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Module 4 — The Real Magic Sauce
You've been telling Claude what to do every time you need something. Skills let you package that up into a single word. Type it once, reuse it forever.
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Page 11 of 14 · Module 4 — The Real Magic Sauce
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Imagine you research things often. Every time, you type something like:
"Search the web for information on [topic]. Read the top 3-4 results. Return a structured summary with: key findings, important quotes, conflicting views if any, and 3 key takeaways. Cite your sources."
That's a great prompt. But it takes 30 seconds to type every single time.
With a Skill, you type:
"/research renewable energy tax credits UK 2025"
Same result. One second.
A Skill is just a text file saved in your .claude/commands/ folder.
The filename becomes the command. The content of the file is the prompt Claude runs when you use it.
That's it. No coding. No configuration. Just a file.
| Skill | What It Does | When to Use It |
|---|---|---|
/research |
Searches the web, reads top results, returns a structured summary | Any time you need to know something |
/summarise |
Takes a URL or pasted text and returns key points + takeaways | Articles, PDFs, meeting notes |
/draft |
Drafts an email, Slack message, or social post from a short brief | Any writing task |
/morning-briefing |
Pulls your calendar + priority emails + tasks and sends a digest to Telegram | Every morning |
/meeting-prep |
Takes a person or company name, researches them, returns talking points | Before any meeting or call |