Claude Skills: 10 ready-to-install skills for your team

Guide published on October 12, 2026, compiled from official Anthropic and Microsoft documentation consulted on that day.

A skill is a text file that teaches AI how to do a task, once and for all: report, summary note, proofreading before sending, meeting preparation. The format was created by Anthropic for Claude, then published as an open standard: in 2026, the same file works in Claude, Claude Code, and Microsoft Copilot. Cowork, GitHub Copilot or OpenAI Codex. This guide explains how a skill works, where to install it, and presents 10 ready-to-use skills that you can download for free.

A skill, specifically.

A skill is a folder that contains at least one file named SKILL.md. This file begins with a header of a few lines with two required fields: the name skill and its Descriptionwhich explains what it does and when to use it. Then come the instructions, written in everyday language, as you would give them to a new colleague. Here is the beginning of the "meeting minutes" skill from the kit:

---
name: compte-rendu-reunion
description: "Transforme des notes de réunion ou une transcription Teams
  en compte rendu structuré avec décisions, actions, responsables et
  échéances. À utiliser quand l’utilisateur demande un compte rendu,
  un CR, un relevé de décisions ou la liste des actions d’une réunion."
---

# Compte rendu de réunion

## Méthode
1. Distinguer décisions, actions et informations, sans les mélanger.
2. Pour chaque action, chercher un responsable et une échéance.
   S’il en manque un, écrire « À préciser », jamais un nom supposé.
...
## Format de sortie
## Règles
## Règles de la maison (à personnaliser)

The file may also contain attachments: a document template, a pricing schedule, a glossary, or even a script. The AI ​​only opens them if the instructions require it.

How AI uses it

Skills are loaded in stages, a process Anthropic calls progressive loading. When a conversation starts, the AI ​​only reads the name and description of each installed skill, which is about 100 tokens per skill. When your request matches a description, it reads the full instructions, ideally fewer than 5,000 tokens. Attachments are only read when necessary. Therefore, dozens of skills can be installed without slowing down conversations.

Practical consequence: the description determines whether the skill is triggered. A vague description ("help with reports") is unlikely to trigger. A good description uses the words your colleagues actually use: "report," "meeting minutes," "minutes," "action list."

Skill, prompt, project or agent: the difference

Brick	What it is	When to use it
Prompt	A written instruction in the conversation	A one-off request
Project instructions	A permanent context for a workspace	The context of a case or a client
Skill	A reusable method, charged when it is used	A repeated task, always to be done in the same way
Connector (MCP)	Access to a tool or data	When AI needs to read or act within a software
Agent	An assistant with a role, tools, and often skills	A complete process entrusted to a dedicated assistant

The connector provides access to tools, the skill provides know-how. A good agent combines both, as we explain in our AI Agents Guide.

Where to install a skill in October 2026

Tool	Installation	To know
Claude (application and claude.ai)	Compressed folder (ZIP), then Customize > Skills, + button, Create skill, Upload a skill	Free, Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise plans, with the "Code execution and file creation" option enabled
Claude Team and Enterprise	Likewise, plus sharing and provisioning by an owner	Shared skills are read-only and automatically updated for recipients.
Claude Code	Folder in ~/.claude/skills/ or .claude/skills/ of the project	Direct call with /skill-name
Microsoft Copilot Cowork	Folder in OneDrive, under /Documents/Cowork/skills/	Up to 50 personal skills, discovered at the beginning of each session
GitHub Copilot, VS Code, OpenAI Codex, Cursor, Gemini CLI	Depending on the tool, a skills folder in the project or profile	Same format SKILL.md

There is no synchronization between these tools: a skill installed in Claude does not appear in Copilot Coworkand vice versa. Keep a single source, a shared folder, or a repository, and version it. For organizations deploying Claude Cowork or Copilot Cowork, our Gift Sets Cowork It also details the role of skills in task delegation.

10 skills ready to install

We have written 10 skills in French for tasks that are found in all functions. They contain only text, without script or calls to an external site, and follow the same structure: before starting, method, output format, rules, "house rules" to customize and examples of requests.

• Meeting minutes Using notes or a Teams transcript, separate decisions, actions, and information, and complete an action plan without ever assigning responsibility. Example request: "Write the minutes of this meeting."
• Summary : a note of one to two pages, conclusion first, each figure sourced, options and recommendation for a direction.
• Delicate enamel Refusal, delay, reminder, disagreement. Two to three versions that correspond to different strategies, not just tones, and three points to check before sending.
• Proofreading before sending : four passes (accuracy of numbers, logic, language, form) and a report of corrections classified as blocking, recommended and optional.
• Presentation media : a slide-by-slide plan where each title states something, with the recommended visual and the speaker's notes.
• Data analysis : quality control of an Excel or CSV file before any calculation, numerical findings with the method, recommended graphs and limitations.
• Verbatim analysis : themes, frequencies and exact and anonymized quotes from an employee survey or customer feedback, with action items.
• Appointment preparation : a sheet that separates sourced facts from hypotheses, with questions to ask, expected objections and next step to achieve.
• Project scoping : measurable objectives, included and excluded scope, milestones with passing criteria, RACI matrix and risks.
• Skill creator : a guided interview that transforms an expert's know-how into a new SKILL.md file, tested on a real case.

We tested them in Claude Code: on intentionally incomplete steering committee notes, the reporting skill leaves "To be specified" the missing deadlines and lists in outstanding points what the notes do not say, instead of filling in the gaps.

Customize: the section that makes the difference

A generic skill applies a best practice. A custom skill applies your method. Each skill in the kit ends with a "House Rules (to be customized)" section: replace it with your report template, your management's memo template, your citable client references, and the official definitions of your indicators. Allow about twenty minutes per skill, in Notepad, then recompress the folder for Claude or copy it for Copilot CoworkKeep the skill name identical to the folder name.

Write your own skills: seven rules

1. Pay close attention to the description. : it says what the skill does and when to use it, in 1024 characters maximum.
2. A skill, a task : a narrow and reliable skill is better than a broad and vague skill.
3. Verifiable steps : “check that the totals add up correctly” rather than “be rigorous”.
4. An output format with a template That's what makes the result consistent.
5. Saying what is forbidden : inventing a figure, promising a deadline, copying personal data.
6. Anticipate the missing information : two or three questions at most, or visible hypotheses.
7. Test on three requests : one that should trigger the skill, one ambiguous, one that should not trigger it.

Regarding format, the name must be no more than 64 characters, in lowercase, numbers and hyphens, and must be identical to the folder name. Avoid the words "claude" and "anthropic" in the name: some platforms reject them.

Supervising them in the workplace

A skill is text, but this text provides instructions to an AI that can read files, execute code, or interact with your tools. Anthropic recommends treating its installation like that of any other software: only install skills from known sources, read all files before activating them, and be wary of scripts and calls to external websites, whose content may change after validation. The two main risks are instruction injection and data exfiltration.

In a large organization, add an owner for each skill, a version number, a review date, and a shared skills registry. Claude Team and Enterprise allow you to control sharing and provision skills for everyone; Claude Enterprise also analyzes the content of uploaded skills. This is all done in Copilot. CoworkMicrosoft clarifies that it does not validate user-created skills: the rules are to be defined by the organization, ideally within its AI charter.

F.A.Q

Are Claude's skills free?

According to Anthropic's help center, skills are available on all Claude plans, including Free, provided code execution is enabled. In Team and Enterprise plans, an owner must also enable skills for the organization.

Does a skill work in Copilot?

In Microsoft Copilot CoworkYes: place the skill folder in your OneDrive, under /Documents/Cowork/skills/. GitHub Copilot and VS Code also read the SKILL.md format.

Do you need to know how to program to write a skill?

No: a skill is a text file. Scripts are only used for specific technical tasks, such as filling out a PDF form or transforming a file.

Is a skill installed in Claude available in Claude Code?

No. Skills do not synchronize between Claude, Claude Code, the API, and Copilot. Cowork : they need to be installed on each tool.

Read also : Skills: Transforming your experts' know-how into reusable assets, Claude Code in business, Claude Cowork, Copilot Cowork, ChatGPT Work: the comparison et MCP: The Enterprise AI USB-C Port.

Sources

• Anthropic, Agent Skills documentation, accessed on October 12, 2026.
• Anthropic, a support center, use the skills in Claude, accessed October 12, 2026.
• Anthropic, skills in Claude Code.
• Open specification Agent Skills.
• Microsoft, Frequently asked questions about Copilot Cowork.