Best Claude Skills in 2026: Popular Agent Skills Checked

This list covers the Agent Skills repositories people actually use, measured by GitHub stars, grouped by the job they do. For each one you get what it does, who it suits, how to install it, the star count, the license, and a one-line security note on whether it ships scripts or needs network access.

New to skills? Start with what are agent skills, then Agent Skills explained and the SKILL.md format.

How we picked

• Stars: every count comes from the GitHub API (api.github.com/repos/OWNER/REPO) and was refreshed on 2026-11-12. Stars are a rough signal of attention, not a quality or safety rating.
• License: taken from the repo's LICENSE file, or from the README where GitHub detects no LICENSE file (noted where that applies).
• Scripts: we looked at whether each repo ships scripts, hooks or CLIs, and whether its skills need network access or API keys, because that is where the risk sits.
• Use: entries are grouped by the job they do, so a smaller repo can appear when it is the clearest option for that job. Our own skills are marked with a disclosure and listed without star counts.

Quick comparison

Skill repo	Best for	Stars (2026-11-12)	License	Ships scripts?
obra/superpowers	Coding workflow	316,623	MIT	Yes, plus a session hook
anthropics/skills	Documents, design, examples	193,542	Apache 2.0 / source-available	Yes (Python)
addyosmani/agent-skills	Engineering practice	116,454	MIT	A few, plus hooks
coreyhaines31/marketingskills	Marketing	59,917	MIT	Yes (JS CLIs)
K-Dense-AI/scientific-agent-skills	Scientific research	56,943	MIT	Yes (many Python)
vercel-labs/agent-skills	React and Vercel	33,946	MIT (per README)	Some
tradermonty/claude-trading-skills	Market research	3,791	MIT	Yes (Python, APIs)
Paramchoudhary/ResumeSkills	Resumes and job search	3,149	MIT	No
superdesigndev/superdesign-skill	UI design	982	MIT	Drives an npm CLI

Coding

obra/superpowers

Superpowers is a full development methodology packaged as skills: brainstorming, writing plans, test-driven development, systematic debugging, subagent-driven development, code review and finishing a branch. The skills are written to chain, so Claude plans before it codes and verifies before it claims a task is done.

• Who it is for: developers who want Claude Code to follow a disciplined plan, test and review loop rather than improvising.
• Install: /plugin install superpowers@claude-plugins-official
• Stars: 316,623 (stars as of 2026-11-12)
• License: MIT
• Security note: ships shell scripts and a session-start hook that runs automatically when a session begins, so read hooks/ before installing.

addyosmani/agent-skills

Addy Osmani's agent-skills holds 25 engineering skills covering spec-driven development, test-driven development, code review, security hardening, performance, CI/CD, documentation and ADRs, and shipping. It reads like a senior engineer's checklist turned into instructions.

• Who it is for: teams that want consistent engineering habits across Claude Code, Cursor, Codex and other agents.
• Install: npx skills add addyosmani/agent-skills (or /plugin marketplace add addyosmani/agent-skills)
• Stars: 116,454 (stars as of 2026-11-12)
• License: MIT
• Security note: mostly Markdown, with a handful of shell and Python helpers and optional hooks; no network access needed for the core skills.

Code review: code-review-and-quality and requesting-code-review

If you only want a review step, you do not need a whole methodology. Addy Osmani's repo ships a code-review-and-quality skill that its README describes as a "five-axis review before merge", installable on its own with npx skills add addyosmani/agent-skills --skill code-review-and-quality (README). Superpowers has requesting-code-review, which reviews work against the plan and reports issues by severity, and receiving-code-review for responding to feedback (README). Both are instruction skills; licences and stars are as listed for their parent repos above.

vercel-labs/agent-skills

Vercel's collection covers React best practices, React Native, composition patterns, view transitions, web design guidelines and deploying to Vercel.

• Who it is for: React and Next.js developers, especially those deploying on Vercel.
• Install: npx skills add vercel-labs/agent-skills
• Stars: 33,946 (stars as of 2026-11-12)
• License: MIT, as stated in the README (no standalone LICENSE file detected by GitHub)
• Security note: the deploy and CLI skills use the Vercel CLI and a token, so they make network calls with your credentials; the guideline skills are plain instructions.

Documents

anthropics/skills

Anthropic's own skills repository is the reference set. The docx, pdf, pptx and xlsx skills are the same ones behind Claude's file creation features, and the repo also includes skill-creator, mcp-builder, webapp-testing, doc-coauthoring, brand-guidelines and more.

• Who it is for: anyone who needs Claude to create or edit Word, PDF, PowerPoint or Excel files, and anyone learning to write skills.
• Install: /plugin marketplace add anthropics/skills, then /plugin install document-skills@anthropic-agent-skills
• Stars: 193,542 (stars as of 2026-11-12)
• License: mixed. Most skills are Apache 2.0; the four document skills are source-available, not open source. Each skill folder carries its own LICENSE.txt.
• Security note: the document skills ship Python scripts that run locally on your files; they do not need network access for normal use.

The four document skills are worth knowing one by one, because you can enable only the formats you need. On claude.ai, Anthropic's own document skills are available to all users and Claude uses them automatically when relevant (Claude Help Center).

pdf (in anthropics/skills)

The pdf skill handles reading and extracting text and tables, merging and splitting files, rotating pages, watermarks, creating new PDFs, filling PDF forms and encryption, according to its SKILL.md.

docx (in anthropics/skills)

The docx skill creates, reads and edits Word documents (.docx) and Word templates (.dotx), including formatted professional documents.

xlsx (in anthropics/skills)

The xlsx skill is for any task where a spreadsheet is the main input or output: opening and fixing .xlsx, .xlsm, .csv or .tsv files, adding columns and formulas, formatting, charting and cleaning messy data.

pptx (in anthropics/skills)

The pptx skill creates, reads and edits PowerPoint decks and templates (.pptx, .potx).

Building skills and MCP servers

skill-creator (in anthropics/skills)

skill-creator helps you create a new skill, improve an existing one, run evals and benchmark how well it performs, and tune its description so it triggers at the right time. It is the quickest way to make your own skill. Its folder carries an Apache 2.0 LICENSE.txt.

mcp-builder (in anthropics/skills)

mcp-builder is a guide for building MCP servers that expose well-designed tools, in Python (FastMCP) or TypeScript (MCP SDK). Pair it with our step-by-step MCP server tutorial. Its folder carries an Apache 2.0 LICENSE.txt.

Design

frontend-design (in anthropics/skills)

The frontend-design skill inside anthropics/skills pushes Claude away from generic layouts toward a deliberate visual direction. canvas-design, theme-factory and algorithmic-art sit alongside it. Install and license details are the same as the entry above.

superdesigndev/superdesign-skill

Superdesign lets a coding agent explore design directions and generate and iterate UI, slides and graphics on a canvas.

• Who it is for: developers who want to compare several UI directions before writing components.
• Install: /plugin marketplace add superdesigndev/superdesign-skill, then /plugin install superdesign@superdesign, plus npm install -g @superdesign/cli@latest
• Stars: 982 (stars as of 2026-11-12)
• License: MIT
• Security note: the skill itself is one SKILL.md, but it drives a separate npm CLI, so review that package and what it sends over the network.

For a deeper list, see Claude skills for websites.

Marketing

coreyhaines31/marketingskills

Marketing Skills has more than 50 skills: CRO, copywriting, SEO audits, AI SEO, programmatic SEO, pricing, launch plans, cold email, paid ads, analytics and more. It is the most-starred marketing skill set we found.

• Who it is for: founders, marketers and growth engineers.
• Install: npx skills add coreyhaines31/marketingskills -a claude-code
• Stars: 59,917 (stars as of 2026-11-12)
• License: MIT
• Security note: the skills are mostly Markdown, but the repo includes a tools/clis folder of JavaScript CLIs for marketing platforms that need your API keys and network access. Install only the skills you use.

AgenticMart marketing skills

Disclosure: built by the AgenticMart team.

Three new open-source skills from our team cover narrower jobs:

• claude-seo-skill (seo-strategist): SEO strategy and planning.
• claude-website-review-skill (website-review): structured reviews of a website.
• claude-social-content-skill (social-content): social media content drafting.

What is different: they need no network access, they are MIT licensed, and each one has been through our public security scan. They are brand new, so there is no usage track record yet. Judge them on the code. Install with git clone https://github.com/EshaRana17/claude-seo-skill ~/.claude/skills/seo-strategist (same pattern for the others). Each has a public scan report: SEO, website review, social content, job application and stock research.

For deeper lists, see Claude skills for SEO and Claude skills for social media.

Sales and GTM

Sales skills in coreyhaines31/marketingskills

The same Marketing Skills repo has a Sales and RevOps group: cold-email for B2B cold outreach emails and sequences, sales-enablement for sales collateral and objection handling, and revops for deciding when a lead is ready for sales and how sales and marketing hand off, as described in its README. Install one at a time, for example npx skills add coreyhaines31/marketingskills --skill cold-email, and the security note above applies: skip the platform CLIs unless you need them. Send any outreach yourself after reading it.

Research

K-Dense-AI/scientific-agent-skills

Scientific Agent Skills bundles 177 skills for bioinformatics, cheminformatics, statistics, scientific databases, literature review, scientific writing and figures.

• Who it is for: researchers and data scientists who use an agent for analysis and writing.
• Install: npx skills add K-Dense-AI/scientific-agent-skills (or install single skills with gh skill install)
• Stars: 56,943 (stars as of 2026-11-12)
• License: MIT
• Security note: ships hundreds of Python scripts and many skills query external scientific databases, so expect network access and third-party Python dependencies. Install individual skills, not the whole set, unless you need it.

Career

Paramchoudhary/ResumeSkills

ResumeSkills has around 20 focused skills: ATS optimizer, bullet writer, resume tailor, cover letter generator, job description analyzer, interview prep, LinkedIn profile optimizer, salary negotiation prep and offer comparison.

• Who it is for: job seekers who want separate tools for each step.
• Install: npx skills add Paramchoudhary/ResumeSkills -g -y
• Stars: 3,149 (stars as of 2026-11-12)
• License: MIT
• Security note: instruction-only Markdown, no scripts and no network calls. That is the lowest-risk shape a skill can have.

claude-job-application-skill

Disclosure: built by the AgenticMart team.

claude-job-application-skill (job-application) runs one workflow from a job posting to a fit analysis, an ATS-friendly tailored resume, a cover letter, recruiter outreach, an interview prep pack and a tracker template. Its main rule is that it never invents experience: anything not in your source material is flagged as a gap, not filled in. MIT licensed, no network access, scanned. It is new, with no usage history. Our job seeker roundup compares it with the other career skills.

Trading and market research

tradermonty/claude-trading-skills

Claude Trading Skills is the largest equity-focused set we found: market breadth, sector rotation, screeners, technical analysis, position sizing, earnings calendars, backtesting and a trade journal.

• Who it is for: self-directed investors who want structured market research inside Claude Code.
• Install: download a .skill package from the repo's releases (checking SHA256SUMS) or copy a skill folder into ~/.claude/skills/
• Stars: 3,791 (stars as of 2026-11-12)
• License: MIT
• Security note: hundreds of Python scripts; many skills call Financial Modeling Prep, FINVIZ or Alpaca and need API keys. The README lists a no-API-key starter path.

claude-stock-research-skill

Disclosure: built by the AgenticMart team.

claude-stock-research-skill (stock-research) produces a research memo with bull and bear cases, a technical snapshot, a position-size and risk calculator (standard-library Python, no network) and a trade journal review. It is educational and is not financial advice. More options are covered in the trading skills roundup.

How to install a Claude skill

In Claude Code, a skill is a folder with a SKILL.md file. Put it in one of two places (Claude Code docs):

• Personal: ~/.claude/skills/<skill-name>/SKILL.md loads in all your projects on that machine.
• Project: .claude/skills/<skill-name>/SKILL.md loads for sessions in that repository; commit it so your team gets it too.

Claude Code watches these folders, so a new or edited skill is picked up in the current session without a restart. If you create a top-level skills folder that did not exist when the session started, run /reload-skills. Run /skills to see what is loaded, and invoke one directly with /skill-name (same source). Skills installed through a plugin live inside the plugin and are namespaced as /plugin-name:skill-name.

On claude.ai, zip the skill folder and upload it under Customize > Skills. This needs code execution turned on (Claude Help Center).

How to combine skills

Skills are loaded on demand, so several can be installed at once without each one filling the context. Combining them works best when each skill does one job and they hand off in a clear order:

• Chain by stage. Superpowers is built this way: its skills cover brainstorming, planning, test-driven development, debugging and review, and are written to run in sequence (README). You can do the same with your own set, for example a planning skill, then a document skill such as docx, then a review skill.
• Install single skills, not whole repos. Copy or --skill install only the folders you use, so two skills with overlapping descriptions do not compete to trigger.
• Name the skill when it matters. If Claude picks the wrong one, invoke the one you want with /skill-name.

Skills vs plugins vs MCP vs subagents

A skill is instructions plus optional scripts that the agent loads when a task matches. A plugin is a package for Claude Code that can bundle skills along with hooks, agents and MCP configuration (Claude Code docs). An MCP server is a separate program that connects the agent to live tools and data, and a subagent is a separate agent with its own context that the main agent hands work to. Our agent skills vs MCP servers comparison covers when to use each, and what is an MCP server explains the protocol side.

How to check a skill before installing

Stars tell you a repo is popular, not that it is safe. A skill can run scripts on your machine with your permissions, and a popular repo is a better target for attackers, as our supply chain post explains. Before you install anything:

1. Read SKILL.md. Look for instructions that tell the agent to fetch URLs, read files outside the task, or skip confirmation steps.
2. List the scripts. Check scripts/, tools/ and hooks/. Hooks are the riskiest part because they run without being asked.
3. Search for network calls. Look for requests, fetch, curl and hard-coded URLs, and check where any API key ends up.
4. Check dependencies. A requirements.txt or package.json brings in third-party code you are also trusting.
5. Pin a version. Install from a tag or commit rather than a moving branch, so an update cannot change the code under you.
6. Install only what you need. Several repos above hold dozens of skills. Copy the one folder you use.

Any listing on AgenticMart can get a free automated scan, and each listing page shows its scan status; see how scanning works and the listings whose latest scan found no flagged issues. A scan is a malware and risk check, not a safety guarantee. Browse the agent skills directory to compare skills. For more detail, read the Agent Skills guide. If you maintain a skill, submit it for a scan, or start with how to write an Agent Skill.

FAQ

What is the most popular Claude skill in 2026?

By GitHub stars, obra/superpowers had the most of the repositories we checked, at 316,623 stars as of 2026-11-12, followed by anthropics/skills at 193,542. Stars measure attention, not quality, so pick based on the job you need done.

Are popular Claude skills safe to install?

Not automatically. Popularity does not tell you what the scripts do. Read SKILL.md, check for hooks, scripts and network calls, and install only the skills you need. Instruction-only skills carry the least risk.

Do these skills work outside Claude?

Most do. Agent Skills is an open format, and several repos above install into Codex, Cursor, Gemini CLI and other agents through npx skills add. Hooks and plugin features are more host-specific than plain SKILL.md instructions.

Are the best Claude skills free?

Every repository in this list is free to download. Most are MIT or Apache 2.0; Anthropic's four document skills are source-available rather than open source. Some skills call paid services, such as market data APIs, so check what keys a skill needs before you rely on it.

Do skills work on the free plan?

Yes on claude.ai: Anthropic's Help Center lists Skills for Free, Pro, Max, Ultra, Team and Enterprise plans, with code execution enabled (Claude Help Center).

Can I make my own Claude skill?

Yes. A skill is a folder with a SKILL.md file, and Anthropic's skill-creator skill can draft and test one for you. Our guide on how to write an Agent Skill walks through it.

Why are the AgenticMart skills listed without star counts?

They are new, and we do not want to imply popularity they have not earned. They are included because they fill gaps in this list, and they are clearly disclosed as our own.