20 Claude Code Skills Every Developer Should Install First

Anthropic's Claude Code offers open-source Agent Skills, which enhance the functionality of Claude Code through a plugin marketplace by loading structured procedures rather than improvising. As of June 2026, 17 open-source skills are available, categorized into testing, security, automation, and documentation. Skills are directories with a SKILL.md file, and they are automatically loaded when relevant, optimizing efficiency by minimizing the need for full-body loading until necessary. Testing skills like webapp-testing and /verify are essential for ensuring changes work as intended, while security skills such as /security-review help prevent vulnerabilities. Automation skills, including those in the superpowers framework, impose structured workflows, making the agent more than just a conversational tool. The skills are stored in various locations, with enterprise settings taking precedence over personal and project repositories. Installation requires adding the anthropics/skills repository as a plugin marketplace. The guidance emphasizes the importance of prioritizing safety and leveraging skills that enhance the agent's verification capabilities, with additional skills for documentation and authoring added based on output needs.

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