# Create your first reusable AI skill

Original 5HO practice material. Fictional example. Reviewed 5 October 2026.

## Useful result

You'll finish with a reusable instruction set with clear inputs and acceptance checks.

A useful skill is a tested procedure you can reuse. Start with a task you can already do well in chat. Saving vague instructions in a special file does not make them less vague.

## Set up

Budget 25–40 minutes. Use a client supporting Agent Skills. Plain chat can test the wording, but it does not prove native installation. Check the linked host instructions and account access before setup.

## Practice input

Skill: action-note. Input: Jo checks the venue by Thursday; catering owner unknown. Output: task, owner, due date, uncertainty. Boundary: create drafts only. No messages or external tools required.

## Do the task

1. Download the supplied skill folder and read SKILL.md, including its name and description.
2. Use your client’s supported skill installer or folder location. In Claude Code, a project skill can live at .claude/skills/action-note/SKILL.md; other clients use different locations.
3. Invoke action-note explicitly on the practice input, then test a second note with no date.

## Prompt

Use action-note to extract tasks from this input. Return the four specified fields. Keep missing owners and dates as Unknown. Show the draft without sending it anywhere.

## Refine

Run the second test: Lee will check the poster. Confirm that no due date is invented and explain which saved skill you used.

## Expected checks

The first result should assign Jo only the venue check; catering remains unowned. The second has Lee and an unknown date. If the client only followed pasted text, record a prompt test, not an installed-skill test.

## Save

Keep SKILL.md, the host used and both test results together. Review scripts or dependencies before adding them later.

## Sources

- Agent Skills file specification: https://agentskills.io/specification
- Installing and invoking Claude Code skills: https://code.claude.com/docs/en/skills