Browse the 71K-Star Claude Skills Catalog: Find, Install, and Build Skills

The hard part of using agent skills is not writing them — it is finding the right one. With hundreds of skill repos across GitHub, a 71K-star curated catalog like ComposioHQ/awesome-claude-skills solves the discovery problem: it lists the best Claude Skills, resources, and tools in one place, organized by task, with install paths and usage notes for each.

Why This Catalog Matters

The catalog collects skills across eleven categories: document processing, development tools, data and analysis, business and marketing, communication and writing, creative and media, productivity, collaboration, security, assistive technology, and app automation. Every entry links to its source repo, so you know exactly what you are installing and where it comes from.

It also doubles as a getting-started guide. The README explains how skills load (progressively, roughly 100 tokens per skill at session start), how to use them in Claude Code, Claude.ai, and the API, and how to build your own with a ready-made template.

Install a Skill from the Catalog

Skills are folders with a SKILL.md file plus optional scripts/, templates/, and resources/ subfolders. To install one from the catalog:

# Create the skills directory for Claude Code
mkdir -p ~/.config/claude-code/skills/

# Copy the skill folder you picked from the catalog
cp -r skill-name ~/.config/claude-code/skills/

# Verify the metadata looks right
head ~/.config/claude-code/skills/skill-name/SKILL.md

Then start Claude Code:

claude

The skill loads automatically and activates when your task matches its description. The catalog lists which path each tool expects — the pattern above is for Claude Code; Claude.ai has a marketplace picker, and the API accepts skills by ID.

Real Workflow: Pick a Document Skill

You regularly work with Word documents and PDFs. The catalog's Document Processing section points to the official skills from the Anthropic repo:

• docx — create, edit, and analyze Word docs with tracked changes and comments
• pdf — extract text and tables, merge and annotate PDFs
• pptx — read, generate, and adjust slides
• xlsx — formulas, charts, and data transformations in spreadsheets

Install the one you need, then use it:

Convert the attached Word contract to a PDF and highlight all
dates that are within the next 30 days.

The skill activates on its own because the task matches its description. You get the result without writing a single prompt-engineering line.

Real Workflow: Add Real-World Actions with the connect-apps Plugin

Most skills generate text. If you want Claude to do things — send emails, create issues, post to Slack — the catalog's quickstart shows a plugin path that connects Claude to 1,000+ apps.

# Install the plugin
claude --plugin-dir ./connect-apps-plugin

Inside Claude Code, run the setup command:

/connect-apps:setup

Paste your API key when asked. You can get a free key from the Composio dashboard. Then restart Claude Code:

exit
claude

Test it with a real action:

Send an email to the team summarizing today's decisions.

If the email arrives, Claude is now connected to the app ecosystem. The catalog documents which tools are available per app and the auth flow for each.

Understand How Skills Load

Before you install twenty skills, know how the runtime handles them:

• At session start, the agent sees only each skill's name and description — roughly 100 tokens per skill.
• The full SKILL.md body (typically under 5,000 tokens) loads only when the skill is relevant to the current task.
• Auxiliary files in scripts/ and references/ load on demand.

This is why a single agent can host hundreds of skills without bloating its context window. Skills are not MCP servers (which handle external connections) and not tools (individual functions). Skills define the workflow — what to do, in what order, with what guardrails.

Build Your Own with the Template

The catalog includes a basic skill template. Each skill is a folder with a SKILL.md containing YAML frontmatter:

---
name: my-skill-name
description: A clear description of what this skill does and when to use it.
---

# My Skill Name

Detailed description of the skill's purpose and capabilities.

## When to Use This Skill

- Use case 1
- Use case 2

## Instructions

[Detailed instructions for Claude on how to execute this skill]

## Examples

[Real-world examples showing the skill in action]

Best practices from the repo: focus on specific repeatable tasks, include clear examples and edge cases, write instructions for the agent (not end users), test across Claude.ai, Claude Code, and the API, and document prerequisites and error handling.

Tips

• Read the category index first. The table of contents maps every section, so you can jump straight to the task you need.
• Prefer official skills for core formats. For docx, pdf, pptx, and xlsx, the catalog points to Anthropic's official skills — the safest starting point.
• Install one skill at a time. Because skills load progressively, a few well-chosen skills beat a pile of marginal ones.
• Check the source repo before installing. Every entry links to its origin. If a skill is unmaintained or from an unknown author, the catalog lets you check before you copy.
• Contribute back. The repo accepts pull requests for new skills, with quality standards documented in the contributing guide.

When Not to Use This

Skip the catalog if you already know exactly which skill you need — go straight to the source repo. It is also not an installer: unlike some collections, this repo has no npx command that places skills for you. You browse, copy, and place folders yourself.

Discover more curated collections and individual skills on the SkillMap leaderboard.