Claude Skills Library: What Skills Do, How to Use Them and Prompt Examples
Copy practical Claude Skills prompts for document creation, analysis, custom skills, team workflows, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDFs, and skill review.
Michael Okeje
Reviewed against current Claude Skills help and documentation · Last updated May 27, 2026
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How we tested this
Reviewed against Claude Skills docs in May 2026
We refreshed this guide from Anthropic's current Skills help pages and Claude documentation.
The prompts focus on choosing skills, writing skill descriptions, reviewing custom skills, and applying document skills safely.
How to use these prompts
Use Claude Skills when a task repeats and needs a consistent process. Describe the job, the expected inputs, the output format, tools or scripts allowed, and failure behavior.
Prompt map
Workflows and starter prompts
Use these workflows to decide when a skill is worth building and how to prompt Claude to use it.
| Job | Prompt focus | Starter prompt | Human check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Document skill | file type, template, output, checks | Use the relevant document skill to create a [Word/Excel/PowerPoint/PDF] output from these inputs. Preserve structure and include a review checklist. | Open the file and inspect layout, formulas, and formatting. |
| Custom skill idea | repeatable task, trigger, scope | Design a Claude Skill for [workflow]. Include trigger description, instructions, inputs, outputs, examples, assets, and safety limits. | Keep the skill narrow enough that activation is predictable. |
| Skill audit | permissions, scripts, stale references | Audit this skill for unclear triggers, overbroad instructions, unsafe scripts, stale references, and missing output checks. | Review any executable scripts manually. |
| Team rollout | versioning, ownership, examples | Create a rollout plan for this Claude Skill with owner, versioning, examples, test cases, and update process. | Assign a human owner for each skill. |
| Prompting with skills | task, desired skill, output | Use the appropriate skill for [task]. If more than one skill applies, explain which one you chose and why before producing the output. | Confirm the chosen skill matches the task. |
Copy this first
The reusable prompt
Skill design prompts
Use these when creating custom skills.
Prompt 1
Write a SKILL.md outline for [workflow] with description, trigger rules, steps, input requirements, output format, and examples.
Prompt 2
Improve this skill description so Claude activates it only for the right tasks and ignores adjacent tasks.
Prompt 3
Create 5 realistic test prompts for this skill and expected outputs for each.
Prompt 4
List the scripts, templates, and reference files this skill should include, and explain why each is needed.
Skill usage prompts
Use these when you want Claude to choose or apply a skill.
Prompt 1
Use the appropriate Claude Skill to turn this source material into a formatted [document type]. Explain assumptions first.
Prompt 2
Compare these two possible skills and tell me which one fits this task better.
Prompt 3
Run this workflow using the skill, then provide the final output and a short quality-control checklist.
Prompt 4
If the skill lacks enough information, ask clarifying questions instead of guessing.
Skill review prompts
Skills become riskier as they accumulate assets and scripts.
Prompt 1
Audit this SKILL.md for vague language, overbroad scope, missing examples, and unsafe assumptions.
Prompt 2
Review these skill scripts for file access, network calls, destructive actions, and hidden dependencies.
Prompt 3
Create a version history note for this skill update with changed behavior and migration notes.
Prompt 4
Write team instructions for when to use this skill and when not to use it.
What to check before using Claude Skills
FAQs
What are Claude Skills?
Anthropic describes Skills as folders of instructions, resources, and optional scripts that Claude can load when a task matches the skill description.
Do I need to manually invoke Claude Skills?
Anthropic's help says Claude can determine when a relevant skill is needed based on the request, though clear prompting still helps.
What are Anthropic Skills?
Anthropic describes pre-built skills for common document tasks such as Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and PDFs.
What goes inside a custom skill?
A skill usually has a SKILL.md file with instructions and may include scripts, templates, assets, examples, or reference documents.
Are Claude Skills safe?
They can be safe if scoped and reviewed. Check scripts, file access, data handling, and whether the skill can trigger too broadly.
What is the main Claude Skills mistake?
The main mistake is writing a broad skill that activates for too many tasks. Good skills are narrow, testable, and owned.