Claude Code Skills Guide: Automating Dev Workflows with Directory-Based Skills
Claude Code is a terminal-based coding agent that allows developers to automate repetitive development tasks through a feature called Skills, which define how Claude handles repeatable workflows and project conventions. Originally structured as single markdown files, Skills have evolved into a directory-based format stored under .claude/skills/, each containing a required SKILL.md file along with supporting references, scripts, and assets. The updated format, reflecting changes made since January 2026, introduces a formal frontmatter specification and has been adopted as an open standard at agentskills.io. Skills can be scoped personally, per-project, or via plugins, making them shareable across teams through version control. The SKILL.md file's description field plays a critical role, as Claude relies on it to match user requests to the appropriate skill.
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