Official
Escape generic AI-generated UIs. Forces a bold, distinctive design direction before any code is written.
ReactTailwindDesign
By agent
Top Skills for Claude API
Claude API + Skills SDK. Pre-built skill_id values plus custom uploads via /v1/skills.
13 verified skills · vendor: Anthropic · native SKILL.md supportInstall docs
About Claude API
The Claude API gives developers programmatic access to Claude with first-class Skill support — pre-built Skills referenced by `skill_id` plus custom Skills uploaded via the `/v1/skills` endpoint. Skills on the API run inside the request context: they receive the conversation, invoke their tools, and return results back into the model's response.
The install model is API-driven. Upload your Skill as a zip to `/v1/skills` and receive a `skill_id`. Reference that ID (or one of the Anthropic-published IDs) in your messages request and Claude loads the Skill into the session. Skills compose with other Claude API features — prompt caching, tool use, files, citations, Batch API — without special configuration.
The Claude API is the right target for product builders shipping AI features in their own apps. Skill compatibility is broad — any Skill that does not require local filesystem or shell access runs here. Pre-built Skills (docx, pdf, pptx, xlsx) are particularly common because document manipulation is the most-shipped AI feature. Composite scoring weights API-readiness — Skills that compose cleanly with caching and Batch API rank above those that do not.
Verified for this agent
Best Skills for Claude API
Every skill below is verified to work with Claude API. Ranked by composite score.
Official
Pre-handoff a11y audit that catches what design QA misses.
AccessibilityWCAGAudit
Verified
1,000+ SaaS integrations as one skill. OAuth lifecycle, scoped credentials, structured actions.
OAuthSaaSAction-taking
Official
Self-contained HTML artifacts with React + shadcn/ui — no build step, just paste and run.
Reactshadcn/uiArtifacts
Extract, fill, merge. PDF manipulation with bundled scripts so Claude does not waste tokens generating them.
PDFFormsRead-write
Verified
Stripe done right. Checkout, subscriptions, webhooks, idempotency, metered billing.
StripePaymentsWebhooks
All surfaces
Medium4 min
Verified
Web scraping, search, and browser automation built to be agent-friendly.
ScrapingSearchWeb
All surfaces
Low3 min
Verified
Web search + 36 authoritative data sources. SEC, PubMed, ChEMBL, FRED — agent-grade research.
SearchSECPubMed
All surfaces
Low3 min
Official
Lock generated UIs to a brand. Anthropic's own guidelines, formalized as a skill.
BrandGuidelinesIdentity
Word documents end-to-end. Create, edit, comment, track-change.
WordReportsRead-write
Excel spreadsheets with real formulas, charts, and formatting — not flat CSV exports.
ExcelFormulasCharts
PowerPoint decks with layouts, charts, speaker notes — programmatic from prose.
PowerPointSlidesDecks
Community
Notion API: page/database CRUD, block hierarchies, rich text, schema sync.
NotionAPICMS
All surfaces
Medium3 min
FAQ
Frequently asked
How do I install a Skill via the Claude API?
POST your Skill zip to /v1/skills. You receive a skill_id. Reference it in your messages request — the model loads the Skill on demand.
Which pre-built Skills are available?
Anthropic publishes skill_id values for docx, pdf, pptx, xlsx, and several others. The full list is in the platform.claude.com documentation.
Do Skills work with prompt caching?
Yes — Skill definitions are cached as part of the prompt prefix, so repeated invocations within the 5-minute TTL hit the cache cleanly.
Are Skills compatible with the Batch API?
Yes — every request in a batch can reference Skills the same way single requests do. This is the right target for high-volume document processing.
Which Claude model should I use?
Claude Opus 4.7 (claude-opus-4-7) for complex Skills, Claude Sonnet 4.6 (claude-sonnet-4-6) for cost-efficient routine work, Claude Haiku 4.5 for lightweight Skills. Skill performance depends heavily on the model.
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