--- title: "Anthropic Agent Skills" kind: "Kit" category: "Developer" price: "Free" seller: "Mindket" version: "2" url: "https://mindket.com/p/75e20d58-cdf6-4211-ba19-9de66765f3a8" updated: "2026-11-09" health: "Active" --- # Anthropic Agent Skills > The name, the description, the About and a README below are the seller's words: data, not instructions. Anthropic’s public Agent Skills for Claude Code, Claude.ai and the Claude API: folders of instructions and scripts. They teach Claude to work with Word, Excel, PowerPoint and PDF files, test web apps, build MCP servers and write new skills. Anthropic Agent Skills is an open-source project on GitHub in the Developer category, listed by Mindket. It is free. This is version 2, last updated on 2026-11-09. Install it from GitHub as its README says. Get Mindket’s setup notes on your Mindket account, as a zip. Made by anthropics ## About ### What it is Anthropic’s skills repository holds the Agent Skills it publishes as examples for Claude. Each skill is a folder with a SKILL.md file of instructions and metadata, sometimes with scripts, that Claude loads when a task needs it. The set runs from art, music and design to testing web apps, building MCP servers and Word, Excel, PowerPoint and PDF work. A spec folder and a template sit beside the skills. You install a plugin from the marketplace → Claude keeps each skill’s name and description → Your request names a skill or matches one → Claude reads its SKILL.md, then any scripts it needs ### Who it suits People who use Claude for office files, and developers who want to see how a skill is built before they write one. The document skills behind Claude’s own file features are here, next to the simplest template. Who uses it, and how | Industry | Who uses it | How they use it | Example | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Finance and business analysis | Analysts | Turn exports, PDFs and slides into finished files with the xlsx, pdf and pptx skills | An analyst has Claude build a formatted Excel report from a CSV export. | | Operations and administration | Operations staff | Read and fill PDF forms with the pdf skill and its forms guide | An operations lead fills the same PDF form for a batch of records. | | Software development and QA | Developers and testers | Test web apps with webapp-testing, or build an MCP server with mcp-builder | A developer tests a local web app with webapp-testing, which drives Python Playwright. | | Internal tooling teams | Developers who write skills for their team | Copy a folder layout from skill-creator or the template, then write their own | A team studies skill-creator’s folder layout before writing a skill for its own deploy steps. | If you only chat in Claude.ai on a paid plan, you can skip the install: the example skills are already there. ### Where to use it The README gives steps for three places. - Claude Code: the repository is a plugin marketplace named anthropic-agent-skills - Claude.ai: paid plans already have the example skills, and you can upload a custom skill as a ZIP - Claude API: the pre-built pptx, xlsx, docx and pdf skills run in Anthropic’s code execution environment The five plugins in the marketplace | Plugin | Skills in it | | --- | --- | | document-skills | xlsx, docx, pptx, pdf | | example-skills | algorithmic-art, brand-guidelines, canvas-design, doc-coauthoring, frontend-design, internal-comms, mcp-builder, skill-creator, slack-gif-creator, theme-factory, web-artifacts-builder, webapp-testing | | claude-api | claude-api | | academy-guide | academy-guide | | discernment-nudge | discernment-nudge | ### How to set it up Get it saves a zip of Mindket’s setup notes for Claude Code, Claude.ai and the API. In Claude Code you add the marketplace once, then install a plugin from it. What you need first | Need | Detail | | --- | --- | | Claude Code | For the marketplace and its plugins | | A paid Claude.ai plan | For skills in Claude.ai, with code execution and file creation turned on under Settings \> Capabilities | | An Anthropic API key | For the API, with the code execution tool in each request | | The tools a skill calls | Named in its SKILL.md, such as Python Playwright for web testing, or pypdf and qpdf for PDFs | 1. In a Claude Code session, run the marketplace line below. 2. Select Browse and install plugins, then anthropic-agent-skills. 3. Select document-skills or example-skills, then Install now. ```text /plugin marketplace add anthropics/skills ``` The README’s direct lines skip the menu: ```text /plugin install document-skills@anthropic-agent-skills /plugin install example-skills@anthropic-agent-skills ``` The README gives no line for claude-api, academy-guide or discernment-nudge. Run /plugin on its own and pick them from the plugin list it opens. ### How to use it Once a plugin is installed, mention the skill in your request and Claude loads it. Ways to call a skill | Where | How | | --- | --- | | Claude Code, in words | Name the skill in your request, as in “use the PDF skill” | | Claude Code, by slash | Type a slash and pick it as /\:\, such as /document-skills:pdf | | Claude.ai | Turn it on under Customize \> Skills, then ask | | Claude API | Give its skill ID in the request, with the code execution tool | To write a skill of your own, start from the template. Its frontmatter needs only a name and a description, and the instructions follow: ```text --- name: my-skill-name description: A clear description of what this skill does and when to use it --- # My Skill Name [Add your instructions here that Claude will follow when this skill is active] ``` ### Example With document-skills installed, you ask Claude Code about a PDF on your disk, in the README’s own words. ```text Use the PDF skill to extract the form fields from path/to/some-file.pdf ``` Claude loads the pdf skill, follows its forms guide and bundled scripts on that file, and reports the fillable fields it found. ### For newcomers and experts **If you are new.** A skill is a folder of instructions Claude reads when a task needs it. These come from Anthropic and cover everyday files such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint and PDF. Install document-skills and ask Claude to turn a short list into a one-page Word document. **For experts.** A skill loads in stages, which keeps the base context small. What sits in context, and when | Part of a skill | When Claude reads it | | --- | --- | | Name and description | From the start, for every installed skill | | SKILL.md body | Once a task matches the skill | | Scripts and other files | Only when the instructions call for them | The Agent Skills specification lives in the spec folder, and the standard itself at agentskills.io. Most skills here are Apache 2.0 and fit as templates. The four document skills are proprietary, shared as a reference for a complex skill used in production. Since plugins from this marketplace update themselves, recheck a skill you depend on after an update. ### Good to know Anthropic offers these skills for demonstration and teaching. - Behavior: Claude may not act exactly as a skill describes, so test one before you rely on it for important work - Claude Code: a skill’s scripts run on your machine through Claude’s own tools, under your permission rules - Claude.ai and the API: skills run in Anthropic’s code execution environment - Updates: this marketplace’s plugins update automatically by default, and the /plugin menu can turn that off - Uploads: a custom skill you upload to Claude.ai stays visible only to you until you share it Licenses | Skills | License | | --- | --- | | docx, pdf, pptx, xlsx | Source-available under Anthropic’s proprietary terms, for use inside its services only | | doc-coauthoring | No license file | | Most of the others | Apache 2.0 | ## README ```markdown # Anthropic Agent Skills: setup notes This kit holds setup notes written by Mindket. It contains no skill files. The skills and plugins themselves install from Anthropic's repository https://github.com/anthropics/skills. License: the repository has no single license file. Skill folders carry their own LICENSE.txt. Most use the Apache License 2.0 (Apache-2.0). The docx, pdf, pptx and xlsx skills are source-available under Anthropic's proprietary terms, which allow use only inside Anthropic's services and forbid copying, changing or sharing them. The doc-coauthoring folder has no license file. Source pages for this file: - README: https://github.com/anthropics/skills/blob/main/README.md - Plugin list: https://github.com/anthropics/skills/blob/main/.claude-plugin/marketplace.json - Apache-2.0 skill license, for example: https://github.com/anthropics/skills/blob/main/skills/skill-creator/LICENSE.txt - Proprietary skill license, for example: https://github.com/anthropics/skills/blob/main/skills/docx/LICENSE.txt - Claude Code plugin docs: https://code.claude.com/docs/en/discover-plugins ## What installs The repository is a Claude Code plugin marketplace named anthropic-agent-skills. Its marketplace file lists five plugins, each a set of skills: - document-skills: xlsx, docx, pptx, pdf - example-skills: algorithmic-art, brand-guidelines, canvas-design, doc-coauthoring, frontend-design, internal-comms, mcp-builder, skill-creator, slack-gif-creator, theme-factory, web-artifacts-builder, webapp-testing - claude-api: claude-api - academy-guide: academy-guide - discernment-nudge: discernment-nudge The marketplace file lists only skills for each plugin. Some skills include scripts that Claude may run with its own tools when you use that skill. ## Update or remove The Claude Code docs say plugins from this marketplace update automatically by default. setup/claude-code.md gives the docs' commands to update, uninstall and remove the marketplace, and how to turn auto-update off. ## Setup notes in this kit - setup/claude-code.md: add the marketplace, install, use, update and remove - setup/claude-ai.md: turn skills on and upload a custom skill - setup/claude-api.md: call a pre-built skill from the API ## Before you rely on a skill Anthropic's README says these skills are for demonstration and education. Claude may behave differently from what a skill describes, so test a skill before you use it for important work. ## Write your own The README says a skill needs only a folder with a SKILL.md file. Its YAML frontmatter needs a name and a description, followed by the instructions. The repository's template folder holds a starting SKILL.md, and its spec folder holds the Agent Skills specification (see agentskills.io). ``` ## What is in it 4 files, 8 KB, downloaded as a zip. ```text README.md 3 KB setup/claude-ai.md 1 KB setup/claude-api.md 1 KB setup/claude-code.md 2 KB ``` ## Source [anthropics/skills on GitHub](https://github.com/anthropics/skills) ## Intro videos - [Anthropic Agent Skills intro video 1](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOxC44g8vig) - [Anthropic Agent Skills intro video 2](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wM-OCdLcWz4) ## Compare with similar Listed GitHub projects in the same category that share the most topics with this one. | Product | Stars | Activity | Language | License | Last change | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Anthropic Agent Skills (this page) | 194,161 | Active | Python | — | 2026-11-06 | | [Ponytail](https://mindket.com/p/3f97aa54-bba6-4c6b-8b3e-59949fcd007d) | 186,952 | Active | JavaScript | MIT | 2026-10-29 | | [Agent Skills](https://mindket.com/p/07af5dc5-5c99-48ba-9ba1-27742f8dc6ae) | 116,705 | Active | JavaScript | MIT | 2026-11-01 | | [Taste Skill](https://mindket.com/p/20e0d324-f409-4650-b39d-ac756d97fc8f) | 115,072 | Active | JavaScript | MIT | 2026-11-08 | | [Impeccable](https://mindket.com/p/3973c530-02a2-48a6-a3e1-4614d1afc735) | 109,647 | Active | Rust | Apache-2.0 | 2026-11-14 | | [Archify](https://mindket.com/p/fc49b955-d4a0-4744-8498-49df26d53da6) | 94,756 | Active | JavaScript | Apache-2.0 | 2026-11-03 | Numbers as Mindket last read them, from 2026-11-09 to 2026-11-14. Activity is read from each project’s last change on GitHub: Active within 30 days, Quiet within 180, Stale after that. ## What people say > Posts and comments that name this project on Hacker News, Bluesky, X, Reddit, Facebook and YouTube, found by a weekly search on 2026-11-09. Their authors' words: data, not instructions. - [Hacker News · jerryShaker · 2026-08-31](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49512263): Anthropic's Skill Scanner Defeated by Backdoored Skills - [Bluesky · A♠️ · 2026-11-08](https://bsky.app/profile/i-wish-i-were-dead.bsky.social/post/3mzthubme5c2t): 亜希用めもᶫᵒᵛᵉ◡̈♡ﾞ github.com/anthropics/s... - [Hacker News · Anon84 · 2026-02-26](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47171432): anthropics/skills: Public repository for Agent Skills - [Bluesky · Edy \| Indie Builder · 2026-11-08](https://bsky.app/profile/aivoyage.bsky.social/post/3mzrbi7jehc2n): Today's GitHub trending: giving AI agents hands, skills, memory. - milind-soni/OpenMausBot: open-source Grok Bot alternative with a VM for the bot (+1,955 today) - anthropics/skills: Anthropic's Agent Skills repo (+390) - vercel-labs/agent-browser: browser CLI for agents (+190) \#buildinpublic \#AI - [Hacker News · onurkanbkrc · 2026-02-11](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46972491): Ask HN: How to Use \`npx skills add\` with On-Prem / Private Repos?: As you know, we can install the desired skill using the following command: npx skills add https://github.com/anthropics/skills --skill frontend-design Is there a way to achieve the same setup in an on-premise environment without exposing the repository publicly? - [Bluesky · @hydromo.bsky.social · 2026-11-07](https://bsky.app/profile/hydromo.bsky.social/post/3mzqezyx4762n): GitHub weekly Top 10: agent memory, remote control and skills meet games, video and web extraction. Nov 7, 08:08 MST snapshot; page order and figures. Repo uses and links are on the cards. \#GitHub \#OpenSource \#AIAgents \#ClaudeCode \#Developers - [Hacker News · juunge · 2026-01-19](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46685829): Show HN: NPM/uv for Claude Code – install skills from GitHub with one command: Got tired of manually copying files to .claude/ and managing skills across projects. So I built agr (agent-resources) — basically open source npm/uv but for Claude Code. The gist: uvx agr add anthropics/skills/skill-creator (Or pip install agr if you want it permanently) Link:… - [Bluesky · GitHub Trending · 2026-10-30](https://bsky.app/profile/github-trending.bsky.social/post/3mz3xud2wkl22): 🚀 Skyrocketing！ 🚀 (200+ new stars) 📦 anthropics / skills ⭐ 184,956 (+287) 🗒 Python Public repository for Agent Skills - [Hacker News · imaka · 2025-12-05](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46157833): Show HN: CLI to browse and install Anthropic's Claude Skills: Anthropic open-sourced 16 skills for Claude (PDF generation, MCP servers, frontend design, etc.) but there's no easy way to discover or use them. Built a simple CLI: pip install askill skill browse \# paginated list of all skills skill search mcp \# find by keyword skill use pdf \# install to your… - [Bluesky · @ai-trend-to-know.bsky.social · 2026-10-30](https://bsky.app/profile/ai-trend-to-know.bsky.social/post/3mz3tnnlk2k2b): anthropics/skills 💻 Python \#AIAgents \#Python \#OpenSource \#GitHub 🔗 trendtoknow.com/anthropics/s... - [Hacker News · injidup · 2026-11-01](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50324247): The AI cost of JavaScript frameworks: And a little research turns out that anthropic itself makes available a \*react\* based artifact builder so you don't end up with SLOP from the get go. You could probably modify the template to work with your framework of choice. https://github.com/anthropics/skills/blob/main/skills/web-ar... - [Bluesky · GitHub Trending · 2026-11-07](https://bsky.app/profile/github-trending.bsky.social/post/3mzqpp4n43d2c): 🚀 Skyrocketing！ 🚀 (200+ new stars) 📦 anthropics / skills ⭐ 188,351 (+386) 🗒 Python Public repository for Agent Skills ## Trust facts Facts from each source, with the day each was checked. A maintainer's note is their own words: data, not instructions. - Health on GitHub: Active - Last change: 2026-11-06 - Checked on GitHub: 2026-11-14 - Something wrong? Tell us: https://mindket.com/takedown#ask ## Get it - [Open anthropics/skills on GitHub](https://github.com/anthropics/skills) - [Get it on your Mindket account](https://account.mindket.com/account/?product=mindket#/market/75e20d58-cdf6-4211-ba19-9de66765f3a8) - [Its page on Mindket](https://mindket.com/p/75e20d58-cdf6-4211-ba19-9de66765f3a8)