Artifacts and Skills in Claude

What are Skills?

Skills are folders of instructions, scripts, and resources that Claude loads automatically to improve its performance on specialized tasks.

Think of them as expertise packages. When you ask Claude to create an Excel spreadsheet or a PowerPoint presentation, it is not just generating text -- it is invoking a Skill that tells it exactly how to build that file correctly, consistently, and in a format you can actually use. You may have already seen Skills at work without realizing it. Any time Claude has created a downloadable Word document, Excel file, PowerPoint presentation, or PDF for you, a Skill was running behind the scenes.

There are two particular types of skills that Claude uses. The first are Anthropic Skills, which are available to all users in our environment and are invoked by Claude automatically. The second type is Custom Skills, which allows you to create a Skill that encodes your organization's specific workflows -- for example, a grant proposal format, a brand voice review process, a course design checklist -- so Claude follows the same steps every time, for everyone on your team.

Making a Custom Skill

To create a Custom Skill, you may do it within Claude Chat, as all models automatically have the Anthropic Skill ("skill-creator") installed and ready for use. By chatting with Claude to describe, in detail, the skill you want to create, it can generate a readable script and a "skill.md" file.

To create a Custom Skill, however, it is recommended you follow these steps to ensure that the skill is executable and effective.

• Be specific in the description: Vague descriptions (such as "helps with reports") mean Claude won't reliably trigger it. Name exact phrases, file types, or contexts.
• Write the body for an AI reader: Make it step-by-step and imperative in nature.
• Include examples: A good/bad example pair is often worth more than a paragraph of rules.
• Keep it scoped: Aim for one focused skill per workflow instead of a catch-all.

What are Artifacts?

When Claude produces something substantial -- a document, a working piece of code, a diagram, a data visualization -- it creates an artifact.

An artifact is a standalone output that appears in a dedicated window alongside your conversation. Instead of a long block of text buried in the chat, you see your content rendered and ready to use. You can view it, edit it, download it, and share it -- without leaving Claude.

Claude creates an artifact automatically when the output is:

• Substantial and self-contained (typically more than 15 lines)
• Something you are likely to want to edit, reuse, or export
• Content that stands on its own without needing the surrounding conversation

There are six primary types of artifacts that Claude can generate.

Prompting Claude to Make an Artifact

Artifacts do not need any specific coding or skills to invoke. Rather, creating an artifact is as simple as describing what you want. Claude determines whether to present the output as an artifact based on the criteria above.

Some prompts that typically produce artifacts:

• "Create a one-page project brief template I can reuse for new initiatives"
• "Build a flowchart showing our student advising process from first contact to registration"
• "Write a Python script that reads a CSV file and outputs a summary of key statistics"
• "Design a checklist for faculty preparing a new course proposal"

When Claude generates an artifact, it appears in a panel to the right of the conversation. From there you can:

• Toggle between a preview and the underlying code or text
• Copy the content for use elsewhere
• Download the file to your computer
• Continue refining it through the conversation