Here are four Claude skills examples you can copy today: a client proposal writer, a monthly report builder, an email skill that writes in your voice, and a skill that turns meeting notes into an action list, each as a complete SKILL.md file. Every one uses a lowercase hyphenated name and a description under 200 characters that says what the skill does and when Claude should use it.
A skill is a folder with a SKILL.md file that Claude loads when a request matches it. The examples below are original, written for small business and marketing jobs, and short enough to read in a minute. Copy one, change the parts written in plain words (the client name, your format, your rules), and load it using the steps further down.
What every example here gets right
The rules come from Anthropic's own docs. The name can be up to 64 characters, using lowercase letters, numbers and hyphens only, and it can't contain the words anthropic or claude. The Help Center caps the description at 200 characters, while the Platform docs allow 1,024, so I've kept every description under the stricter limit. The description is the part Claude reads when deciding whether to use the skill, so it has to say what the skill does and when to use it.
Here's the difference in practice. A weak description says "Helps with proposals." Claude can't tell when that applies. A strong one says "Writes client proposals in our house structure from call notes. Use when asked to draft or rewrite a proposal for a new or returning client." Now Claude knows the job and the trigger.
There's also a reason these files are short. Only the name and description, about 100 tokens, load at startup. The body loads when the skill is triggered, and Anthropic's guidance keeps it under 5k tokens. The Claude Code docs say to keep SKILL.md under 500 lines and move long reference material into separate files, which is what the email example does with its samples file.
Example: client proposals
Copy this SKILL.md
---
name: client-proposal-writer
description: Writes client proposals in our house structure from call notes or a brief. Use when asked to draft, rewrite or tidy a proposal or scope of work for a client.
---
# Client proposal writer
Use this structure every time:
1. Open with the client's goal in their own words, taken from the notes.
2. Sum up what we heard: up to three problems, one line each.
3. Set out the work in phases, with what the client gets at the end of each.
4. List what's not included.
5. Close with the agreed fee, the start date and one clear next step.
Rules: plain English, short paragraphs, no jargon the client didn't use first. If the fee or start date is missing, ask for it rather than guessing.
Example: from the note "wants more booked calls from LinkedIn, team of two", open with "You want more booked calls from LinkedIn without adding work for a team of two."
Example: monthly reports
Copy this SKILL.md
---
name: monthly-report-builder
description: Turns a set of monthly figures and notes into a one-page client or team report. Use when asked for a monthly report, month-end summary or performance recap.
---
# Monthly report builder
Steps:
1. Read the figures provided. Never invent or estimate a number.
2. Lead with the three changes that matter most, good or bad.
3. Add a short table: metric, this month, last month.
4. Write one paragraph on why, using only the notes given.
5. End with two priorities for next month.
Rules: if a figure is missing, write "not supplied". Keep the whole report to one page. Name the source of each figure under the table.
Example line: "Enquiries rose after the webinar while newsletter clicks dipped, so next month we'll test a shorter subject line."
Example: emails in your voice
Copy this SKILL.md
---
name: email-voice-writer
description: Drafts emails in the owner's own voice using the samples saved with this skill. Use when asked to write, reply to or rewrite a client, partner or supplier email.
---
# Email voice writer
Before drafting, read samples.md in this folder. It holds three emails the owner sent and liked.
Voice rules:
1. Use contractions: I'm, we've, don't.
2. Answer the question asked in the first line.
3. Short sentences, one idea per paragraph.
4. Warm close with first name only.
5. Never use the words listed under Avoid in samples.md.
If the email needs a fact you don't have, such as a date or a price, leave a clear note for the owner instead of filling it in.
Example: "Thanks for this, Sam. Yes, Thursday works. I'll send the brief on Wednesday so you've time to read it first."
Example: meeting notes to action lists
Copy this SKILL.md
---
name: meeting-actions
description: Turns meeting notes or a call transcript into an action list with owners and due dates. Use after a client call, team meeting or workshop when notes need follow-up.
---
# Meeting actions
Steps:
1. Pull out every decision, then every action.
2. Give each action an owner and a due date. If either is missing, write "owner needed" or "date needed".
3. Group the actions by owner.
4. List open questions at the end.
5. Keep the wording of the person who agreed to the action.
Output format: Decisions, then Actions by owner, then Open questions.
Example: "Priya: send the revised timeline to the client by Friday."Work with meWant AI doing the heavy lifting in your marketing?
I build the systems that handle the boring 80 percent, so you get your week back. Done properly, with the human kept in.
How to load one into Claude
- Paste the text into a plain text file and save it as SKILL.md.
- Put it in a folder named exactly like the skill, for example meeting-actions. A folder name that doesn't match the skill name is one of the upload errors the Help Center lists.
- Add any extra file the skill mentions, such as samples.md for the email skill, inside the same folder.
- ZIP the folder so the folder itself sits at the root of the ZIP, not loose files.
- In Claude, go to Customize, then Skills, click the plus button, choose Create skill, then Upload a skill.
- Upload the ZIP and check the toggle is on.
- Try a few different prompts that should trigger it, and look at Claude's thinking to confirm it loaded the skill. If it doesn't, sharpen the description first.
If the upload fails, the usual causes are a ZIP over the size limit, a missing SKILL.md, a folder name that doesn't match, or invalid characters in the name or description. Menu paths are as of October 2026.
Borrow the pattern from Anthropic's internal-comms skill
Once one of these works, look at how Anthropic structures its own internal-comms skill in the anthropics/skills repository. It identifies the type of message you asked for, then loads one guideline file from an examples folder: 3p-updates, company-newsletter, faq-answers or general-comms for anything else. If nothing matches, it asks for more context. You can do the same with the email skill above: one file for sales replies, one for supplier emails, one for complaints, each loaded only when needed. That's how a skill grows without the main file getting long.
One caution as you grow them. These four examples are plain instructions. If you add scripts, or a step that fetches content from a web address, review it carefully: Anthropic's Platform docs flag skills that fetch data from external URLs as a particular risk, because fetched content can contain malicious instructions.
Which example I'd build first
I'd start with the meeting notes skill. It's the easiest to test, because you can tell at a glance whether every action got an owner and a date. Then add the email skill once you've picked your three best sent emails for the samples file. Skip building all four on day one; one skill you trust beats four you keep second-guessing. If a single prompt already does the job, keep it as a prompt, and my Claude prompts for business are a good place to grab one. And if what you need is background that's always loaded, such as a client's history, that belongs in a project, not a skill: here's how to use Claude Projects. For the basics behind all of this, see my guide to what Claude skills are.
If you'd like help turning your team's repeat jobs into Claude skills that work the same way every time, that's the kind of AI enablement I help with. I run AI training and workshops for teams, and help businesses with AI enablement and workflow automation, so the busywork runs itself and people get time back. Most of that work is with SaaS marketing teams and small businesses. Here's how we can work together.
Frequently asked questions
What is an example of a Claude skill?
A meeting-actions skill is a simple example: a SKILL.md file with a name, a description saying it turns meeting notes into an action list and when to use it, and short steps for owners, dates and open questions.
What does a SKILL.md file need?
YAML frontmatter with a name and a description, then instructions in Markdown. The description must say what the skill does and when Claude should use it.
How long can a Claude skill description be?
The Help Center caps it at 200 characters and the Platform docs allow 1,024. Staying under 200 keeps you within both.
Can I use the word claude in my skill name?
No. The Platform docs say a skill name can't contain the reserved words anthropic or claude, and it should use lowercase letters, numbers and hyphens only.
Where can I see Anthropic's own skill examples?
In the anthropics/skills repository on GitHub. Its internal-comms skill is a useful pattern because it loads a different guideline file for each type of message.
