Your first skill

This lesson is still being tested: it improves with learners' feedback. If something is unclear, it is the lesson that needs fixing, not you.

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to

turn a request you repeat into a skill;
write a description that lets Claude know when to use it;
call your skill with /name, or let it trigger by itself;
improve it after testing it.

Why it matters to you

In your “My requests” note you have instructions that you often copy again. A skill stores them once and for all: you type /compte-rendu, or you simply say “write the meeting notes”, and Claude applies your method. This is also exactly how this course’s companion works.

Before you start


You need	Claude Code, your mon-espace-ia folder in Manual mode, and lesson 1 of this module
Duration	40 minutes
Cost	Included in your subscription

Understand it in 3 minutes

A skill is a folder that contains a SKILL.md file. This file has two parts:

a header, between two --- lines, with the name and above all the description: Claude reads it to know when to use the skill;
the instructions, in Markdown, that Claude follows when the skill is used.

According to the documentation (24/10/2026):

	Location	For whom
Project skill	`.claude/skills/<name>/SKILL.md`, in your working folder	This folder only
Personal skill	`~/.claude/skills/<name>/SKILL.md`, in your home folder (on Windows: `%USERPROFILE%\.claude\skills\<name>\SKILL.md`)	All your projects on this computer

Claude uses it when it is useful, or when you type /name. Unlike CLAUDE.md, only the name and the description of a skill are read at every session; its instructions are loaded only when it is used: you can put a detailed method in it without weighing down every session.

Do it together

1Step 1: Choose the request

Example: you often write meeting notes from loose notes. Your usual request looks like this:

Turn these notes into meeting notes: a title, the date, the decisions, then the actions with an owner. 15 lines maximum. Point out what is missing instead of making it up.

2Step 2: Have the skill created

In mon-espace-ia, in Manual mode, write:

Create a project skill named compte-rendu, in .claude/skills/compte-rendu/SKILL.md. Description: "Turns loose notes into short meeting notes (decisions, actions, owners). To be used when I give meeting or call notes." Instructions: a title, the date, the decisions, then the actions with an owner, 15 lines maximum, and point out what is missing instead of making it up. Show me the file before creating it.

Read the proposed file: the header, the description, the instructions. Claude Code asks for your permission, because the .claude folder is protected: in Manual mode, writing in it requires your approval. Allow it if the content suits you, for this time only: Allow in the app (exact label not confirmed), plain “Yes” in the terminal. Do not accept the option that allows writing in .claude for the whole session (in the terminal: “Yes, and allow Claude to edit files in this project’s .claude folder for this session”): Claude could then change your skills and your settings without asking again until the end of the session.

3Step 3: Call it by name

Open a New session in the same folder (in the app: the New session button; in the terminal: /exit, then start claude again, or type /reload-skills), then type:

/compte-rendu Meeting on the 12th. Marc wants to push back the launch. We keep the date of the 3rd. Julie handles the visuals. Budget not yet approved.

(These notes are made up.) The meeting notes should follow your method, and point out that the budget is not approved.

4Step 4: Let it trigger by itself

In the same session, simply write:

Here are my call notes from this morning, turn them into something clean: call with the caterer, he confirms 40 guests, quote to receive on Monday, I need to send him the seating plan.

Claude should recognize the situation described in the description, and apply the skill.

Your turn

Your own skill.

In “My requests”, choose a request that you repeat.
Turn it into a project skill, with a description that starts with the use case.
Test it a first time with /name.
Test it a second time by simply describing your need.
If it does not trigger by itself, make the description more precise.

Check your work

It worked if:

the file .claude/skills/<name>/SKILL.md exists, with a description that says when to use it;
calling it with /name applies your method;
at least one test without the name triggered it, possibly after you made the description more precise.

Common mistakes:

a vague description (“help with documents”): Claude does not know when to use it;
a skill that does everything: one skill, one task;
putting sensitive information in the skill: like CLAUDE.md, it is sent to the AI when it is used.

Keep it and pick it up later

When a project skill is useful everywhere, ask Claude Code to copy it into a personal skill (~/.claude/skills/), after your approval.

Going further

optional

The official documentation on skills, in English: code.claude.com/docs/en/skills (header options, skills that run commands, sharing in a plugin).

New words

4 words explained

Word	What it means
SKILL.md	The file of a skill: a header (name, description) and instructions
Header	The lines between two `---` at the top of the file, which describe the skill
Project skill	A skill stored in the working folder, usable only there
Personal skill	A skill stored in your home folder, usable in all your projects

Still to verify: calling project skills from the desktop app, with a real screenshot.