and plugins are commands. Most serious Claude deployments use all three together. See our MCP glossary entry and Claude Code plugins guide for the broader picture.
Key takeaways
- Anthropic publishes 17 official Claude Skills in the public github.com/anthropics/skills repository as of May 2026.
- All are free and open-source. You can read every skill before installing.
- The most-used categories: document handlers (pdf/docx/xlsx/pptx), design (brand-guidelines, canvas-design, theme-factory), and engineering (claude-api, mcp-builder, frontend-design, webapp-testing).
- The highest-leverage skill once you understand the basics is skill-creator — the meta-skill that helps you write your own.
- Skills work in Claude Code, Claude Desktop, and the Claude API. Same skill, three surfaces.
- For most business users, install pdf + docx + xlsx + pptx + brand-guidelines + doc-coauthoring and you cover 90% of real document workflows.
Frequently asked questions
Are Claude Skills really free?
Yes. The skills themselves are open-source under permissive licensing (see the repository LICENSE file). You do still pay for Claude usage at whatever Anthropic API or subscription tier you’re on, but the skills themselves are free.
Do I need to know how to code to use Claude Skills?
For most skills: no. The document-creation skills (pdf, docx, xlsx, pptx), the design skills, and internal-comms all work from a Claude Desktop conversation with no code involved. The developer-focused skills (claude-api, mcp-builder, frontend-design, webapp-testing) assume basic programming familiarity.
How often does Anthropic add new skills?
Anthropic adds new skills periodically and updates existing ones whenever the underlying model capabilities change. Watch the repository (Star + Watch on GitHub) to get notifications. We update this catalog whenever new skills ship.
Can I write my own Claude Skills?
Yes — that’s exactly what skill-creator is designed for. The skill spec is documented at github.com/anthropics/skills/tree/main/spec. Many teams start by writing one skill per recurring workflow.
Where can I find community-built Claude Skills?
Community skills are scattered across GitHub. The anthropic-skills and claude-skills topic tags on GitHub are the most-active hubs. Anthropic does not yet maintain an official community-skills marketplace, but the spec is open so anyone can publish.
What’s the difference between a Claude Skill and a Claude Code plugin?
A skill is an instruction set (markdown + files) that teaches Claude how to do something. A plugin is a Claude Code-specific bundle that may include slash commands, hooks, MCP servers, and skills. Plugins are a Claude Code packaging format; skills are a more general primitive that work everywhere Claude runs.
Should I use Claude Skills or Custom GPTs?
Different tools, different surfaces. Custom GPTs are configurations of ChatGPT for end users. Claude Skills are reusable instruction packages that work in Claude Code, Claude Desktop, and the API. If you’re already on Claude, skills are the better answer. If you’re on ChatGPT, GPTs are the equivalent.
You may also like
- Skills hub — the BiA overview page
- What are Claude Skills — the explainer
- Anthropic Academy: Free Courses to Learn Claude
- How to use Claude AI
- Claude Code plugins guide
- What is MCP — glossary
- The 44% Rule — using Claude as an editor
- Best Claude prompts
- Free AI courses with certificates
1-on-1 Coaching
Claude AI Crash Course
1-hour private video session with James. Walk through Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cowork, Skills, Projects, file setups, and plugins. Best for owners who want a coach while rolling out workflows. No technical background required.
Group Format
AI Workshops for Teams
Team-format workshops for businesses rolling Claude out to staff. Best for businesses with 3+ people who all need to use the new workflows. Custom-built around your team’s actual tools and goals.
Sources
- Anthropic Skills public repository — the source of truth for every official skill
- Anthropic Agent Skills documentation
- Skills specification (the SKILL.md format)
- Model Context Protocol — for the MCP-builder skill
Last reviewed: May 2026. Skill catalog verified against the anthropics/skills repository.
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