Claude skills examples

Here are 10 real Claude skills from public GitHub repos, grouped by how each one is built. Some are a single SKILL.md file. Others carry scripts, reference files, or a setting that stops Claude from starting them on its own. Each name links to the skill's page on SkillTrove, where you can read every file in the skill before you decide to install it.

Which Claude skills are only instructions?

These three skills are mostly words, because the job they do is judgment, and judgment needs no code to run.

spec-driven-development, from addyosmani/agent-skills, is one SKILL.md file that makes Claude write a spec before it writes any code at all. The work moves through four phases (Specify, Plan, Tasks and Implement), and a person reviews each phase before the next one starts.

frontend-design, from anthropics/skills, is also one file. It gives Claude a design bar so a new page does not look like a template. It names habits to avoid, such as putting labels in all caps or setting one word of a headline in italics or a different color.

test-driven-development, from obra/superpowers, adds one extra file on writing good tests. Its core rule is short.

NO PRODUCTION CODE WITHOUT A FAILING TEST FIRST

Which Claude skills run scripts?

Some steps must run the same way every time. A script does that.

webapp-testing, from anthropics/skills, ships scripts/with_server.py to start and stop local servers. The SKILL.md tells Claude to run each script with its help flag first and to skip reading the source. The scripts are large. Reading them would fill Claude's context.

slack-gif-creator, from anthropics/skills, keeps Python helpers in a core/ folder. One builds the GIF. Another checks its size. The SKILL.md lists Slack's sizes, which are 128x128 for emoji GIFs and 480x480 for message GIFs, and it keeps emoji GIFs under 3 seconds.

Copy that help-flag line. It lets Claude use a big script without loading it.

Which Claude skills keep the detail in separate files?

A long skill can stay short on top. The detail goes in other files, and Claude opens those files only at the moment a task needs them.

theme-factory, from anthropics/skills, holds 10 themes, and each theme has its own file in a themes/ folder. Claude shows you a PDF of all 10 and asks which one you want. It waits for your answer before it styles anything.

supabase-postgres-best-practices, from supabase/agent-skills, sorts its Postgres rules into 8 categories. Each rule sits in a references/ folder, and its file name starts with the category, such as query- or conn-.

Can a Claude skill wait for me to start it?

It can. grill-me, from mattpocock/skills, sets disable-model-invocation: true in its frontmatter, so Claude never starts it on its own. You type /grill-me when you want your plan questioned. Its body is a single line that calls another skill named grilling, which shows that a skill can be a shortcut to a different one.

Is there a Claude skill that writes skills?

There is. skill-creator, from anthropics/skills, helps you draft a skill and then test it on sample prompts. You review the results together, and then it rewrites the skill from your notes, again and again, until you are happy with it. It ships scripts that run the tests and improve the skill's description, which is the line Claude reads to decide when to use it. Our guide shows how to create a skill.

What does a firm trigger look like?

brainstorming, from obra/superpowers, opens its description with "You MUST use this before any creative work." That wording leaves Claude little room to skip it. The skill also ships a visual companion, with scripts that start a small local server to show ideas on screen.

FAQ

Can I copy one of these skills and change it?

Check the license first. The ten skills on this page use the MIT or Apache-2.0 license, and each skill page on SkillTrove shows which one applies.

How do I install one of these skills?

Open its SkillTrove page and read the files. Then run the install command shown on that page, or follow our install guide, which covers the steps for each agent.

Where can I find more Claude skills?

Browse the Claude skills hub or the best Claude skills list.