Claude Code Skills Reference FAQs

Question 1

What is a Claude Code Skill?

Accepted Answer

A Claude Code Skill is a specialized capability defined in a Markdown file that enhances Claude's behavior, providing domain-specific guidance, best practices, and implementation patterns for specific tasks.

Question 2

How do I restrict which tools a skill can use?

Accepted Answer

You can define permitted tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter using the 'tools' or 'allowed_tools' array, which limits Claude to only those specific capabilities while the skill is active.

Question 3

What is the difference between model-invoked and user-invoked skills?

Accepted Answer

Model-invoked skills are triggered automatically by Claude when it detects a task matching the skill's description. User-invoked skills must be manually triggered by the user using a slash command (e.g., /skill-name).

Question 4

Where should skill files be located?

Accepted Answer

User-level skills for all projects should be placed in ~/.claude/skills/, while project-specific skills shared with a team should be located in the .claude/skills/ directory of the repository.

Question 5

Can I specify which AI model a skill should use?

Accepted Answer

Yes, the SKILL.md frontmatter includes an optional 'model' field where you can specify a preferred model, such as Haiku, Sonnet, or Opus, for executing that specific skill.

Claude Code Skills Reference

Key Features

Use Cases

Claude Code Skills Reference

Key Features

Use Cases