Agent Skills Directory

Agent Skills are modular capabilities that give AI coding agents (like Claude Code, Codex, or Cursor) new superpowers on demand.

The idea behind it:

Instead of teaching an AI agent everything at once (which would blow up the context window), you give it specialized instructions only when it needs them. This is called Progressive Disclosure.

You can think of Skills as "apps for your AI agent".

Just like you only install the apps you need on your smartphone, you give your AI agent only the skills relevant to your current project.

A skill is typically defined as a SKILL.md file. This file contains structured instructions telling the agent what to do, how to do it, and which tools it may use.

The big advantage: Skills are reusable and shareable. If you create a good skill, other developers can simply adopt it for their projects.

Skills come into play whenever your AI agent needs to handle a specialized task that goes beyond its standard capabilities.

Some examples:

• Create documents: Skills for Word documents, PDFs, Excel spreadsheets, or PowerPoint presentations. The agent then knows exactly how to create and format these file types.
• Development: Skills for testing, debugging, Git workflows, or specific frameworks. A "TDD skill" could teach your agent to always write tests first, for example.
• Automation: Skills for n8n workflows, CI/CD pipelines, or recurring tasks. The agent learns to build complex automations step by step.
• Security: Skills for penetration testing, code audits, or threat modeling. Particularly useful for security experts who want to automate recurring analyses.
• Research and analysis: Skills for data analysis, scientific work, or deep research. The agent gets a structured approach for complex investigations.

Agent Skills are a relatively new concept, primarily driven by AI coding tools. Support varies by platform.

Here are the most important tools with skill support:

• 1
  Claude Code (Anthropic): Has the most comprehensive skill support. Natively supports SKILL.md files, slash commands for invoking skills, and full tool integration. Skills are activated via the /skill command.
• 2
  OpenAI Codex CLI: Supports AGENTS.md files as its own instruction format. Many SKILL.md files are compatible since the basic idea is the same.
• 3
  Cursor, Windsurf, Cline: Support project-specific custom instructions (e.g., .cursorrules). SKILL.md files can often be included as reference material.
• 4
  GitHub Copilot: Supports .github/copilot-instructions.md and slash commands. Skills can be included as instructions.

A complete overview can be found in the "Tools with Skill Support" table on this page.

The good news: You don't have to create skills from scratch. There are already hundreds of ready-made skills you can use directly.

The most important sources:

• This directory: Above you'll find over 700 curated Agent Skills, filterable by category, platform, and rating.
• GitHub: Many skill collections are available as GitHub repositories. Search for SKILL.md, claude-skills, or agent-skills.
• Awesome lists: There are several curated lists like Anthropic's official Claude Code resources and community collections.

Setting up a skill in Claude Code is incredibly simple:

1. 1

   Download the skill: Copy the SKILL.md file into your project or into the global skills folder (~/.claude/skills/).

2. 2

   Invoke the skill: In Claude Code, use the slash command to activate the skill. For example:

   /skill-name

   Claude Code then automatically loads the instructions from the SKILL.md file.

3. 3

   Use the skill: The agent has now loaded the specialized instructions and can execute the task according to the skill.

Example: You want to create a Word document. You invoke /docx, and Claude Code then knows exactly how to create a .docx file with proper formatting, including headings, tables, and images.

Creating your own skill is easier than you think. A SKILL.md file follows a clear structure:

# Skill Name

## Description
What this skill does and when it should be used.

## Instructions
Step-by-step guide for the agent:
1. Analyze the request
2. Execute the action
3. Verify the result

## Tools
Which tools the agent may use:
- Bash: For command-line operations
- Read/Write: For file operations
- WebFetch: For web research

## Examples
Concrete example of how the skill is applied.

Key tips:

• 1
  Be specific: The clearer the instructions, the better the result. Vague instructions lead to inconsistent outcomes.
• 2
  Use examples: Concrete examples help the agent understand the desired outcome.
• 3
  Define boundaries: Tell the agent what it should not do to prevent unwanted behavior.

Skills and MCP servers complement each other but are different concepts:

In short: Skills are knowledge (instructions, workflows, best practices) and MCP servers are tools (access to external systems and data). Ideally, you combine both.

A few tips to get the most out of Agent Skills:

• Review skills: Read the SKILL.md file before using it. Pay attention to which tools the skill is allowed to use and what permissions it requires. Be careful with skills that execute bash commands or delete files.
• Customize for your project: Adapt generic skills to your project. A "testing skill" should know your specific test framework and conventions, for example.
• Start small: Begin with a simple skill and expand it gradually. A skill that tries to do too much at once is harder to debug.
• Combine skills: Multiple specialized skills are often better than a single one that does everything. You can use a "research skill" and a "writing skill" sequentially, for example.