Claude Code Skills — Setup Guide¶
Source: anthropics/claude-code (73K+ combined installs) GitHub: anthropics/claude-code (139K+ ⭐) Category: Agent Infrastructure / Coding Agents Quality Tier: 🟢 Production
Claude Code is Anthropic's agentic coding tool that lives in your terminal. It understands your codebase, executes multi-step development tasks, and can be extended with custom skills, plugins, and hooks. These skills help Hermes agents build, develop, and customize their own Claude Code extensions — from creating new skills to writing hook rules and managing plugin structures.
Installation¶
# Core skill development
npx skills add anthropics/claude-code --skill agent-development
npx skills add anthropics/claude-code --skill skill-development
# Plugin + hook authoring
npx skills add anthropics/claude-code --skill plugin-structure
npx skills add anthropics/claude-code --skill plugin-settings
npx skills add anthropics/claude-code --skill writing-hookify-rules
# Model migration
npx skills add anthropics/claude-code --skill claude-opus-4-5-migration
Included Skills¶
| Skill | Installs | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| agent-development | 16.3K | Build and customize Claude Code agents — system prompts, tool configuration, agent loops |
| skill-development | 15.9K | Create custom skills for Claude Code with YAML frontmatter, inline instructions, and testing |
| plugin-structure | 11.0K | Author Claude Code plugins — directory layout, manifest files, hook registration |
| plugin-settings | 10.9K | Configure plugin settings schema, user preferences, and environment overrides |
| writing-hookify-rules | 10.5K | Write hook rules for code transformation, linting, and automated refactoring |
| claude-opus-4-5-migration | 9.2K | Migration guide for Opus 4→4.5 model updates in agent configurations |
Prerequisites¶
| Requirement | Details |
|---|---|
| Claude Code CLI | npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code (or npx @anthropic-ai/claude-code) |
| Anthropic API key | Required for Claude Code agent usage |
| Node.js 18+ | Required for Claude Code runtime |
Key Capabilities¶
Agent Development¶
Build production coding agents that understand your codebase, execute multi-file changes, run tests, and integrate with git workflows. Includes system prompt engineering, tool authorization patterns, and agent lifecycle management.
Skill Development¶
Create reusable skills with YAML frontmatter (name, description, trigger) and markdown instructions. Skills are Claude Code's extension mechanism — they teach the agent domain-specific workflows, conventions, and tool patterns.
Plugin Authoring¶
Structure plugins with manifests, hook registrations, and settings schemas. Plugins extend Claude Code with custom commands, MCP server integrations, and project-specific automation.
Hookify Rules¶
Define code transformation rules that Claude Code applies during code generation and refactoring sessions. Supports pattern matching, AST-aware transformations, and project-specific linting.
Quick Start¶
# 1. Install Claude Code (if not already)
npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code
# 2. Add the agent-development skill
npx skills add anthropics/claude-code --skill agent-development
# 3. Use the skill in Claude Code
claude "Using the agent-development skill, help me build a code review agent"
# 4. Create your first custom skill
npx skills add anthropics/claude-code --skill skill-development
claude "Using the skill-development skill, create a new skill for running pytest suites"
Verification¶
# Check installed Claude Code skills
npx skills list | grep anthropics/claude-code
# Verify Claude Code can see the skills
claude --version
claude "list available skills" | grep -i claude-code
Notes¶
- Claude Code is distinct from the
anthropics/skillscatalog (700K+ installs for frontend-design, skill-creator, etc.) — that repo focuses on general-purpose agent skills rather than Claude Code extensibility - These skills are most valuable when building custom Hermes sub-agents that use Claude Code for implementation
- Plugin skills work with Claude Code's hooks system (Starter, PostToolUse, Stop, etc.)
- For Hermes agents: use
agent-developmentandskill-developmentto extend your coding capabilities without leaving the terminal