THE IDEA
Here’s what you need to know.
Skills give Claude reusable instructions, workflows, and sometimes executable tools for specific jobs. Instead of guessing which community skill to install, use Find Skills to search the open skills ecosystem, compare reputable options, and inspect their security results first. The workflow below is primarily for Claude Code and other agents supported by the Skills CLI; Claude chat users can upload a reviewed skill as a ZIP from Customize > Skills.
See the visual breakdown
- 1
Describe the exact job
- 2
Let Find Skills compare matches
- 3
Check all security audits
- 4
Review every file and permission
- 5
Install and test on low-risk work
Source
Use the original publisher and verify the repository URL.
Audits
Read every scanner result, including warnings and pending checks.
Permissions
Inspect scripts, network calls, filesystem access, tools, and dependencies.
Behavior
Test the trigger and output on a disposable, non-sensitive task first.
Open these first
- Open
Find Skills
The Vercel Labs discovery skill. It searches for skills by task and weighs popularity, source reputation, and repository quality.
- Open
Skills.sh security audits
Combined public results from Gen Agent Trust Hub, Socket, and Snyk. Check the individual result from every scanner before installing.
- Open
Anthropic's guide to using Skills
Official steps for enabling, uploading, testing, sharing, and using skills in Claude.
- Open
Anthropic's security review checklist
What to inspect in third-party skills, including scripts, network calls, filesystem access, credentials, and adversarial instructions.
PUT IT INTO PRACTICE
Follow the steps.
Tick off each step as you go. Your progress is saved on this browser.
- STEP 01
Open a terminal where Node.js is available and run the official command below. Skills.sh currently lists Find Skills as the most-installed skill in its directory. The command installs the specific find-skills skill from the Vercel Labs repository.
npx skills add https://github.com/vercel-labs/skills --skill find-skills
- STEP 02
Tell Claude the exact outcome, the tools involved, and any constraints. A request such as ‘audit a Next.js checkout flow for accessibility’ produces a more useful match than ‘find me a coding skill.’ Use this prompt to make Claude compare a small number of relevant options without installing them automatically.
I want to improve this workflow with an agent skill: [DESCRIBE THE JOB, THE RESULT YOU NEED, AND THE TOOLS YOU USE] Use the Find Skills workflow to search for the best-matching skills. Give me no more than three options. For each option, show: - what it does and why it fits my exact task - the publisher and source repository - the current install count - its skills.sh page - the latest Gen, Socket, and Snyk audit results - any scripts, network access, filesystem access, MCP tools, or external dependencies it uses - the exact install command Prefer official or reputable sources and explain any warning or risk result. Do not install anything yet. Wait for me to choose after I have reviewed the source and audit results.
- STEP 03
Open each candidate's skills.sh page and review its Gen, Socket, and Snyk results. Safe, zero alerts, and low risk are stronger signals than a pending, warning, medium, high, or critical result. A mixed result needs investigation—the current Find Skills page itself shows passes from Gen and Socket alongside a Snyk warning, so do not reduce several scanners to one blanket label.
- STEP 04
Open the source repository and inspect SKILL.md plus every referenced script and file. Look for shell commands, package installation, network requests, broad filesystem access, MCP tools, hidden downloads, credential access, and instructions that try to override safeguards. Confirm that the behavior matches the stated purpose.
- STEP 05
After the checks pass, use the exact command shown on that skill's page. Avoid copying an install command from an unrelated post or lookalike repository. If you use Claude chat rather than Claude Code, download the reviewed skill folder, package it in the structure Anthropic requires, and upload the ZIP through Customize > Skills.
- STEP 06
Enable the skill and test it on a disposable example that contains no secrets or sensitive files. Confirm that it triggers only for the intended jobs and does not perform unexpected commands, network calls, or file access. Recheck the source and audits before updating to a newer version.
A FEW THINGS THAT HELP
Get more out of it.
- Install count is a popularity signal, not proof that a skill is safe or good for your exact workflow.
- A security scan can miss unwanted behavior. Anthropic recommends a full review before using a third-party skill.
- Prefer the original publisher, official sources, and repositories with visible history over forks and similarly named copies.
- Do not install a skill that asks for passwords, API keys, private keys, or unrestricted access without a clear, necessary reason.
- Keep your active skill set focused. Too many overlapping skills can trigger incorrectly or reduce reliability.