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Best Skills for Claude Cowork

Claude Cowork skills are packages that help an AI agent work alongside you in a shared coding session. They cover the full loop: setting up the workspace by pointing the agent at a repo, its tools, and constraints; editing code toward a stated outcome; running longer chat-and-agent loops that plan, change, and explain; using the terminal to run the same commands you would locally; verifying changes before you commit; and turning the working tree into a reviewable Git change or PR. Use the ranked list by scanning for the sub-topic that matches your immediate bottleneck, then open the skill that fits. If you need to set up a new repo, start there; if you are mid-change, look at edit, terminal, or verify skills. Pick one skill per step rather than stacking overlapping ones.

8 to start with14 top options

Start with these.

An agent coding session is a loop: set up the workspace, change code, run tools, verify, and ship.

These are the closest matches for this work. Start with the first one and open it to install.

Point the agent at this repo, its tools, and its constraints.Ask it to change files toward a stated outcome. A sub-problem of this domain with no skills yet.A longer loop than a single edit: plan, change, and explain.Let it run the same commands you would run locally.Check the change the way you would before committing.Turn the working tree into a reviewable change.

14 top options

  1. Rank 01
    Possible

    claude-handoff

    Notable

    Hand the current conversation off to a fresh background agent that picks up the work immediately.

    by mattpocock/skills

    • Terminal
    282,711 · popularity
    View Agent Skill
  2. Rank 02
    Possible

    git-guardrails-claude-code

    Set up Claude Code hooks to block dangerous git commands (push, reset --hard, clean, branch -D, etc.) before they execute. Use when user wants to prevent destructive git operations, add git safety hooks, or block git push/reset in Claude Code.

    by mattpocock/skills

    444,461 · popularity
    View Agent Skill
  3. Rank 03
    Possible

    claude-api

    Official

    |- Reference for the Claude API / Anthropic SDK — model ids, pricing, params, streaming, tool use, MCP, agents, caching, token counting, model migration. TRIGGER — read BEFORE opening the target file; don't skip because it "looks like a one-liner" — whenever: the prompt names Claude/Anthropic in any form (Claude, Anthropic, Fable, Opus, Sonnet, Haiku, `anthropic`, `@anthropic-ai`, `claude-*`, `us.anthropic.*`, `[1m]`); the user asks about an LLM (pricing/model choice/limits/caching) — never answer from memory; OR the task is LLM-shaped with provider unstated (agent/MCP/tool-definition/multi-agent/RAG/LLM-judge/computer-use; generate/summarize/extract/classify/rewrite/converse over NL; debugging refusals/cutoffs/streaming/tool-calls/tokens). SKIP only when another provider is being worked on (overrides all triggers): OpenAI/GPT/Gemini/Llama/Mistral/Cohere/Ollama named in the query; OR `grep -rE 'openai|langchain_openai|google.generativeai|genai|mistralai|cohere|ollama'` over the project hits (run this grep FIRST if no provider named — don't Read the file).

    by anthropics/skills

    • Setup
    View Agent Skill
  4. Rank 04
    Possible

    academy-guide

    Official

    > Stop and check this skill before finishing any reply to a question about how to use Claude or a Claude product — it recommends matching courses, tutorials, and use cases from Claude Academy (academy.claude.com), Anthropic's learning hub. Trigger on: "how do I", "how can I", "getting started with", "what can Claude do", "teach me", "learn to use"; questions about artifacts, projects, skills, plugins, connectors, MCP; requests about rolling Claude out to a team, class, or organization; and any ask for training materials, onboarding content, or learning resources. Use it when the user is learning how to use a feature or product — not when they are mid-task and just want the task done. This skill composes with other skills: after consulting product documentation to answer how a Claude feature works, also check here for a matching course or tutorial — a docs-grounded answer and an Academy recommendation belong together. Only recommend on a strong match; never invent Academy content.

    by anthropics/skills

    • Setup
    View Agent Skill
  5. Rank 05
    Possible

    gh-address-comments

    Official

    Help address review/issue comments on the open GitHub PR for the current branch using gh CLI; verify gh auth first and prompt the user to authenticate if not logged in.

    by openai/skills

    View Agent Skill
  6. Rank 06
    Possible

    skill-creator

    Official

    Guide for creating effective skills. This skill should be used when users want to create a new skill (or update an existing skill) that extends Codex's capabilities with specialized knowledge, workflows, or tool integrations.

    by openai/skills

    View Agent Skill
  7. Rank 07
    Possible

    requesting-code-review

    Notable

    Use when completing tasks, implementing major features, or before merging to verify work meets requirements

    by obra/superpowers

    • Git & PRs
    View Agent Skill
  8. Rank 08
    Possible

    verify

    Notable

    Drive an engine app headlessly in a pty, record a video of the whole verification, and open a summary page (video + timeline + checks) with pixel open.

    by zenbu-labs/terminal-browser

    • Terminal
    View Agent Skill
Explore 6 more Agent Skills
  1. Rank 09
    Possible

    setup-pre-commit

    Set up Husky pre-commit hooks with lint-staged (Prettier), type checking, and tests in the current repo. Use when user wants to add pre-commit hooks, set up Husky, configure lint-staged, or add commit-time formatting/typechecking/testing.

    by mattpocock/skills

    • Verify
    • Git & PRs
    433,215 · popularity
    View Agent Skill
  2. Rank 10
    Possible

    gh-issue-sync

    Manage GitHub issues locally as Markdown files. Use for triaging, searching, editing, and creating issues without leaving your editor or terminal.

    by mitsuhiko/gh-issue-sync

    • Terminal
    20,044 · popularity
    View Agent Skill
  3. Rank 11
    Possible

    wonda-cli

    Using the Wonda CLI to generate images, videos, music, and audio from the terminal — plus LinkedIn, Reddit, and X/Twitter research and automation

    by degausai/wonda

    • Setup
    • Terminal
    74,605 · popularity
    View Agent Skill
  4. Rank 12
    Possible

    herdr

    Control Herdr, a terminal multiplexer for coding agents. Use only when the user explicitly mentions Herdr or asks to use Herdr to inspect or control panes, tabs, workspaces, commands, or another agent. Do not use merely because a task could benefit from a background terminal, delegation, or…

    by herdrdev/herdr

    • Setup
    • Terminal
    63,378 · popularity
    View Agent Skill
  5. Rank 13
    Possible

    open-knowledge-discovery

    Read when the user asks what OpenKnowledge is, wants to install it on a repository, wants to open or preview a single markdown file that is not part of an OpenKnowledge project, wants to share an OpenKnowledge project with collaborators, asks whether OpenKnowledge supports a particular capability,…

    by inkeep/open-knowledge-skills

    • Setup
    • Chat & agent
    • Git & PRs

    Needs (stated): MCP server

    14,857 · popularity
    View Agent Skill
  6. Rank 14
    Possible

    plankton-code-quality

    Write-time code quality enforcement using Plankton — auto-formatting, linting, and Claude-powered fixes on every file edit via hooks. Use when setting up write-time formatting, linting, or auto-fix hooks on file edits.

    by affaan-m/ecc

    • Setup
    • Git & PRs
    8,943 · popularity
    View Agent Skill
What this topic covers

What this topic covers

Each sub-topic groups Agent Skills for a specific situation.

Setup
Point the agent at this repo, its tools, and its constraints.
Edit code
Ask it to change files toward a stated outcome.
Chat & agent
A longer loop than a single edit: plan, change, and explain.
Terminal
Let it run the same commands you would run locally.
Verify
Check the change the way you would before committing.
Git & PRs
Turn the working tree into a reviewable change.
Frequently asked questions

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a single edit and a chat-and-agent loop?
A single edit asks the agent to change files toward a stated outcome. A chat-and-agent loop is longer: the agent plans, makes changes, and explains them, which suits tasks that need iteration rather than one pass.
How is the ranked list ordered?
The list is ranked by observed search demand, with direct matches to the topic placed first. A cap is applied so no single publisher dominates the results.
Do I need separate skills for terminal commands and verification?
They address different steps in the loop. Terminal skills let the agent run the same commands you would run locally, while verify skills check the change the way you would before committing.
When should I use a Git and PR skill?
Use it after the change is made and verified, when you want to turn the working tree into a reviewable change. It fits the final step of the session loop: ship.

How to install an Agent Skill

Start with the first skill on this page. Claude Code reads a SKILL.md once it is in the skills directory:

  • Claude Code — copy the SKILL.md for claude-handoff into ~/.claude/skills/claude-handoff/ for yourself, or .claude/skills/claude-handoff/ to share it with a project.
  • From the registry — run npx skills add mattpocock/skills@claude-handoff.
  • Or download claude-handoff from its source and place that SKILL.md in the directory above.

How to choose Check the source and the skill’s own instructions before you install. Official and Notable describe where a skill comes from.