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Add a skill to the Claude app from a ZIP file

Upload a skill ZIP in Customize › Skills on claude.ai or the Claude desktop app, turn it on, and check that Claude uses it. Works for Recaply's premium skills.

By Recaply EditorsBeginner8 min5 stepsUpdated

A hand drops an envelope into an open letter tray

On claude.ai and in the Claude desktop app, a skill isn't a folder on your computer. You upload it as a ZIP file, and Claude uses it in your chats when a task fits.

Short answer: turn on code execution, open Customize › Skills, choose to upload a skill, pick the ZIP, and check that its switch is on.

What you need

  1. Step 1: Get a ZIP with one skill folder in it

    2 min

    Claude wants the skill's folder at the top of the ZIP: not loose files, and not a folder inside another folder.

    1. Premium skill: on its Recaply page, sign in, buy it (or use the plan), then click Download ZIP. It's already in the right shape.
    2. Free skill: download the maker's repo, find the folder that holds the skill's SKILL.md, and zip just that folder.
    3. On a Mac, right-click the folder and choose Compress. On Windows, right-click it and choose Send to › Compressed (zipped) folder.

    You should see a ZIP that opens to one folder, named like the skill, with SKILL.md inside.

    A whole-repo ZIP from GitHub won't upload?

    A repo download wraps the whole repo in an extra folder. Unzip it, then zip only the skill's own folder.

    The folder's name must match the skill's name. A mismatch is one of the reasons Claude rejects an upload.

  2. Step 2: Turn on code execution

    1 min

    Skills run in Claude's code environment, so it has to be on.

    1. Open Settings › Capabilities.
    2. Turn on Code execution and file creation. In the newer Settings layout it's called Create and edit files.

    You should see the switch on.

    On Enterprise plans, an owner turns on Code execution and file creation and Skills in Organization settings › Plugins & skills, on the Policy tab. Team plans have skills on by default.

  3. Step 3: Upload the skill

    2 min

    Uploading adds the skill to your account.

    1. Open Customize, then Skills. In the desktop app, Customize is in the sidebar.
    2. Click +, then Create skill, then Upload a skill. Some versions show Add, then Upload skill.
    3. Pick your ZIP.

    You should see the skill in your skills list, with a switch next to it.

    The upload fails?

    Claude's help center lists the usual causes: the ZIP is too big, the folder name doesn't match the skill's name, SKILL.md is missing, or the name or description has characters it doesn't accept.

  4. Step 4: Turn it on and check that Claude uses it

    2 min

    Claude can use only the skills whose switch is on, and it picks them on its own.

    1. In Customize › Skills, check that the skill's switch is on.
    2. Start a new chat and ask for the job the skill does.
    3. Watch Claude's thinking as it works. It mentions the skill when it reads it.

    You should see the skill named in Claude's thinking, then an answer that follows its steps.

    Claude doesn't use it?

    Mention the skill by name in your request, and use words from its description.

  5. Step 5: Use the same skill in Claude Code

    1 min

    Claude Code can sync the skills you turn on at claude.ai, so you upload once.

    1. Sign in to Claude Code with /login and your claude.ai account. Syncing needs Claude Code v2.1.273 or later.
    2. Start a session. Claude Code downloads your skills to ~/.claude/skills/synced/ and checks for changes about every 10 minutes while you work.
    3. Run /skills and look under claude.ai sync.

    You should see your uploaded skill under claude.ai sync.

    Nothing syncs?

    Syncing skips sessions that sign in with an API key, run on Amazon Bedrock, or run in bare or safe mode. If you signed in with /login during a session, restart Claude Code.

    Change a synced skill at claude.ai, not in that folder: Claude Code never uploads, and the next sync can overwrite local edits.

You get

A skill on your Claude account that Claude uses in chats, and in Claude Code if you like

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