Here's how Claude himself explained it, and I think he really captures the essence of it: Claude Skills solve a common problem: normally, when you want an LLM to do something specific, you have to prompt it each time. Or maybe you set up custom instructions in a project, but then you can only use those instructions when you're in that project. Otherwise, you're back to copying and pasting the same prompt over and over. Skills change this completely. Think of it like Neo's "I know kung fu" moment in The Matrix. Just like they uploaded kung fu directly into Neo's brain and he could instantly use it, you're uploading specialized knowledge into Claude that it can apply automatically whenever needed. When you create a Skill, you're building a knowledge package with instructions, best practices, examples, and specific guidance for a task. You download it, upload it back into Claude's Skills section, and you're done. From that point forward, whenever you mention anything relevant to that Skill (or even just start a task it applies to), Claude automatically uses that knowledge. It's like giving Claude a reference guide it checks before starting work. The beauty is the "anywhere, anytime, automatically" part. You don't have to keep uploading prompts. You don't have to be in a specific project. It takes the concept of custom instructions and makes it universal across every single conversation you have. Skills just work in the background whenever they're relevant, no manual triggering needed. It's Claude's "I know kung fu" moment. Answer from hesasorcererthatone on reddit.com