Claude skills: the most installed, and how to add them
Skills are folders of instructions that teach Claude a task. The most installed ones, and how to add them in Claude Code, Claude.ai, Codex or Cursor.
A Claude skill is a folder with a SKILL.md file of instructions, plus optional scripts and reference files, that Claude loads only when your request matches its description. The same open format works in Codex, Cursor and other agents.
Also called Agent Skills, Claude Code skills, SKILL.md, Codex skills.
A Claude skill is a folder with a SKILL.md file that teaches Claude how to do one task. Claude reads only each skill's name and short description until a request matches, then loads the full instructions. The format started at Anthropic and is now an open standard, so Codex, Cursor and other agents read the same folders.
MoreLess
Read more in what Agent Skills are.
Claude skills are folders of instructions, scripts and files that teach Claude one task, loaded only when your request needs them. Install one by copying its folder into your skills folder, or with a single command, then just ask for the task.
The one thing to know first: a skill can tell Claude to run code on your machine. Anthropic advises using skills you wrote or got from Anthropic, and reading every file of any other skill before you install it.
Claude Code. Put the skill folder in ~/.claude/skills/ for every project, or .claude/skills/ for one project. Anthropic's own skills install as a plugin: run /plugin marketplace add anthropics/skills, then pick document-skills or example-skills. Most skills on the list below also install with the open skills CLI, npx skills add <owner>/<repo> --skill <name>; add -g to make a skill available in every project.
Claude app (claude.ai and desktop). Anthropic's Word, Excel, PowerPoint and PDF skills are built in for every user. To add your own, zip the folder, open Customize > Skills, click + and choose Create skill, then Upload a skill. Skills work on every plan, Free included, once code execution is on in Settings > Capabilities. Skills you add in the app do not appear in Claude Code or the API, and the reverse.
Skills in Codex. Codex reads the same SKILL.md format. It looks in .agents/skills inside your repo and in ~/.agents/skills for you. Type $skill-installer and a skill name to add one from OpenAI's curated set, or ask it to fetch one from any GitHub repo. Run /skills or type $ to call a skill by name. Skills work in the Codex CLI, the IDE extension and the ChatGPT desktop app. OpenAI publishes its own in the openai/skills repo.
Cursor finds skills in .cursor/skills and .agents/skills, and also reads .claude/skills, so one folder can serve Claude Code, Codex and Cursor.
Where to find them. Anthropic's repo is the safest place to start. skills.sh is an open directory run by Vercel that counts installs; the lists on this page use its numbers. The most installed skills plan your work (grill-me), drive a browser (agent-browser, playwright-cli) or improve UI design (frontend-design, Taste Skill).
Good for
- Claude Code users who want Claude to follow a set routine
- Codex and Cursor users, who can run the same skills
- Claude app users who want files and reports done one way
- Anyone looking for a skill before writing their own
From Anthropic
The ten most installed skills in Anthropic's own anthropics/skills repo, ordered by installs on skills.sh as of November 2, 2026. Stars are for the whole repo.
- 1frontend-designSkill
Plans a look for your page before writing UI code. The most installed skill in the repo.
186,362 GitHub stars - 2skill-creatorSkill
Helps you write, test and improve your own skill.
186,362 GitHub stars - 3pptxSkill
Creates, edits and reads PowerPoint decks. Built into the Claude app for every user.
186,362 GitHub stars - 4pdfSkill
Reads, fills, merges and splits PDF files, and creates new ones.
186,362 GitHub stars - 5docxSkill
Creates and edits Word documents, including tracked changes and comments.
186,362 GitHub stars - 6webapp-testingSkill
Writes and runs Playwright scripts to test a web app on your machine.
186,362 GitHub stars - 7xlsxSkill
Creates and edits spreadsheets, with formulas, formatting and charts.
186,362 GitHub stars - 8mcp-builderSkill
Guides Claude through building an MCP server, the kind of plug that connects an assistant to an app.
186,362 GitHub stars - 9canvas-designSkill
Makes posters and visual art as PNG or PDF files from a short design brief.
186,362 GitHub stars - 10web-artifacts-builderSkill
Builds larger multi-file HTML artifacts for claude.ai with React and Tailwind.
186,362 GitHub stars
Most installed skills with a full guide
Skills we have written a full guide for, ordered by installs on skills.sh as of November 2, 2026, with GitHub stars shown beside them. Skills with more than 5,000 installs per GitHub star are left out as likely inflated.
- 1grill-meSkill
Makes Claude interview you about a plan, round by round, until every decision is settled. A good first skill: plain text, no scripts.
309,237 GitHub stars - 2agent-browserVercelSkill
Lets your coding agent open a real browser to click, fill forms and take screenshots. Vercel's CLI does the work; the skill teaches the agent to use it.
45,140 GitHub stars - 3frontend-designAnthropicSkill
Anthropic's design skill. Claude plans a palette, type and layout before writing UI code, so pages look less like stock AI output.
186,362 GitHub stars - 4Taste SkillSkill
Art direction for web pages: picks a visual direction, writes copy first and checks the result in a browser.
107,631 GitHub stars - 5UI UX Pro MaxSkill
A searchable design database of styles, palettes and font pairings that your assistant consults before it writes UI code.
143,821 GitHub stars - 6skill-creatorAnthropicSkill
Anthropic's skill for writing your own skills. Claude drafts the SKILL.md, tests it against a run without the skill and shows the scores.
186,362 GitHub stars - 7ImpeccableSkill
Design review commands such as critique, audit and polish that score your UI and list fixes.
99,312 GitHub stars - 8playwright-cliMicrosoftSkill
Microsoft's CLI that lets a coding agent drive a real browser with short shell commands to test web apps.
14,853 GitHub stars - 9webapp-testingAnthropicSkill
Anthropic's skill that has Claude write and run Playwright scripts against your local web app.
186,362 GitHub stars - 10HerdrSkill
Lets Claude control Herdr, a terminal tool that runs several coding agents side by side.
47,289 GitHub stars - 11gstackSkill
Garry Tan's slash commands that make Claude Code act like a product team: idea review, code review, QA and shipping. Most people install it with the author's git clone setup, so its install count is low next to 138,586 stars.
138,586 GitHub stars - 12PPT MasterSkill
Turns documents, notes or a topic into an editable PowerPoint deck, one checked slide at a time.
72,080 GitHub stars - 13graphifySkill
Maps a codebase, docs and papers into a knowledge graph your assistant queries instead of reading every file. The author installs it from a Python package, so the skills.sh count is low next to 140,465 stars.
140,465 GitHub stars - 14HumanizerSkill
Rewrites AI-sounding text so it reads like a person wrote it, without changing the facts.
63,473 GitHub stars - 15RufloSkill
Runs teams of AI agents with shared memory in Claude Code. The skill is a pointer; the tools come from the ruflo package.
80,533 GitHub stars - 16hatch-petOpenAISkill
OpenAI's Codex skill that turns your character art into a custom animated Codex pet. The only pick here built for Codex first.
28,447 GitHub stars
Most installed skills
60 · by installs
- find-skills
Helps users discover and install agent skills when they ask questions like "how do I do X", "find a skill for X", "is there a skill that can...", or express interest in extending capabilities. This skill should be used when the user is looking for functionality that might exist as an installable ski
4.2M installs - grill-me
A relentless interview to sharpen a plan or design.
1.5M installs - hyperframes-cli
The HyperFrames CLI by job - scaffold, check, look at frames, edit the timeline, preview, render locally or in the cloud, publish, project history - plus reading its JSON and recovering from build or render failures.
1.4M installs - hyperframes
Read first to make, edit, animate or render any video with HyperFrames (HTML rendered to video), including launch films, explainers, music videos, charts, maps, vertical clips, title cards, captions and overlays. Holds the render contract, the work loop and what each kind of video needs.
1.3M installs - agent-browser
Browser automation CLI for AI agents. Use when the user needs to interact with websites, including navigating pages, filling forms, clicking buttons, taking screenshots, extracting data, testing web apps, or automating any browser task. Triggers include requests to "open a website", "fill out a form
1.3M installs - grill-with-docs
A relentless interview to sharpen a plan or design, which also creates docs (ADR's and glossary) as we go.
1.3M installs - media-use
Get or make any media for a HyperFrames video - music, sound effects, images, icons, logos, voiceover, avatar and generated video, transcripts, cutouts, colour grades and looks - with HeyGen or free local tools, and mix placed audio. Also for footage that looks dark, flat or dull, or should be styli
1.2M installs - improve-codebase-architecture
Scan a codebase for deepening opportunities, present them as a visual HTML report, then grill through whichever one you pick.
1.2M installs - tdd
Test-driven development. Use when the user wants to build features or fix bugs test-first, mentions "red-green-refactor", or wants integration tests.
1.2M installs - hyperframes-registry
About 450 ready-made HyperFrames blocks and components installed as editable source - transitions, overlays, titles, kinetic type, captions, charts, map overlays, 3D, camera moves. Use it before hand-building any named visual (CRT scanlines, glitch, film grain, a chart); also for hyperframes add and
1.1M installs - setup-matt-pocock-skills
Configure this repo for the engineering skills: set up its issue tracker, triage label vocabulary, and domain doc layout. Run once before first use of the other engineering skills.
1.1M installs - handoff
Compact the current conversation into a handoff document for another agent to pick up.
1.1M installs - frontend-design
Guidance for distinctive, intentional visual design when building new UI or reshaping an existing one. Helps with aesthetic direction, typography, and making choices that don't read as templated defaults.
1.1M installs - grilling
Grill the user relentlessly about a plan, decision, or idea. Use when the user wants to stress-test their thinking, or uses any 'grill' trigger phrases.
1M installs - triage
Move issues and external PRs through a state machine of triage roles, categorise, verify, grill if needed, and write agent-ready briefs.
1M installs - prototype
Build a throwaway prototype to answer a design question. Use when the user wants to sanity-check whether a state model or logic feels right, or explore what a UI should look like.
1M installs - hyperframes-animation1M installs
- hyperframes-core931K installs
- domain-modeling
Build and sharpen a project's domain model. Use when discussing codebase terminology, writing or editing a GLOSSARY.md, or recording or editing an ADR.
920K installs - hyperframes-creative917K installs
Show all 60Show fewer
- teach
Teach the user a new skill or concept, within this workspace.
899K installs - codebase-design
Shared vocabulary for designing deep modules. Use when the user wants to design or improve a module's interface, find deepening opportunities, decide where a seam goes, make code more testable or AI-navigable, or when another skill needs the deep-module vocabulary.
895K installs - diagnosing-bugs
Diagnosis loop for hard bugs and performance regressions. Use when the user says "diagnose"/"debug this", or reports something broken/throwing/failing/slow.
876K installs - vercel-react-best-practices
React and Next.js performance optimization guidelines from Vercel Engineering. This skill should be used when writing, reviewing, or refactoring React/Next.js code to ensure optimal performance patterns. Triggers on tasks involving React components, Next.js pages, data fetching, bundle optimization,
861K installs - code-review
Review the changes since a fixed point (commit, branch, tag, or merge-base) along two axes: Standards (does the code follow this repo's documented coding standards?) and Spec (does the code match what the originating issue/spec asked for?). Runs both reviews in parallel sub-agents and reports them s
834K installs - web-design-guidelines
Review UI code for Web Interface Guidelines compliance. Use when asked to "review my UI", "check accessibility", "audit design", "review UX", or "check my site against best practices".
813K installs - implement
Implement a piece of work based on a spec or set of tickets.
812K installs - ask-matt
Ask which skill or flow fits your situation. A router over the skills in this repo.
802K installs - wayfinder
Plan a huge chunk of work (more than one agent session can hold) as a shared map of decision tickets on your issue tracker, and resolve them one at a time until the way to the destination is clear.
758K installs - hyperframes-keyframes755K installs
- to-spec
Turn the current conversation into a spec and publish it to the project issue tracker: no interview, just synthesis of what you've already discussed.
753K installs - research
Investigate a question against high-trust primary sources and capture the findings as a Markdown file in the repo. Use when the user wants a topic researched, docs or API facts gathered, or reading legwork delegated to a background agent.
751K installs - to-tickets
Break a plan, spec, or the current conversation into a set of tracer-bullet tickets, each declaring its blocking edges, published to the configured tracker (edges as text in one file per ticket locally, or native blocking links on a real tracker).
750K installs - remotion-best-practices
Router for all Remotion skills
728K installs - design-taste-frontend
tasteskill v2, an art-direction skill for websites built from a study of 247 curated gallery sites. Deals a researched direction (idea, composition, type, palette, photographs, section blueprints), enforces a strict house style and checks the page in a real browser.
716K installs - hyperframes-audio664K installs
- general-video661K installs
- caveman
Terse caveman voice: answer first, fluff gone, every technical fact kept. Use for /caveman, "caveman mode", "talk like caveman", "be brief", "less tokens". Stays on until "stop caveman" or "normal mode".
604K installs - wizard
Generate an interactive bash wizard that walks a human through steps only they can perform. Use when provisioning infrastructure, setting up credentials or CI secrets, walking an unfamiliar third-party dashboard, or running a one-off migration or cutover. Don't invoke this for steps the agent can pe
587K installs - microsoft-foundry
Build, deploy, evaluate, optimize, fine-tune, and manage Microsoft Foundry agents, models, and resources end to end. USE FOR: foundry, azd ai agent, azd provision/deploy, hosted agent scaffold/develop/run/deploy/troubleshoot, prompt agent, managed harness agent, Copilot harness, voice agent, create/
586K installs - azure-diagnostics
Debug Azure production issues using AppLens, Azure Monitor, resource health, and safe triage, including evidence-only diagnosis without live access. WHEN: debug production issues, troubleshoot app service, app service high CPU, app service deployment failure, troubleshoot container apps, container a
576K installs - azure-prepare
Prepare azd-based Azure projects for deployment: generates azure.yaml, infrastructure (Bicep/Terraform), and Dockerfiles for the Azure Developer CLI (azd) workflow. USE ONLY when the user explicitly wants to use azd as the deployment tool, or the project already has an azure.yaml file. DO NOT USE FO
576K installs - azure-ai
Use for Azure AI: Search, Speech, OpenAI, Document Intelligence. Helps with search, vector/hybrid search, speech-to-text, text-to-speech, transcription, OCR. WHEN: AI Search, query search, vector search, hybrid search, semantic search, speech-to-text, text-to-speech, transcribe, OCR, convert text to
575K installs - azure-deploy
Execute Azure deployments for ALREADY-PREPARED applications that have existing .azure/deployment-plan.md and infrastructure files. DO NOT use this skill when the user asks to CREATE a new application — use azure-prepare instead. This skill runs azd up, azd deploy, terraform apply, and az deployment
575K installs - azure-validate
Pre-deployment validation for Azure readiness. Run deep checks on configuration, infrastructure (Bicep or Terraform), RBAC role assignments, managed identity permissions, and prerequisites before deploying. WHEN: validate my app, check deployment readiness, run preflight checks, verify configuration
574K installs - azure-storage
Azure Storage Services including Blob Storage, File Shares, Queue Storage, Table Storage, and Data Lake. Answers questions about storage access tiers (hot, cool, cold, archive), when to use each tier, and tier comparison. Provides object storage, SMB file shares, async messaging, NoSQL key-value, an
573K installs - azure-compliance
Run Azure compliance and security audits with azqr plus Key Vault expiration checks. Covers best-practice assessment, resource review, policy/compliance validation, and security posture checks. WHEN: compliance scan, security audit, BEFORE running azqr (compliance cli tool), Azure best practices, Ke
573K installs - appinsights-instrumentation
Guidance for instrumenting webapps with Azure Application Insights. Provides telemetry patterns, SDK setup, and configuration references. WHEN: how to instrument app, App Insights SDK, telemetry patterns, what is App Insights, Application Insights guidance, instrumentation examples, APM best practic
573K installs - azure-resource-lookup
List, find, and show Azure resources across subscriptions or resource groups. Handles prompts like "list the websites in my subscription", "list my web apps", "show my app services", "list virtual machines", "list my VMs", "show storage accounts", "find container apps", and "what resources do I have
573K installs - azure-resource-visualizer
Analyze Azure resource groups and generate detailed Mermaid architecture diagrams showing the relationships between individual resources. WHEN: create architecture diagram, visualize Azure resources, show resource relationships, generate Mermaid diagram, analyze resource group, diagram my resources,
573K installs - entra-app-registration
Guides Microsoft Entra ID app registration, OAuth 2.0 authentication, and MSAL integration. USE FOR: create app registration, register Azure AD app, configure OAuth, set up authentication, add API permissions, generate service principal, MSAL example, console app auth, Entra ID setup, Azure AD authe
573K installs - azure-kusto
Query and analyze data in Azure Data Explorer (Kusto/ADX) using KQL for log analytics, telemetry, and time series analysis. WHEN: KQL queries, Kusto database queries, Azure Data Explorer, ADX clusters, log analytics, time series data, IoT telemetry, anomaly detection.
572K installs - azure-aigateway
Configure Azure API Management as an AI Gateway for AI models, MCP tools, and agents. WHEN: semantic caching, token limit, content safety, load balancing, AI model governance, MCP rate limiting, jailbreak detection, add Azure OpenAI backend, add AI Foundry model, test AI gateway, LLM policies, confi
572K installs - azure-messaging
Troubleshoot and resolve issues with Azure Messaging SDKs for Event Hubs and Service Bus. Covers connection failures, authentication errors, message processing issues, and SDK configuration problems. WHEN: event hub SDK error, service bus SDK issue, messaging connection failure, AMQP error, event pr
564K installs - remotion-to-hyperframes
Bring existing video code or footage into HyperFrames and verify it frame by frame against the original - Remotion first, also Motion Canvas, Lottie, Three.js, p5.js, canvas or plain HTML/CSS animation, or renders from Manim, After Effects or Blender. Use to port, convert, migrate or reuse work made
553K installs - resolving-merge-conflicts551K installs
- product-launch-video539K installs
- google-agents-cli-adk-code
This skill should be used when the user wants to "write agent code", "build an agent with ADK", "add a tool", "create a callback", "define an agent", "use state management" — in a project that needs ADK (Agent Development Kit) API patterns and code examples. It provides a quick reference for agent t
534K installs - google-agents-cli-deploy
This skill should be used when the user wants to "deploy an agent", "deploy my ADK agent", "set up CI/CD", "configure secrets", "troubleshoot a deployment", or needs guidance on Agent Runtime, Cloud Run, or GKE deployment targets, or binding an agent to an Agent Gateway. Covers deployment workflows,
533K installs - google-agents-cli-publish
This skill should be used when the user wants to "publish an agent", "publish my ADK agent", "register an agent with Gemini", "publish to Gemini" (formerly Gemini Enterprise), or needs guidance on the agents-cli publish gemini command. Also use when the user wants to "manage agents in Agent Registry
533K installs
Comparison
Start with a skill when you want Claude to follow your steps, add an MCP server when it needs to reach an app, and install a plugin when someone has packaged both for you.
| Option | Skill | Plugin | MCP server |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | Folder with SKILL.md | Bundle of parts | Tool server |
| What it gives Claude | Steps and know-how | Skills, agents, hooks, servers | Tools for an app |
| Context cost | Description until used | Every session it is on | Tool names until used |
| Add in Claude Code | ~/.claude/skills/ | /plugin install | claude mcp add |
How we ranked these
Both lists are ordered by installs on skills.sh on November 2, 2026. Skills with more than 5,000 installs per GitHub star are left out as likely inflated.
| Criterion | Weight | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|
| Installs on skills.sh | 70% | Lifetime installs shown on skills.sh, the open skills directory run by Vercel, read on November 2, 2026. This is the order of both lists. |
| GitHub stars | 30% | Stars on the repo that holds the skill, shown beside installs. Repos that hold many skills share one star count. |
| Inflated counts left out | A skill with more than 5,000 installs per GitHub star is dropped, as are copies of popular repos posted under other accounts. | |
| Full guide | The first list only includes skills we have written a full guide for, so every name links to install steps and an honest review. The full top 60 by installs is in the directory list. |
Data as of 2026-11-02
Questions
How do I install a Claude skill?
In Claude Code, copy the skill's folder into ~/.claude/skills/, or run npx skills add <owner>/<repo> --skill <name>. Anthropic's own skills install with /plugin marketplace add anthropics/skills. In the Claude app, upload the folder as a zip in Customize > Skills. How to install Claude skills has every step.
What are the best Claude skills?
By installs on skills.sh in November 2026, Vercel's find-skills leads the whole directory. Among the guides listed above, the most used are grill-me (planning interviews), agent-browser (browser control) and Anthropic's frontend-design (UI design). For documents, Anthropic's pptx, pdf, docx and xlsx skills are the standard picks. The lists above link to a full guide for each.
Is there a Claude skills marketplace?
Not a single one. Anthropic's anthropics/skills repo works as a Claude Code plugin marketplace, Claude Code's official plugin marketplace includes plugins that carry skills, and skills.sh is an open directory run by Vercel that lists skills from any GitHub repo with install counts.
Do Claude skills work in Codex?
Yes. Codex reads the same SKILL.md format from .agents/skills in your repo and ~/.agents/skills for you. Add one with $skill-installer, then run /skills or type $ and the skill name. They work in the Codex CLI, the IDE extension and the ChatGPT desktop app.
Can I use Claude skills in Cursor?
Yes. Cursor loads skills from .cursor/skills and .agents/skills, and also reads .claude/skills, so a skill you set up for Claude Code works there too. Type / in Agent chat to call one by name.
Can I use skills in Claude.ai?
Yes, on any plan, Free included, once code execution is on in Settings > Capabilities. Turn skills on or off in Customize > Skills, and upload your own there as a zip. Skills added in the app do not sync to Claude Code or the API.
What is the difference between a skill, a plugin and an MCP server?
A skill teaches the assistant a task, an MCP server connects it to an app, and a plugin packages several of these into one Claude Code install. The table above compares the three; see Claude Code plugins for more.
Are Claude skills safe?
Only as safe as their author. A skill can tell Claude to run scripts or call tools, so a bad one could leak data or change files. Anthropic advises using skills you wrote or got from Anthropic, and reading every file in any other skill first.
How do I find a skill for a task?
Search skills.sh, or run npx skills find with a keyword. The find-skills skill, the most installed skill on skills.sh in November 2026, lets your assistant search and install skills for you when you ask "is there a skill for X?".
Can I make my own skill?
Yes. A skill is a folder with a SKILL.md file that has a name, a short description and plain instructions. Anthropic's skill-creator writes and tests one with you, or follow how to create a Claude skill.
Sources
Docs, issue trackers and discussions this page is built from.
Show all 12Hide
- anthropics/skills README · github.com
- Agent Skills · platform.claude.com
- vercel-labs/skills · github.com
- Using skills in Claude · support.claude.com
- Build skills (Codex) · learn.chatgpt.com
- Agent Skills in Cursor · cursor.com
- skills.sh: The Open Agent Skills Ecosystem · skills.sh
- Agent Skills · agentskills.io
- Discover and install plugins · code.claude.com
- Extend Claude Code · code.claude.com
- Plugins overview · code.claude.com
- Connect Claude Code to tools via MCP · code.claude.com