Skill Installation

By the Syncfusion DevTutorials team · Last updated October 22, 2026

Where to put a skill so your tool finds it: project and personal folders, one shared folder for the team, the three install checks, and how to confirm a skill loaded.

A Skill Only Works in the Right Folder

Skill installation = putting a skill folder where your coding tool looks for skills. In this lesson, you will learn where skills go and how to check that one really loaded.

A great skill does nothing if the agent cannot find it.

The agent only looks in a few folders.

If your skill is somewhere else, the agent never sees it.

Three things must be right:

• the folder the skill sits in
• the file name, which must be SKILL.md
• the folder name, which must match the skill's name

Simple lesson: right folder, right file name, matching name. Then check that it loaded.

A Real-World Example

You buy milk and put it in the cupboard.

The next morning, you look in the fridge. No milk.

The milk is fine. It is just in the wrong place. Skills work the same way.

The Skill Lab has no folders and no tool picker. It holds your DevKit in the browser. Use Copy file to copy a skill's files, then paste them into the right folder in your own project.

Click the button and open the Library tab.

• Copy file: copies the whole SKILL.md.
• The folder name: use the skill's name, here commit-writer.
• Extra folders: copy references/, scripts/ and templates/ too, if the skill has them.

Simple lesson: the Skill Lab gives you tested files. You install them in your own editor.

What You Will Learn

In this lesson, you will learn:

1. Where each tool looks for skills.
2. When to use a project skill and when to use a personal skill.
3. How to pick one folder that your whole team can use.
4. Which front matter fields work in every tool.
5. How to install a skill, step by step.
6. How to check that a skill loaded.

Where Tools Look for Skills

Project and Personal Folders

There are two kinds of skill folders.

• Project folder = a folder inside your repository. Everyone who clones the repo gets the skill.
• Personal folder = a folder in your home folder. Only you get the skill, in every project.

~ means your home folder. For example, C:\Users\you on Windows.

Each skill gets its own folder inside a skills folder.

Example: .claude/skills/commit-writer/SKILL.md

Simple lesson: the tool decides which folders count. Put the skill in one of them.

One Folder for the Whole Team

Teams often use more than one tool.

So pick a folder that most of your tools read.

Watch each folder get counted:

.claude/skills/ and .agents/skills/ each reach three of the four tools.

If your team uses all four, you may need the skill in both folders.

Simple lesson: one shared folder means one copy for everyone.

Project or Personal?

Ask one question: who needs this skill?

Use a project skill when:

• the skill holds a team rule, like the release note format
• teammates should review changes in a pull request

Use a personal skill when:

• the skill is only your own habit
• you want it in every project you open

Simple lesson: team rules go in the project. Your own habits go in your home folder.

Same Skill, Different Tools

The same SKILL.md can work in many tools.

But each tool reads its own folders. And not every tool reads every front matter field.

Extra field = any front matter field other than name and description.

A tool that does not know an extra field may skip it, or show a warning.

So a rule hidden in an extra field may not work in every tool.

Simple lesson: name and description work everywhere. Everything else depends on the tool.

Installing a Skill

The Steps

1. Pick the scope: project or personal.
2. Pick the folder your tools read.
3. Make a folder named exactly like the skill's name.
4. Add SKILL.md, with that exact spelling. Add any extra folders the skill uses.
5. Start a new chat, so the tool scans again.
6. Check that it loaded (next section).

my-repo/
  .claude/
    skills/
      commit-writer/
        SKILL.md
      release-note-helper/
        SKILL.md
        references/style-guide.md
        scripts/check_notes.py

Small Mistakes Stop a Skill

Most install problems are one of three small mistakes.

Watch Priya fix her install, one mistake at a time:

The skill text never changed. Only the place and the names changed.

Simple lesson: if a skill does not load, check the folder, the file name and the name.

Checking That a Skill Loaded

List the Skills

If the skill is not in the list, the tool did not find it.

Start a new chat first. Many tools only scan at the start.

Test Both Ways

A full check has two tests.

• Call it by name: type /commit-writer (or $commit-writer in Codex). This tests the instructions.
• Ask in plain words: "commit message for these changes please". This tests the description.

Watch the full check, step by step:

Important:

• Works by name but not on its own? Fix the description.
• Does not work either way? Check the install again.

Click the button and open the Activation tab.

• The request: the words you typed.
• The scores: which skill matched, and why.

Simple lesson: list it, call it by name, then ask in plain words.

Two Copies With the Same Name

Sometimes the same skill is in two places.

For example, one copy in the project and one in your home folder.

Then you may edit one copy while the tool loads the other.

Simple lesson: if your change does nothing, check which copy the tool loads.

Common Mistakes

Check Your Understanding

Exercises

What to Remember

• To install a skill, put its folder inside a skills folder your tool reads.
• The file must be named SKILL.md, and the folder name must match name.
• Project skills are for the team. Personal skills are only for you.
• .claude/skills/ and .agents/skills/ each reach three of the four tools. Pick one for your team.
• Check every install: list it, call it by name, then ask in plain words.
• Watch out for two copies with the same name.

Next: Release Note Skill. You will build your first real skill, step by step, and install it.