Using Skills
Skills are pre-written instructions that give Claude specialized knowledge. Think of them as plugins for Claude's brain.
What Are Skills?
Skills are Markdown files with:
- Domain expertise (tax law, compliance, industry standards)
- Coding patterns (specific frameworks, architectures)
- Business rules (Australian regulations, pricing)
# A skill is just a .md file with instructions
$ cat skills/fair-work-compliance.md
# Fair Work Compliance Rules
## Minimum Wage
- National minimum wage: $24.10/hour (as of July 2024)
- Casual loading: 25%
## Leave Entitlements
- Annual leave: 4 weeks
- Personal/carer's leave: 10 days
...
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Where to Find Skills
✓Tip
Aussie Agent Skills has dozens of free skills for Australian business!
Visit
agentskill.com.au Categories include:
- 🧾 Tax & GST
- 👷 Fair Work & Employment
- 🏠 Property & Investment
- 💼 Business Compliance
- 🛠️ Trades & Services
Adding Skills to Your Project
Method 1: Copy into CLAUDE.md
$ cat >> CLAUDE.md << 'EOF'
## Australian Tax Rules (from Aussie Agent Skills)
### GST
- Standard rate: 10%
- GST-free: fresh food, medical, education
- Input tax credits: claim GST on business purchases
### BAS Lodgement
- Quarterly for most small businesses
- Monthly if turnover > $20M
EOF
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Method 2: Separate Skills Folder
$ mkdir skills
$ curl -o skills/fair-work.md https://raw.githubusercontent.com/AussieAgentsSkills/skills/main/fair-work-compliance/SKILL.md
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Then in CLAUDE.md:
## Skills
Read these skills for domain knowledge:
- skills/fair-work.md
- skills/gst-basics.md
Using Skills in Conversation
$ claude
> Build a payroll calculator following Australian Fair Work rules
Claude: Based on the Fair Work compliance rules:
- I'll include minimum wage validation ($24.10/hr)
- Add 25% casual loading option
- Calculate super at 11.5%
- Include penalty rates for weekends/public holidays
...
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🇦🇺Aussie Note
Skills are like giving Claude a textbook. It reads them and applies the knowledge to your requests! 📚
Premium Skills
For complex scenarios, we offer premium skill packs:
- Enterprise Compliance Pack - ASIC, privacy, security
- Property Investment Pack - CGT, depreciation, negative gearing
- Restaurant Operations Pack - Food safety, licensing, rostering
Visit agentskill.com.au/premium
⚠Warning
Free skills cover basics. Premium skills include edge cases, detailed calculations, and ongoing updates.
Creating Your Own Skills
You can write skills for your own domain:
# My Company Standards
## Coding Style
- Use TypeScript strict mode
- Components in PascalCase
- Utilities in camelCase
## Business Rules
- All prices include GST
- Shipping is free over $100 AUD
- Returns within 30 days
Key Takeaways
- Skills extend Claude's specialized knowledge
- Find Australian skills at agentskill.com.au
- Add skills to CLAUDE.md or a skills folder
- Reference skills when giving Claude tasks
- Create custom skills for your domain