Getting Started

🚀 Getting Started

This page explains how to install and use skills from this repository in every Claude interface.

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Prerequisites

No prerequisites are needed to use skills that are pure instructions (no scripts). For skills that include Python or shell scripts you will need:

Dependency	Required by	Install
Python 3.8+	docx, pdf, pptx, xlsx, skill-creator, webapp-testing, slack-gif-creator	System package manager
Node.js & npm	web-artifacts-builder, docx (JS library)	https://nodejs.org
LibreOffice	docx, pptx, xlsx (format conversion)	sudo apt install libreoffice
Poppler utils	pdf, pptx (PDF → image)	sudo apt install poppler-utils
Playwright	webapp-testing	pip install playwright && playwright install chromium
Tesseract OCR	pdf (OCR mode)	sudo apt install tesseract-ocr

Most users only need Python 3.8+; install extra dependencies only for the skills you intend to run scripts from.

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Claude Code

Claude Code is the recommended environment for local development workflows that involve skill scripts.

1 — Register the marketplace

/plugin marketplace add anthropics/skills

2 — Browse and install a skill group

/plugin install document-skills@anthropic-agent-skills
/plugin install example-skills@anthropic-agent-skills
/plugin install claude-api@anthropic-agent-skills

Plugin group	Skills included
document-skills	docx, pdf, pptx, xlsx
example-skills	algorithmic-art, brand-guidelines, canvas-design, doc-coauthoring, frontend-design, internal-comms, mcp-builder, skill-creator, slack-gif-creator, theme-factory, web-artifacts-builder, webapp-testing
claude-api	claude-api

3 — Use a skill

Just mention the skill in your request:

Use the PDF skill to extract the form fields from /path/to/form.pdf
Use the DOCX skill to create a project proposal document
Use the algorithmic-art skill to create a flow field composition

Claude will automatically load the matching skill and follow its instructions.

Installing an individual skill from source

Clone this repository and point Claude Code at the skill folder directly:

git clone https://github.com/d33disc/upstream_skills

Then in Claude Code:

/skill load ./upstream_skills/skills/mcp-builder

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Claude.ai

All skills in this repository are already built into paid Claude.ai plans — no installation required.

To upload your own custom skill or to activate a specific skill:

1. Open a conversation in Claude.ai.
2. Click Skills in the left sidebar.
3. Click + Add skill and upload your SKILL.md (and optional supporting files).
4. Enable the skill for the current project.

See the official guide: Using skills in Claude.

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Claude API

Using pre-built Anthropic skills

Anthropic's document skills (docx, pdf, pptx, xlsx) are available as built-in API skills. Refer to the Skills API Quickstart for full documentation.

Uploading a custom skill via the API

import anthropic

client = anthropic.Anthropic()

# 1. Upload the skill file(s)
with open("skills/mcp-builder/SKILL.md", "rb") as f:
    skill_file = client.beta.files.upload(
        file=("SKILL.md", f, "text/markdown"),
    )

# 2. Reference the skill in a message
response = client.beta.messages.create(
    model="claude-opus-4-5",
    max_tokens=4096,
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Build an MCP server for the GitHub API."}],
    system=[{"type": "tool_result", "tool_use_id": skill_file.id}],
    betas=["skills-2025-03-01"],
)
print(response.content[0].text)

Note: API feature flags and endpoint paths may change. Always consult the official API docs for the latest.

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Running Skill Scripts Locally

Some skills include Python utility scripts that you can run directly outside Claude. Below are common entry points.

Document skills (docx / pptx / xlsx)

# Unpack a Word document for XML editing
python skills/docx/scripts/office/unpack.py document.docx unpacked/

# Repack after editing
python skills/docx/scripts/office/pack.py unpacked/ output.docx --original document.docx

# Validate the result
python skills/docx/scripts/office/validate.py output.docx

# Recalculate Excel formulas with LibreOffice
python skills/xlsx/scripts/recalc.py workbook.xlsx

PDF processing

# Extract fillable form field metadata
python skills/pdf/scripts/extract_form_field_info.py form.pdf

# Fill form fields
python skills/pdf/scripts/fill_fillable_fields.py form.pdf filled.pdf field_values.json

# Convert PDF pages to images (for OCR or review)
python skills/pdf/scripts/convert_pdf_to_images.py doc.pdf output_dir/

Web artifact builder

# Scaffold a new React + Tailwind + shadcn/ui project
bash skills/web-artifacts-builder/scripts/init-artifact.sh my-app
cd my-app && npm run dev

# Bundle to a single self-contained HTML file
bash skills/web-artifacts-builder/scripts/bundle-artifact.sh

Web app testing

# Run Playwright automation against a local dev server
python skills/webapp-testing/scripts/with_server.py \
  --server "npm run dev" --port 5173 \
  -- python my_automation.py

Slack GIF creator (standalone)

from skills.slack_gif_creator.core.gif_builder import GIFBuilder
from PIL import Image, ImageDraw

builder = GIFBuilder(width=128, height=128, fps=10)
for i in range(12):
    frame = Image.new("RGB", (128, 128), (240, 248, 255))
    draw = ImageDraw.Draw(frame)
    draw.ellipse([(i * 8, i * 8), (64 + i * 4, 64 + i * 4)], fill=(70, 130, 180))
    builder.add_frame(frame)

builder.save("output.gif", num_colors=48, optimize_for_emoji=True)

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Troubleshooting

Symptom	Likely cause	Fix
ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'pypdf'	Python dependency missing	pip install pypdf
soffice: command not found	LibreOffice not installed	sudo apt install libreoffice
pdftoppm: command not found	Poppler not installed	sudo apt install poppler-utils
Script exits with LibreOffice lock error	Previous LibreOffice instance still running	pkill soffice
Claude does not trigger the skill	Skill not installed / not enabled	Re-install or enable in the Skills panel
Generated file fails validation	XML structure error	Run validate.py, inspect the diff

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See also: Architecture · Contributing · Skills Overview