How to install a Claude skill (and where the skills folder actually is)

If you have just downloaded a Claude skill file and you are hunting your machine for a skills folder to drop it into, stop looking. For Claude on the web there is no such folder, and the file does not get installed anywhere. This trips up almost everyone the first time, so here is the whole thing in one place.

The short version

A skill file is plain text. You do not install it. You open it, copy what is inside, and paste that into Claude's Custom Instructions field. That is the entire installation. It takes about a minute.

Installing a skill in Claude (claude.ai)

  1. Find the downloaded file. It is a .md file, usually in your Downloads folder.
  2. Open it. Any text editor will do: Notepad on Windows, TextEdit on Mac, VS Code, or even the browser. Do not worry that it looks like plain text with a few # symbols. That is exactly what it should look like.
  3. Select everything (Ctrl+A or Cmd+A) and copy it.
  4. Go to claude.ai, open Settings, then Custom Instructions.
  5. Paste into the box and save.
  6. Start a new conversation. Claude now behaves as that specialist.

That is it. Nothing is downloaded to Claude, nothing runs on your computer, and no permissions are needed.

So where is the skills folder?

The confusion comes from the fact that different Claude surfaces work differently, and people search for one answer expecting it to cover all three.

  • Claude on the web and in the desktop app - no folder. Custom Instructions, as above. This is what most people mean and what our files are written for.
  • Claude Code - this one does read from disk. Skills live in a .claude/skills/ directory, either inside your project (so the skill travels with the repo) or in your home directory (so it applies everywhere). Each skill is its own subfolder containing a SKILL.md file. If a guide told you about a skills folder, this is the one it meant.
  • Claude Cowork - skills come from what is enabled for your account rather than from a folder you manage by hand.

So the honest answer to "where is the Claude skills folder" is: it exists for Claude Code, and it does not exist for Claude on the web. If you bought a skill file for your day-to-day work, you want Custom Instructions.

Only one skill at a time

Custom Instructions is a single field. One skill lives there at a time. To switch, clear it, paste the next one, save. It takes under a minute.

Two habits make this painless. First, keep your skill files in one folder on your machine that you actually named something findable, so swapping is a copy-paste and not a search. Second, if you catch yourself switching more than a few times a day, that is a sign you want a bundle built around the way you work rather than separate files.

Common problems

The file opens as gibberish or the browser downloads it again

Right-click the file and choose Open with, then pick a text editor. The .md extension confuses some systems into thinking it needs a special app. It does not.

Claude ignores the instructions

Almost always one of three things: you pasted into the wrong box (Project instructions rather than Custom Instructions, or vice versa), you did not save, or you are continuing an old conversation that started before you saved. Start a fresh conversation and check.

Nothing arrived by email

Check spam first. If it is genuinely missing, the file is also in your account order history, and you can email us and we will resend it.

Does this work with ChatGPT and Gemini?

Yes. A skill file is instructions in plain English, and any assistant with a custom-instructions or system-prompt field will accept them. ChatGPT calls it Custom Instructions too; Gemini calls it Saved Info. Our files are written and tested against Claude, so that is where they behave most predictably, but nothing about the format is Claude-specific.

Where to get skill files

We sell about a thousand of them, organised by role. Browse the catalogue, or start with the free ones if you want to test the workflow before paying for anything.

Using a skill in Claude Cowork

Cowork is the one place where the steps above change, and it catches people out. Cowork does not read a folder on your machine at all. It loads the skills enabled on your Claude account, synced at the moment a session starts, which is why enabling a skill once is enough and why a file sitting in a local folder comes back as not found.

If Cowork is where you plan to work, start here: Claude Cowork for beginners, or go straight to the skills built for Cowork file and document work.

KissMySkills is an independent marketplace and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to Anthropic, OpenAI, or any other AI company.

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Frequently asked questions

Where is the Claude skills folder?+

It depends on which Claude you mean, which is the whole source of the confusion. Claude on the web and in the desktop app has no folder at all: you paste the skill into the Custom Instructions field. Claude Code does read from disk, from a .claude/skills/ directory either inside your project or in your home directory, each skill in its own subfolder with a SKILL.md inside. Claude Cowork reads neither, and loads skills from your account instead.

How do I install a skill file in Claude?+

You do not install it in the usual sense. A skill file is plain text. Open it, copy what is inside, and paste that into Claude's Custom Instructions field. That is the entire installation and it takes about a minute.

Can I use more than one Claude skill at the same time?+

In Custom Instructions, no. It is a single field, so one skill lives there at a time. To switch you clear it, paste the next one and save, which takes under a minute. If you catch yourself switching several times a day, that is a sign you want a bundle built around how you work rather than separate files.

Why does my skill not work in Claude Cowork?+

Almost always because it is only in a local folder. Cowork does not read your machine. It loads the skills enabled on your Claude account, synced when a session starts, so the file has to be enabled on the account rather than saved to disk.

The skill file opens as gibberish or downloads again. What went wrong?+

Nothing is broken. A skill file is a plain text document, and some browsers would rather download it than display it. Open it in any text editor, select everything, and copy. There is nothing to unpack and nothing to run.

Do Claude skill files work in ChatGPT and Gemini?+

Yes. A skill file is instructions in plain English, and any assistant with a custom-instructions or system-prompt field will accept them. ChatGPT calls it Custom Instructions too, Gemini calls it Saved Info. Our files are written and tested against Claude, so that is where they behave most predictably, but nothing about the format is Claude-specific.

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