2.3 Skills & Commands
Time: ~20 minutes
What You'll Learn
- What skills are and how they make Claude smarter about your job
- What slash commands are and how to trigger them
- The difference between automatic skills and explicit commands
- How to use the commands that came with your plugin
Key Concepts
Skills: Claude Just Knows
Skills are domain expertise packed into your plugin. Think of them as cheat sheets Claude reads behind the scenes. When you ask about something in your field, Claude draws on these skills automatically — you don't have to do anything special.
For example, if you installed a sales plugin and ask Claude to help with a proposal, it already knows your team's best practices for structuring proposals. You didn't have to explain them. It just knows.
Slash Commands: Your Shortcuts
Slash commands are specific workflows you trigger by typing a command. They follow the pattern /plugin:action. Here are examples across different roles:
/sales:call-prep— prepare for an upcoming sales call/sales:pipeline-review— review and prioritize your pipeline/marketing:brief— create a marketing brief from scratch/marketing:campaign-plan— plan a full campaign/data:write-query— write a SQL query in plain English/finance:reconciliation— reconcile accounts step by step/legal:contract-review— review a contract for risks/product:write-spec— write a product specification
You don't need to memorize these. Just type / and see what's available.
The Difference
- Skills activate automatically. Claude gets smarter just by having them. You won't even notice they're working — your answers just get better.
- Commands are explicit. You choose when to trigger them. They kick off structured, multi-step workflows designed for specific tasks.
Both come bundled with your plugin. Skills are the knowledge. Commands are the actions.
In Your Scenario
You installed a plugin in the last lesson. Now you'll see what it actually gave you. You'll try the slash commands that came with it and watch Claude walk you through workflows built for your role. This is the moment where Claude stops feeling like a general assistant and starts feeling like a colleague who already knows how your team works.
Real-World Applications
- Run a pipeline review every Monday morning with one command
- Prep for any meeting in minutes using a structured workflow
- Create role-specific documents that follow your industry's standards
- Let Claude's background knowledge catch mistakes you'd normally miss
Skills You'll Use Later
- Knowing what commands are available (essential for customization in 2.4)
- Understanding the skills/commands distinction (helps you build your own in 2.5)
- Comfort with slash commands (you'll create a custom one in 2.4)
How to Start
start lesson 2.3