# Install a custom Claude skill: upload the .zip, check it's on, let Claude use it > A free one-page cheat sheet for installing a custom Claude skill: upload a .zip with a SKILL.md, check the switch, read the description and test it. Source: https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/cheat-sheets/claude-skills-install · Updated 2026-10-20 · Free from Stepthrough (https://learn.ynteractive.com) [Lesson cheat sheet](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/cheat-sheets#kind-lesson) · One page · US letter · [Claude](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/tool/claude) By [Robert Breen](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/about) · Published October 20, 2026 · From the free lesson [How to Install a Custom Skill in Claude (Upload a Skill .zip)](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/install-a-custom-claude-skill) A free one-page cheat sheet for installing a custom Claude skill: upload a .zip with a SKILL.md, check the switch, read the description and test it. [Download the free PDF (76 KB)](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/cheat-sheets/claude-skills-install.pdf)Print this sheet Free, no sign-up and no email needed. It prints on one letter-size page; the whole sheet is below. *▶*StepthroughFree printable cheat sheet · learn.ynteractive.com Install a custom Claude skill: upload the .zip, check it's on, let Claude use it A custom skill is a folder with a **SKILL.md** file inside, zipped up. It teaches Claude your way of doing one task. Maple Row Landscaping is a made-up company. ## Upload it 1. First check **Settings**, **Capabilities**: **Code execution and file creation** must be on. 2. Click **Customize** in the sidebar, then **Yours**. 3. Click **+ Add**, then **Upload skill**. 4. Drag your file onto the box, or click it and pick the zip. A .zip or .skill file must include a **SKILL.md**. A single .md file works if the name and description are at the top. 5. Check the **Preview** (name and description), then click **Upload**. A **Security scan** runs. ## What's inside a SKILL.md **name** Between the --- lines at the top. Here: quote-writer. **description** When to use the skill. Claude reads it to decide. Keep it under 200 characters. **Instructions** Your layout, terms and rules, like "Never guess a price." **Other files** Listed on the **Contents** tab, like a prices.md file. ## Ask in plain words Copy ```text Write a quote for [CUSTOMER] at [ADDRESS]: [SERVICES]. ``` Don't name the skill. Open the line above the reply and look for **Loaded skill quote-writer**. ## Check it - The switch at the top right of the skill's page is **on**, so Claude can use it by itself. - Click **** to read the raw SKILL.md you uploaded. - Add up the quote: $240 + $760 + $1,170 = **$2,170**, all from the price list. - Switch a skill off from its page without deleting it. Colleagues can't see it unless you share it (Team and Enterprise plans). **Remember:** Claude picks a skill by its description, so read the description before you upload, and only upload skills you trust. Practice it free: [How to Install a Custom Skill in Claude (Upload a Skill .zip)](https://learn.ynteractive.com/modules/claude-skills-install) at learn.ynteractive.com/modules/claude-skills-install. This sheet: learn.ynteractive.com/content/cheat-sheets/claude-skills-install. Maple Row Landscaping is a made-up business from the lesson. By Robert Breen, October 20, 2026. ## Practice it in the free lesson **How to Install a Custom Skill in Claude (Upload a Skill .zip)**. Upload your own skill to Claude as a .zip, check that it’s switched on, see what’s inside its SKILL.md, and watch Claude use it to write a landscaping quote your way. You do every step yourself in a practice copy of Claude, it checks your work as you go, and “Do it for me” finishes any step you get stuck on. Free, and nothing touches your real accounts. [Start the free lesson](https://learn.ynteractive.com/modules/claude-skills-install) [Or read the full step-by-step guide](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/install-a-custom-claude-skill) ## Lessons on this sheet - [How to Install a Custom Skill in Claude (Upload a Skill .zip)](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/install-a-custom-claude-skill): Upload your own skill to Claude as a .zip, check that it’s switched on, see what’s inside its SKILL.md, and watch Claude use it to write a landscaping quote your way. - [What Are Claude Skills? Turn One On and Watch It Work](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/what-are-claude-skills): Learn what a Claude skill is, switch on the setting skills need, turn on an example skill in Customize, and watch Claude use its Excel and Word skills on its own. ## Related terms Plain-English definitions, each with an example from a free lesson. [Claude skill](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/claude-skill) · [Code execution and file creation](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/code-execution) · [Markdown](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/markdown) [The full AI glossary](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary) ## Related prompts - [Brand skill brief prompt](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts/brand-skill-brief-prompt): A copy-ready prompt that gives Claude your colors, fonts, logo placement and voice so it drafts a brand skill that keeps… - [Repeat report skill interview prompt](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts/repeat-report-skill-interview-prompt): A copy-ready prompt that asks Claude to interview you about a report you make every week, then draft it as a reusable skill with… [All free prompt templates](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts) ## More cheat sheets - [Claude Code Skills Cheat Sheet](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/cheat-sheets/claude-skills-code): A free one-page cheat sheet for skills in Claude Code: read a SKILL.md, find project and personal skills, install document-skills and check it worked. - [Claude Excel Skill Cheat Sheet](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/cheat-sheets/claude-skills-excel): A free one-page cheat sheet for Claude's Excel skill: upload a messy CSV, get a Data tab, a SUMIFS Summary and a chart, then check what Claude changed. - [AI Email Responder in n8n Cheat Sheet](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/cheat-sheets/ai-email-responder-n8n): A free one-page cheat sheet: n8n watches Gmail, an AI agent reads each customer email and saves a reply as a draft in the same thread. 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