In this video I'll answer some often asked questions about Claude skills.
Questions & Answers
- QI added a skill to Claude. How do I make sure Claude uses it — do I need to call it?
- A
No. Claude reads every skill's description and automatically invokes the one that matches your task. You don't call it — you just describe what you want.
- QThen why didn't Claude use it when I asked once?
- A
Because the skill's description didn't match how you phrased the task. Skills are selected by their description, so if a skill keeps getting skipped, sharpen its description.
- QI installed several skill packs (superpowers, GSD, and others) and now I can't tell which one Claude will use. Why is it so unpredictable?
- A
Claude makes a fresh judgment every time about which skill to pick. If several packs have similar descriptions, the choice can flip between runs.
- QSome skills seem to win more often even when they're not the best fit. Why?
- A
Some packs use broad, imperative descriptions like “You must use this skill before any task.” A quietly worded skill like “Helps improve release notes” loses to a pushier one, so the aggressive pack takes over.
- QSo how do I actually control which skill wins?
- A
First, remove the skill packs you don't use — fewer skills, fewer collisions. Second, you can invoke a skill explicitly (yes, even though I said you don't need to). But if you find yourself forcing it every time, that's a signal your skill description is too vague.
- QAny advice for writing my own skills?
- A
Write the skill's description as a trigger, not as a documentation summary. Follow the rest of the series for the full breakdown.
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