My First Skill

A skill is a set of instructions saved in a file called SKILL.md. Your AI app loads it whenever you ask for it, so you don't have to paste the same instructions into every chat. Every skill has two parts:

A description at the top, which tells the agent when to use the skill.
The instructions below it, which tell the agent what to do.

We're going to make a skill called Greet User. When you say hello, it replies with a friendly greeting and tells you which file its instructions came from. It doesn't do anything useful yet, but it's a quick way to check that your AI app can find a skill you wrote yourself.

Not every app looks for skills in the same folder, so pick the app you're using and your computer:

I'm using on

Pick both to see the steps.

Skills for DeepSeek Harness go in .agents/skills in your home folder, so that's where yours will go.

Step 1: Make the `.agents/skills` folder

Open Finder. In the menu bar, click Go → Home.

Open File Explorer. Click the address bar at the top, type %USERPROFILE% and press Enter. This opens your home folder.

Open your file manager (called Files on Ubuntu). It opens in your home folder. If it doesn't, click Home in the sidebar.
Press Ctrl + H to show hidden folders. Folders whose names start with a dot are hidden on Linux, and they'll now appear in the list.
Press Shift + Command + . (period) to show hidden folders. Folders whose names start with a dot are hidden on a Mac, and they'll now appear faded.
If you see a .agents folder, open it. If not, make one:

Open the .claude folder. Claude Code makes it the first time you use it, so if it isn't there, open the Code tab in the Claude app once and check again. If it's still missing, make one:

Click File → New Folder and name it .agents (with the dot). If Finder asks whether you're sure you want a name that begins with a dot, click Use ".".

Right-click an empty spot, choose New → Folder and name it .agents (with the dot).

Right-click an empty spot, choose New Folder and name it .agents (with the dot).

Inside .agents, open the skills folder, or make one if it isn't there.

You should end up with:

Home
└── .agents
    └── skillsC:\Users\you
└── .agents
    └── skills/home/you
└── .agents
    └── skills

Step 2: Make your skill

Inside skills, make a new folder called greet-user.

Download SKILL.md, then move it from your Downloads folder into the greet-user folder. Make sure it's named exactly SKILL.md, and not something like SKILL (1).md.

You should end up with:

Home
└── .agents
    └── skills
        └── greet-user
            └── SKILL.mdC:\Users\you
└── .agents
    └── skills
        └── greet-user
            └── SKILL.md/home/you
└── .agents
    └── skills
        └── greet-user
            └── SKILL.md

Here's what's inside SKILL.md. The part between the two --- lines gives the skill its name and description. Everything below it is the instructions.

---
name: greet-user
description: Says hello to the user. Use when the user says hello or wants to test that skills are working.
---

# Greet User

Reply with exactly this message:

👋 Hello, world! Your first skill is working.

Then, in one sentence, tell the user which file these instructions came from.

Step 3: Call the skill

Quit DeepSeek Harness (Command + Q) and open it again, so it notices your new skill.

Close DeepSeek Harness and open it again, so it notices your new skill.

Close DeepSeek Harness and open it again, so it notices your new skill.
Start a new chat, type /greet-user (or type / and pick greet-user from the list) and press Enter.

Start a new chat, type $greet-user and press Enter. In ChatGPT, you call a skill by name with a $ in front of it.

Click Code to start a new Claude Code session, type /greet-user (or type / and pick greet-user from the list) and press Enter.

You should get the hello world message back, along with the file it came from.
Now try it without calling it by name: type hello! and press Enter. The agent reads each skill's description, so it should pick up your skill on its own.
Make it yours. In Finder, right-click SKILL.md and choose Open With → TextEdit.

Make it yours. In File Explorer, right-click SKILL.md and choose Open with → Notepad.

Make it yours. In your file manager, right-click SKILL.md and choose Open With → Text Editor.

Change the hello message, save the file, and run the skill again. If your change doesn't show up, start a new chat.

Go to Skills with Code →

Instructions written by Dhrumil w/ Claude Code

My First Skill

Step 1: Make the .agents/skills folder

Step 2: Make your skill

Step 3: Call the skill

Step 1: Make the `.agents/skills` folder