Agent Skills overview (Claude docs)

Summary

Skills are folders of instructions, scripts, and resources that an agent loads only when relevant. Each skill has a SKILL.md file whose name and description are always visible to the model; the full body and extra files are read on demand.

Key points

• Progressive disclosure: metadata first, full instructions when needed, files when used.
• Usable in Claude apps, Claude Code, the Claude API (via code execution), and Managed Agents.
• The Skills API (/v1/skills) is generally available; the earlier beta header is no longer needed.
• Skills package know-how; MCP servers provide connections to tools and data.

Why it matters

A lightweight way to give agents repeatable expertise without bloating every prompt.