Most people have no idea what the difference is, and it’s costing them hours every week. Here’s the simple version, plus 3 free skills to install today.
Skills Teach Claude How
A skill is a saved set of instructions for how you want something done, like your weekly report format or your brand voice. Write it once and Claude uses it whenever your request matches, or you call it by name with a slash.
Plugins Give Claude More Power
A plugin is a package you install in one click. It can hold several skills, connectors to your apps, named commands and agents, all wired together, so you get a whole setup instead of building it piece by piece.
Connectors are the third piece. They give Claude access to your tools, like Gmail or your calendar. A skill can tell Claude how to use a connector, but it can’t reach your data on its own. (Anthropic’s explainer)
01
A skill
You make a skill called /weekly-summary. Every Friday you type it and Claude reads your week from your email and calendar, then drafts an update in your voice. You taught Claude how you want updates done. That’s a skill.
02
A plugin
You install Anthropic’s Marketing plugin. It arrives with skills for drafting content, planning campaigns, checking brand voice and reporting on performance, ready to use. That’s a plugin.
If you’re new, pick one thing you do every week and turn it into a skill. Use it for a week. Once you feel the time it saves, explore plugins. One skill you use beats ten plugins you never set up.
Here are three I built for you. Each one is a ZIP you upload as-is.
01
Inbox triage
Sorts the last 24 hours of email into Urgent, Action Needed and FYI, then drafts replies to the urgent ones. It never sends anything. Run it every morning.
02
Meeting prep
Builds a one-page brief for your next meeting from your calendar, email and files, including who’s in the room, where you left off and 3 questions to ask.
03
Weekly summary
Reviews your week and drafts an update for your manager or team with wins, open items, blockers and what’s next.
/ in the message box and pick the skill, or just ask for the task and Claude loads it on its own.Want to make your own? Ask Claude to use the skill-creator skill (turn it on under Skills, it’s listed as from Anthropic) and describe the task in one sentence. (Create custom skills)
Go to Customize (or Plugins), then Plugins, then Discover. Pick one to see exactly what’s inside, then click Add. The directory is on Pro, Max, Ultra, Team and Enterprise plans. (Plugins docs)
01
Productivity
Anthropic’s plugin for tasks, calendars and daily workflows. A good first install because you’ll use it immediately.
02
Marketing
For anyone creating content. It drafts content, plans campaigns, keeps your brand voice consistent and reports on performance.
03
Small Business
Built for owners, with workflows for things like invoices, payroll prep, leads and reviews.
Good To Know
Adding a plugin doesn’t sign you in to anything. Open the plugin and check its Connectors tab to connect the apps it uses. In regular chat you get its skills, commands and connectors. Its agents run in Cowork and Claude Code.
Skills teach Claude how. Plugins give Claude more power. Start with one skill, then add plugins when you’re ready.