Creating Custom Skills
FreeSkill development guide
FreeFree tier
About Creating Custom Skills
This guide explains how to create custom skills for Claude, allowing users to enhance the AI with specialized knowledge and workflows tailored to their organization or personal work style. It covers writing skills with clear instructions, examples, and triggers, as well as the 'Record a skill' feature available on Pro, Max, and Team plans for Claude for Mac, where users can record their screen and narration to automatically generate a skill. Skills can range from simple lines of instructions to multi-file packages with executable code. The guide also details best practices, editing, and managing saved skills.
Key Features
Create custom skills with clear instructions and optional examples
Record a skill by capturing screen and audio narration (Mac only, Pro/Max/Team)
Skills can be simple instructions or multi-file packages with executable code
Skills are triggered when Claude detects a matching workflow
Review and edit recorded skills before saving, or discard them
Share, edit, and delete saved skills from the Customize Skills menu
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Enables highly specialized and repeatable custom workflows
- Recording feature drastically simplifies skill creation for visual or interactive tasks
- Skills can be as simple or complex as needed, from text to executable code
- Clear structure with examples improves reliability and reduces errors
- Skills are reusable and shareable across team plans
Cons
- Recording a skill is only available on Pro, Max, and Team plans in Claude for Mac (not Windows, Free, or Enterprise)
- Recording is limited to about 10 minutes per session
- Requires enabling code execution feature
- Recording captures entire screen including sensitive information—privacy warning provided
- Skills require careful structuring to avoid overlapping or conflicting triggers
Best For
Automating repetitive, specific tasks with ClaudeAdding domain-specific knowledge or workflowsStandardizing processes across a team or organizationRecording and transforming manual steps into reusable skillsCreating multi-step coding or data processing routines
FAQ
What plans support custom skills?
Skills are available on Free, Pro, Max, Team, and Enterprise plans. However, the 'Record a skill' feature is limited to Pro, Max, and Team plans on Claude for Mac.
How do I record a skill?
Open Cowork in Claude for Mac, click the + button in the composer or go to Customize Skills > Add > Record your screen, then click Start Recording. Perform the task, narrating if helpful, then click Done. Claude will propose a skill from the recording.
Can I edit a recorded skill?
Yes. After recording, Claude shows a proposal with a NEW or UPDATE label. You can expand the content to read the skill before deciding to Save, Dismiss, or Update. Saved skills can be edited later in Customize Skills.
What happens to the recording after?
The video and audio from the recording are not retained. Only a set of screenshots from the session are saved for review, which you can view via the skill's details.