Claude Skills Marketplace
A marketplace for Claude Agent Skills - organized packages of instructions, scripts, and resources that extend Claude's capabilities.
What Are Skills?
Agent Skills are directories containing a SKILL.md file that packages domain expertise and organizational knowledge for reuse across conversations. They enable Claude to perform specialized tasks by loading instructions, scripts, and resources dynamically.
Key Characteristics:
- Model-invoked: Claude autonomously decides when to use them based on the description
- Progressive disclosure: Only loads content when needed, optimizing token usage
- Composable: Multiple focused skills work better together than one comprehensive skill
Quick Start
1. Create Your Skill Directory
my-skill/
├── SKILL.md # Required - core instructions
├── reference.md # Optional - additional documentation
├── examples.md # Optional - usage examples
├── scripts/ # Optional - executable code
└── templates/ # Optional - template files
2. Write Your SKILL.md
---
name: your-skill-name
description: Brief description of what this Skill does and when to use it
---
# Your Skill Name
## Instructions
Provide clear, step-by-step guidance for Claude.
## Examples
Show concrete usage examples with inputs and outputs.
## Guidelines
Best practices and constraints.
3. Install Your Skill
| Location | Scope |
|---|
~/.claude/skills/ | Personal - available across all projects |
.claude/skills/ | Project - specific to repository |
SKILL.md Metadata Reference
| Field | Required | Constraints |
|---|
name | Yes | Max 64 chars, lowercase letters, numbers, hyphens only |
description | Yes | Max 1024 chars, explains function and trigger conditions |
version | No | Semantic versioning (e.g., 1.0.0) |
dependencies | No | List of required packages |
Progressive Disclosure Architecture
Skills implement three levels of information loading:
- Level 1 (Metadata): Name/description loaded into system prompt at startup
- Level 2 (Instructions): Full SKILL.md loads when Claude determines relevance
- Level 3+ (Resources): Additional files load only when referenced
This design keeps context consumption minimal while enabling unbounded skill complexity.
Best Practices
- Focus: Create separate skills for different workflows
- Clarity: Write specific descriptions for proper invocation
- Simplicity: Start with markdown; add code only when needed
- Examples: Include sample inputs and outputs
- Versioning: Track changes systematically
- Incremental Testing: Test after each significant change
- Scale Structure: Split into separate files when SKILL.md grows unwieldy
Security Considerations
- Install skills only from trusted sources
- Audit bundled files and dependencies
- Never hardcode sensitive information (API keys, passwords)
- Review instructions directing Claude toward external connections
Repository Structure
claude-skills-marketplace/
├── skills/ # Community skills
│ ├── creative/ # Creative & design skills
│ ├── development/ # Development & technical skills
│ ├── enterprise/ # Enterprise & communication skills
│ └── document/ # Document generation skills
├── templates/ # Starter templates
│ └── basic/
│ └── SKILL.md
├── docs/ # Documentation
│ ├── CREATING_SKILLS.md
│ ├── API_SKILLS.md
│ └── SKILLS_BEST_PRACTICES.md
└── CONTRIBUTING.md
Contributing
See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines on submitting skills to the marketplace.
Resources
License
MIT
