By Dan Donovan, @askdandonovan
There are thousands of Claude skills. Most of them you don't need. These are the five I'd install if I was starting from scratch, each one with the exact steps and something to try in 30 seconds.
Skills are add-ons that teach Claude new abilities. Without skills, Claude is smart but generic. With the right skills installed, it produces real deliverables (documents, websites, graphics) that you can actually use in your business.
How installing works: Open Claude Code in your terminal. Some skills live in the official marketplace (already available by default). Others live in Anthropic's skills marketplace. To access those, run this one-time setup first: /plugin marketplace add anthropics/skills. Then paste the install command for each skill below. Claude downloads the plugin and it's ready to use immediately, no restarts, no configuration.
This is the one that turns Claude Code from a chatbot into a business tool. It creates real files: PDFs, Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint decks. Files you can email to a client, attach to a proposal, or share with your team.
Without this skill, Claude gives you text. With it, Claude gives you deliverables.
/plugin marketplace add anthropics/skills/plugin install document-skills@anthropic-agent-skillsTry it right now:
Create a PDF proposal for a consulting engagement. Include a cover page, scope of work with 3 deliverables, a 4-week timeline, and pricing at $3,000/month.This is why most AI-built websites look like AI-built websites. Without this skill, Claude reaches for the same defaults every time. With it, Claude has actual design taste. The skill names the three looks AI design always falls back on and tells Claude not to use them, then makes it plan the palette and typography before writing any code.
If you ever want Claude to build you a landing page, a portfolio, or anything someone else will see, install this first.
/plugin install frontend-design@claude-plugins-officialTry it right now:
Build me a landing page for my consulting business. Modern and minimal. Hero section with a clear headline, 3 benefit cards, a testimonial section, and an email signup form. Open it in my browser when you're done.Drop in any URL, article, or YouTube video link. Claude gives you a clean, structured breakdown: key points, takeaways, the important parts pulled out so you don't have to read or watch the whole thing.
Straight up: the other four here are Anthropic's. This one is mine. I wrote it because I wanted a summary that gives a verdict instead of a neutral recap. It's open source, and the install is one command.
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/daniel9834/claude-skills/main/install.sh | bash -s summarize
Articles, PDFs and pasted text work straight away. For video links you also need yt-dlp, one command: brew install yt-dlp. Without it, videos fail with a message telling you why rather than guessing at the content.
Try it right now: Grab any article or YouTube video URL you've been meaning to read or watch. Paste it into Claude Code with the word "summarise", or just "tldr?" if you want the short version.
Need a social media graphic? A poster for an event? A professional-looking one-pager for a client? Describe what you want and Claude builds it as a PNG or PDF, ready to download and post.
This one replaced Canva for me. Not for everything, but for "I need a quick visual and I don't want to open another app," it's faster.
/plugin install example-skills@anthropic-agent-skillsTry it right now:
Create an Instagram post graphic. Bold stat: "Most AI advice is written by people who have never run a business." Dark background, clean modern typography, my handle @askdandonovan at the bottom. Export as PNG.This is the most important skill on this list. Not because of what it does today, but because of what it unlocks tomorrow. Skill Creator teaches Claude how to build skills for your specific business.
It interviews you about what you need. It builds the skill. It tests it. And now you have a custom tool that nobody else has, one that does exactly what your business requires.
Once you have this, you stop needing someone else's list of skills. You make your own.
/plugin install skill-creator@claude-plugins-officialTry it right now:
/skill-creatorSkills are installed. Now do something with them. Each of these takes under 60 seconds and produces something you can actually use.
Produces a real PDF you can email in 30 seconds.
Create a PDF invoice. My company: [Your Name]. Client: [Client Name]. Service: consulting — August 2026. Amount: $2,500. Payment due in 14 days. Include my email for payment questions.A real, deployable page, not a wireframe.
Build a pricing page with 3 tiers: Starter ($29/mo), Pro ($79/mo), and Enterprise (custom). Each tier has 5 features. The Pro tier should be highlighted as most popular. Clean, modern design. Open it in my browser.A scroll-stopping graphic, not a Canva template.
Create a LinkedIn post image. Title: "5 AI Tools That Actually Save Time" — bold white text on a dark gradient background. Subtitle: "Tested by a business owner, not a tech influencer." Clean, professional. Export as PNG.Takes 5 minutes. Claude interviews you and builds it.
/skill-creatorClient proposals sent same-day. Pricing pages deployed before lunch. Weekly reports generated in 30 seconds instead of 2 hours. Custom skills that handle the tasks they used to do manually every single week. None of them write code. They just describe what they need.
How installing works: In the Claude browser or desktop app, go to Customize in the sidebar, then Create new skills. Click the + button to open the Directory. It has three tabs: Skills, Connectors, and Plugins. Search for each skill by name, click the + on the card to add it. No commands to type. Everything is click-based.
Settings (gear icon)CapabilitiesCode execution and file creationThis is the one that turns Claude from a chatbot into a business tool. It creates real files: PDFs, Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint decks. Files you can download, email to a client, or share with your team.
Good news: this one is already done for you. Anthropic made the PDF, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint skills built-in to Claude.ai. You don't need to upload anything. If you've already completed the one-time setup above (toggling on Code execution and file creation), you're ready to go.
Try it right now:
Create a PDF proposal for a consulting engagement. Include a cover page, scope of work with 3 deliverables, a 4-week timeline, and pricing at $3,000/month.This is why most AI-built websites look like AI-built websites. Without this skill, Claude reaches for the same defaults every time. With it, Claude has actual design taste. The skill names the three looks AI design always falls back on and tells Claude not to use them, then makes it plan the palette and typography before writing any code.
Customize → Skills → + and search "frontend". If Frontend Design is listed, add it there and skip the download below. One click, done. Anthropic keeps adding skills to the Directory, so this one may already be waiting for you. If it isn't listed, use the file below instead.
Customize in the sidebarCreate new skills+ button (top right), then Upload skillfrontend-design.zip fileTry it right now:
Build me a landing page for my consulting business. Modern and minimal. Hero section with a clear headline, 3 benefit cards, a testimonial section, and an email signup form.Paste any article text, document, or content into Claude. It gives you a clean, structured breakdown: key points, takeaways, the important parts pulled out so you don't have to read the whole thing.
Try it right now: Copy-paste any article you've been meaning to read, or upload a PDF, and add this prompt:
Summarize this in a structured breakdown: key points, main arguments, and actionable takeaways.Need a social media graphic? A poster for an event? A professional-looking one-pager for a client? Describe what you want and Claude builds it as a PNG or PDF, ready to download and post.
This one replaced Canva for me. Not for everything, but for "I need a quick visual and I don't want to open another app," it's faster.
Customize in the sidebarCreate new skills+ button (top right) to open the DirectorySkills tab, search "canvas"+ to add itTry it right now:
Create an Instagram post graphic. Bold stat: "Most AI advice is written by people who have never run a business." Dark background, clean modern typography, my handle @askdandonovan at the bottom. Export as PNG.This is the most important skill on this list. Not because of what it does today, but because of what it unlocks tomorrow. Skill Creator teaches Claude how to build skills for your specific business.
It interviews you about what you need. It builds the skill. It tests it. And now you have a custom tool that nobody else has, one that does exactly what your business requires.
Once you have this, you stop needing someone else's list of skills. You make your own.
Customize in the sidebarCreate new skills+ button (top right) to open the DirectorySkills tab, search "skill"+ to add itTry it right now:
I want to create a custom skill. Interview me about my business and what tasks I do repeatedly, then build a skill for me.Skills are enabled. Now do something with them. Each of these takes under 60 seconds and produces something you can actually use.
Produces a real PDF you can download and email in 30 seconds.
Create a PDF invoice. My company: [Your Name]. Client: [Client Name]. Service: consulting — August 2026. Amount: $2,500. Payment due in 14 days. Include my email for payment questions.A complete HTML page you can download and use.
Build a pricing page with 3 tiers: Starter ($29/mo), Pro ($79/mo), and Enterprise (custom). Each tier has 5 features. The Pro tier should be highlighted as most popular. Clean, modern design.A scroll-stopping graphic, not a Canva template.
Create a LinkedIn post image. Title: "5 AI Tools That Actually Save Time" — bold white text on a dark gradient background. Subtitle: "Tested by a business owner, not a tech influencer." Clean, professional. Export as PNG.Takes 5 minutes. Claude interviews you and builds it.
I want to create a custom skill. Interview me about my business and what tasks I do repeatedly, then build a skill for me.Client proposals sent same-day. Pricing pages deployed before lunch. Weekly reports generated in 30 seconds instead of 2 hours. Custom skills that handle the tasks they used to do manually every single week. None of them write code. They just describe what they need.