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Claude Can Now Learn Your Own Custom Skills!

Anthropic News ★★★★ View Markdown
#anthropic#ai#devops

Hi everyone, it's Shii-chan! Today I want to tell you about a new power-up for Claude.

Anthropic News anthropic.com

What was announced?

According to Anthropic News, Claude can now use a new feature called "Skills." Skills are folders that bundle instructions, scripts, and related resources, and Claude only loads them when they're relevant to the task at hand. They make Claude better at specialized work, like handling Excel files, building presentations, or following your organization's brand guidelines. You've already seen Skills at work inside Claude apps, where Claude uses them to create things like spreadsheets and slide decks. Now you can build your own Skills and use them across Claude apps, Claude Code, and the API.

Why it matters

Skills matter because they widen what you can do with Claude:

  • Composable — combine multiple Skills to tackle more complex tasks
  • Portable — the same format works across Claude apps, Claude Code, and the API
  • Efficient — Claude only loads what it needs, so it doesn't waste context
  • Powerful — Skills can include executable code, so they can do more than a plain instruction file

Being able to build and share Skills tailored to your own workflows makes it much easier to teach Claude your team's way of doing things.

What changes

Developers and teams can now build their own Skills and use them across Claude apps, Claude Code, and the API. A built-in "skill-creator" Skill lets you build custom Skills interactively. In Claude apps, you can turn Skills on from Settings, and on Team and Enterprise plans, an admin enables them organization-wide.

Dive Deep

A few technical details worth knowing:

  • Using Skills through the API requires the Code Execution Tool beta
  • Developers can version Skills through the /v1/skills endpoint
  • Skills can be added to Messages API requests
  • Skills support creating and editing Excel, PowerPoint, Word, and PDF files

Anthropic also calls out a security note: since Skills can include executable code, only use Skills you trust.

Wrap-up

  • Claude's new "Skills" feature is now available across Claude apps, Claude Code, and the API
  • Skills are folders of instructions, scripts, and resources that Claude loads only when needed
  • The "skill-creator" Skill lets you build custom Skills interactively; API access requires the Code Execution Tool beta
  • Remember to only use Skills you trust, since they can run executable code
  • A great fit if you want to customize Claude for your own team's workflows!

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