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FAQ.md
Frequently Asked Questions
? Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Claude Skills and SkillsMP
Basics
Q:Do Skills really make a difference? Base Claude works fine for me.
If your tasks are one-off and general, base Claude is perfect.
But Skills shine when you:
- Repeat similar tasks often (saves explaining context every time)
- Need to follow specific company workflows
- Require deep domain expertise not in Claude's training
- Want consistent results every time
Think of it this way: base Claude is a smart generalist, Skills add specialist knowledge.
Quality & Testing
Q:Have all these skills been tested?
Honestly? No.
We've collected 14,000+ skills from the community - quality varies widely. We haven't personally tested each one.
That's why we're building:
- Rating and review system
- Community feedback mechanisms
- Quality filters and badges
For now, treat Skills like open-source code - review before use, check GitHub stars, read reviews.
Q:How do I know if a skill is good quality?
Look for these signals:
✓ High GitHub stars (community validation)
✓ Active maintenance (recent commits)
✓ Clear documentation in SKILL.md
✓ Real-world use cases in README
✓ Comes from domain experts, not just AI-generated
Coming soon: User ratings and reviews with real scenarios.
Q:Are there security risks?
Yes, treat Skills like any open-source code:
⚠️ Skills can contain scripts (Python, Bash, etc.)
⚠️ Always review the code before installation
⚠️ Check the author's reputation on GitHub
⚠️ Prefer skills from trusted sources
We don't scan for malware (yet). This is community-driven content - use common sense and due diligence.
Installation & Usage
Q:Do Skills work on all platforms?
Most skills work everywhere:
✅ Regular Skills (Python/JS/Markdown) → Web + Desktop + CLI
⚠️ Skills using MCP tools → Desktop + CLI only (not Web)
Check the skill's detail page for platform compatibility tags.
References
Q:Can I install multiple skills at once?
Batch installation is coming soon!
Currently:
- Use /plugin marketplace for skills with marketplace.json
- Or download ZIP and manually copy to ~/.claude/skills/
We're working on:
- Batch download by author
- Batch download by category
- Auto-install related skills
Technical Details
Q:What's the difference between Skills, Agents, Commands, and Hooks?
These are all types of Claude Code plugins:
• Skills (SKILL.md) - Knowledge and workflows
• Agents (AGENT.md) - Autonomous task executors
• Commands (COMMAND.md) - Slash commands (/foo)
• Hooks - Event triggers (pre-commit, etc.)
Many repositories contain multiple types bundled together.
Q:How does 'lazy loading' work?
Skills use progressive disclosure:
1. Claude initially sees: skill name + short description (tiny tokens)
2. If potentially relevant: Claude reads full SKILL.md (more tokens)
3. If needed: Claude loads references/ and assets/ (even more tokens)
This saves tokens vs. loading everything upfront (like MCP does).
Q:Can I modify a downloaded skill?
Absolutely! Once installed, skills are just files on your system.
You can:
✓ Edit SKILL.md to customize workflows
✓ Add your own best practices
✓ Modify scripts in scripts/ directory
✓ Fork on GitHub and share your version
Just respect the original license terms.
References
Community & Contributing
Q:How do I submit my skill to SkillsMP?
We auto-index skills from GitHub!
To get indexed:
1. Create a GitHub repo with SKILL.md file
2. Add proper frontmatter (name, description)
3. Add topic: claude-skills or claude-code-skill
4. Wait for our next sync (runs daily)
Submission system coming soon for manual additions.