The best free Claude Code skills in 2026 are Anthropic’s anthropics/skills (docs and design) and Marketing plugin, Corey Haines’ marketingskills for marketing, claude-seo for SEO, humanizer for writing, and obra/superpowers or gstack for development. All fifteen picks below are grouped by job, with licence, star count and last push checked through the GitHub API on 2 November 2026. Free is not always open source: Anthropic’s docx, pdf, pptx and xlsx skills are source-available, and a repo with no licence only lets you look. Run the security checklist further down before installing any third-party skill.
What counts as a “free” Claude Code skill?
A free Claude Code skill is a SKILL.md folder (instructions, plus optional scripts and reference files) that you can install without paying. “Free” and “open source” are different things: open source means a licence such as MIT or Apache-2.0 grants you rights to use, change and share it. A repo with no licence file is visible, but legally you only have the right to look at it.
That distinction shaped this list. We sorted every candidate into three buckets:
| Licence status | What you can do | Examples on this list |
|---|---|---|
| MIT | Use, modify, redistribute, including commercially, with the notice kept | claude-seo, marketingskills, superpowers, humanizer |
| Apache-2.0 | Same as MIT, plus an explicit patent grant | Anthropic’s open skills, knowledge-work-plugins |
| Source-available | Read and use under the owner’s terms, not open source | Anthropic’s docx, pdf, pptx, xlsx skills |
| No licence file | Read only; reuse rights unclear | Some “awesome” directory repos |
Directories (awesome lists) are a special case. They mostly contain links, so a missing licence matters less: you are installing the linked repo, not the list. Check the licence of whatever you click through to.
New to the format? Start with what Claude Code skills are and how they load, then come back.
Takeaway: check the LICENSE file, not the word “free” in a README.
How we picked these 15 skills
We started from the repos that come up most in Reddit threads, skill directories and the top-ranking “best skills” posts, then cut anything that failed one of five checks:
- Licence: a real open-source licence at the repo or skill level, or a clearly stated source-available licence from the vendor.
- Maintenance: a push within the last six months. One exception (get-shit-done, archived, last push 31 May 2026) is flagged.
- Substance: scripts, rubrics, references or multi-step workflows. A rewritten prompt did not qualify.
- Clear install: a documented command or a plain folder you can copy.
- Inspectable: every file readable before it runs on your machine.
What we did not do: we have not run timed benchmarks or before-and-after quality tests on these skills, so nothing below claims one skill “improves output by X percent”. Star counts are adoption, not quality. A 233-star repo can be tighter than a 300,000-star one.
One Reddit thread we read is worth repeating as a warning. A poster said an engineer tested 47 skills and found most made output worse by adding tokens and narrowing what Claude would produce. We could not verify that test, so treat it as anecdote. But the instinct is right: install fewer skills, and test each one.
The 15 best free Claude Code skills at a glance
All star counts and dates come from the GitHub REST API on 2 November 2026.
| # | Repo | Use case | Licence | Stars | Last push |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | anthropics/skills | Docs, design, skill building | Apache-2.0 (most); docs skills source-available | 186,355 | 28 Oct 2026 |
| 2 | anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins | Marketing, sales, ops plugins | Apache-2.0 | 34,360 | 1 Nov 2026 |
| 3 | anthropics/claude-plugins-official | Official plugin marketplace | Apache-2.0 | 45,717 | 1 Nov 2026 |
| 4 | coreyhaines31/marketingskills | Marketing, CRO, copy | MIT | 57,851 | 31 Oct 2026 |
| 5 | alirezarezvani/claude-skills | Large mixed bundle | MIT | 29,121 | 31 Oct 2026 |
| 6 | AgriciDaniel/claude-seo | SEO audits, schema, GEO | MIT | 25,519 | 1 Nov 2026 |
| 7 | TheCraigHewitt/seomachine | SEO content workflow | MIT | 7,567 | 23 Oct 2026 |
| 8 | AgriciDaniel/claude-blog | Blog writing and refresh | MIT | 2,608 | 30 Oct 2026 |
| 9 | aaron-he-zhu/seo-geo-claude-skills | SEO plus GEO | Apache-2.0 | 233 | 4 Sep 2026 |
| 10 | blader/humanizer | Removing AI writing tells | MIT | 63,467 | 28 Oct 2026 |
| 11 | obra/superpowers | Dev workflow: plan, TDD, debug | MIT | 310,623 | 29 Oct 2026 |
| 12 | garrytan/gstack | Dev: review, QA, ship | MIT | 138,591 | 1 Nov 2026 |
| 13 | wshobson/agents | Dev agents and plugins | MIT | 42,080 | 30 Oct 2026 |
| 14 | gsd-build/get-shit-done | Productivity, project planning | MIT | 64,184 | 31 May 2026 (archived) |
| 15 | ComposioHQ/awesome-claude-skills | Directory for finding more | No licence file | 78,518 | 18 Sep 2026 |
The rest of this guide walks through each group: what is inside, who it suits and where it falls short.
Best free official skills from Anthropic
Anthropic’s own repos are the safest starting point for free Claude Code skills. anthropics/skills holds the reference skills, including the document skills behind Claude’s file creation, plus frontend-design and skill-creator. Most are Apache-2.0. The docx, pdf, pptx and xlsx skills are source-available, not open source.
1. anthropics/skills
This is the repo most people mean when they say “official skills”. On 2 November 2026 it held 19 skill folders, including:
- docx, pdf, pptx, xlsx: the document skills. Per the README, these power Claude’s own document features and are shared “as a reference”. Their LICENSE.txt says use is governed by your agreement with Anthropic. Free to use with Claude, but not open source, so do not fork and resell them.
- frontend-design: pushes Claude to choose a deliberate visual direction before writing UI code. Reddit commenters credit it with avoiding the default “Inter font, purple gradient, card grid” look.
- skill-creator: helps you write and test your own skills. Apache-2.0.
- mcp-builder, webapp-testing, web-artifacts-builder, canvas-design, theme-factory, brand-guidelines, internal-comms, doc-coauthoring: smaller examples, most under Apache-2.0.
Install, per the README:
/plugin marketplace add anthropics/skills
/plugin install document-skills@anthropic-agent-skills
/plugin install example-skills@anthropic-agent-skillsWhere it falls short: the example skills are meant to teach patterns. They are not deep marketing or SEO workflows.
2. anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins
Anthropic’s role-based plugins: marketing, sales, finance, legal, product management, customer support, data, design, engineering, operations, productivity and more. Each plugin bundles skills, commands and connector config. Apache-2.0. For marketers this is the most direct official option; the marketing plugin covers content, campaign planning and competitor briefs.
3. anthropics/claude-plugins-official
The official plugin marketplace directory (Apache-2.0, 45,717 stars). Use it as a vetted index of plugins rather than a single skill. Third-party plugins listed there still deserve the security checks further down.
Our walkthrough of the install paths, including marketplaces, is in how to install Claude Code skills.
Takeaway: install the document skills first. They handle the most common “make me a file” jobs and come from the vendor.
Best free Claude Code skills for marketing
For marketing, the strongest free option is coreyhaines31/marketingskills (MIT), with skills for copywriting, CRO, pricing, launch, email, SEO audit and dozens more. Anthropic’s marketing plugin is the official alternative, and alirezarezvani/claude-skills adds a broad mixed bundle.
4. coreyhaines31/marketingskills
On 2 November 2026 the skills/ folder listed more than 50 skills, including copywriting, copy-editing, cro, pricing, offers, launch, emails, cold-email, lead-magnets, paywalls, onboarding, referrals, ab-testing, ad-creative, competitor-profiling, content-strategy, marketing-psychology, ai-seo, programmatic-seo, schema and seo-audit.
Why it ranks first in this group: each skill is scoped to one job, so Claude loads a small, relevant file instead of a giant marketing manual. MIT licence, 57,851 stars, pushed 31 October 2026.
Best for: founders and marketers who want one library covering most of the funnel. Weak spot: it gives you the method, not the data. Analytics and ad-account numbers still have to come from you or an MCP connector.
5. alirezarezvani/claude-skills
A large MIT bundle spanning marketing, product, engineering and compliance, with AEO and local SEO skills in the marketing section. 29,121 stars. Useful if you want breadth from one source. The trade-off is depth per skill; check the specific skill you need before installing the lot.
Role-specific stacks are in Claude Code skills for marketers and Claude Code skills for growth marketers.
Takeaway: marketingskills plus the official marketing plugin covers most marketing work at $0.
Best free Claude Code skills for SEO
The best free SEO skill suite is AgriciDaniel/claude-seo (MIT), covering technical audits, schema, GEO and more. Add TheCraigHewitt/seomachine for a research-to-publish content workflow, claude-blog for writing and refreshes, and aaron-he-zhu/seo-geo-claude-skills for a lighter SEO plus GEO set.
6. AgriciDaniel/claude-seo
The broadest free SEO suite we found: full-site audits, technical checks, schema, sitemaps, hreflang, images, programmatic SEO and GEO. MIT, 25,519 stars, pushed 1 November 2026. It ships scripts, so audits can fetch real pages instead of guessing.
7. TheCraigHewitt/seomachine
A content workflow built around research, writing and optimisation, with hooks for Google Search Console, GA4 and DataForSEO. MIT, 7,567 stars. Best for teams publishing on a schedule.
8. AgriciDaniel/claude-blog
Blog-focused: briefs, drafting, content decay checks and cannibalisation. MIT, 2,608 stars. Pairs with claude-seo from the same author.
9. aaron-he-zhu/seo-geo-claude-skills
A smaller Apache-2.0 set covering SEO and generative engine optimisation. 233 stars, last push 4 September 2026. Lighter to read through, which makes it a good choice if you want to audit every file yourself.
The catch for every SEO skill: keyword volume, rankings and backlinks need a data source. Without Search Console or a paid API connected through MCP, any number Claude gives you is a guess.
Full reviews, data sources and install commands are in Claude Code skills for SEO, Claude Code skills for SEO audits and Claude Code skills for GEO.
Takeaway: claude-seo for audits, seomachine or claude-blog for content. Connect real data before trusting any metric.
Best free Claude Code skills for writing
For writing, the standout free skill is blader/humanizer (MIT, 63,467 stars), which detects and rewrites common AI writing patterns. Combine it with the copywriting and copy-editing skills in marketingskills, and Anthropic’s doc-coauthoring skill for longer documents.
10. blader/humanizer
Based on Wikipedia’s guide to signs of AI writing, it flags patterns like inflated symbolism, rule-of-three padding, vague attributions, em dash overuse and stock AI vocabulary, then suggests rewrites. MIT licence, pushed 28 October 2026.
Use it as a final pass, not a first draft tool. It removes tells. It does not add the specific examples, numbers and opinions that make writing worth reading. Those still come from you.
Writing skills you already have from earlier sections
- copywriting and copy-editing in coreyhaines31/marketingskills: drafting and line edits for marketing pages.
- doc-coauthoring and internal-comms in anthropics/skills: structured collaboration on long documents and internal updates.
- claude-blog: long-form posts with a brief-first workflow.
Here is how they split by job:
| Job | Free skill to try first |
|---|---|
| Sales or landing page draft | marketingskills: copywriting |
| Line edit and tightening | marketingskills: copy-editing |
| Strip AI tells | humanizer |
| Long internal doc | anthropics/skills: doc-coauthoring |
| Blog post with brief | claude-blog |
More options, including brand voice skills, are in Claude Code skills for content writers, Claude Code skills for humanizing AI writing and Claude Code skills for editing.
Takeaway: one drafting skill plus humanizer beats five overlapping writing skills.
Best free Claude Code skills for developers
For development, obra/superpowers (MIT, 310,623 stars) is the most adopted free skill library, with planning, test-driven development, debugging and code review workflows. garrytan/gstack adds review, QA and shipping commands, and wshobson/agents provides a large set of specialist agents and plugins.
11. obra/superpowers
The most-starred repo on this list. It gives Claude structured habits: brainstorm, write a plan, work test-first, debug systematically, review before claiming done. In a Reddit thread on favourite skills, one commenter called it the best for small to medium projects, praising its brainstorming mode. That is one person’s view, not a test, but it matches how often the repo comes up.
Weak spot: it is opinionated. If your team has its own process, expect friction until you trim or adapt skills.
12. garrytan/gstack
MIT, 138,591 stars, pushed 1 November 2026. A toolkit of slash-command skills for plan review, code review, QA with a headless browser, design review, shipping and retros. Strong for solo builders who want a full loop from plan to deploy.
13. wshobson/agents
MIT, 42,080 stars. A large collection of specialist subagents and plugins (language experts, infrastructure, security, documentation). Install only the plugins you need; loading everything adds context for little benefit.
Also worth knowing: Claude Code ships some built-in skills, such as /simplify and /code-review, which Reddit users recommend as a final pass on working code. They cost nothing extra and need no install.
Takeaway: pick one process library (superpowers or gstack), not both, then add specialist agents as needed.
Best free Claude Code skills for productivity and docs
For productivity, gsd-build/get-shit-done (MIT, 64,184 stars) structures projects into plans, phases and verified tasks. For documents, Anthropic’s docx, pdf, pptx and xlsx skills are the default free choice. Use directories like ComposioHQ/awesome-claude-skills to find anything not covered here.
14. gsd-build/get-shit-done
A spec-driven workflow that breaks a project into planned phases and checks each against its goal. Reddit commenters often mention it alongside superpowers. Flag: GitHub marks the repo as archived (read-only), with the last push on 31 May 2026. It still works as a reference and the MIT licence still applies, but it will get no fixes for newer Claude Code releases.
Document skills (from anthropics/skills)
Covered above, but worth restating for productivity users: the document skills let Claude create and edit Word files, PDFs (including form fields), slide decks and spreadsheets. They are the closest thing to an “office suite” skill pack, and they are free to use with Claude. Remember the licence is source-available, not Apache-2.0.
15. ComposioHQ/awesome-claude-skills
A curated directory with 78,518 stars. It has no licence file, which is fine for a list of links but means you should not copy its text. travisvn/awesome-claude-skills (15,666 stars, also no licence file, last push April 2026) is a second index.
| Productivity job | Free option |
|---|---|
| Multi-week project planning | get-shit-done |
| Word, PDF, slides, sheets | anthropics/skills document skills |
| Role plugins (finance, ops, HR) | knowledge-work-plugins |
| Finding a niche skill | awesome-claude-skills directories |
Freelancers and founders will find role stacks in Claude Code skills for freelancers and Claude Code skills for founders.
Takeaway: the docs skills are the most broadly useful free install for non-developers.
Free vs paid Claude Code skills: when a paid pack is worth it
A paid pack is worth it when it saves you curation time on a narrow job you do often, or targets a platform the free libraries skip. For most people, the free repos above cover more ground, with visible source and update history. Read every file of a paid pack after purchase, exactly as you would a free one.
Three paid packs come up in this niche. Here is what their listings said when we checked:
- Inflectual Master Marketing Claude Skills Bundle (Gumroad): $167 one-time per the listing. Billed as 167 marketing skills. We could not confirm the full contents before purchase.
- The Ultimate Claude SEO and AEO Skills Pack (Contra): $39 listed. The listing describes twelve skill files (audits, AEO writing, briefs, schema, keyword intent, internal linking, E-E-A-T scoring and more) plus Webflow-specific extras.
- SuperSkills (superskills-one.vercel.app): $50 one-time, 139 skills across 20 categories per the sales page, with one year of updates. Five skills are free on GitHub. The page states no refunds after download in its FAQ but also links a refund policy, and it does not state a software licence, so read the terms before you pay.
| Factor | Free (GitHub) | Paid packs |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $0 (data APIs extra) | $39 to $167 on the listings above |
| Inspect before install | Yes, full source | Usually only after purchase |
| Update history | Public commits | Promised, not visible |
| Licence | MIT or Apache-2.0 on most picks | Often unstated |
| Community fixes | Public issues and pull requests | Seller support |
| Curation | You do it | Done for you |
We have not bought or tested these packs, so we make no quality claim either way. A fair test: pick one job, run the free skill and the paid skill on the same input, and compare outputs side by side.
Takeaway: start free. Pay only for a specific gap you can name.
Security checklist for installing free third-party skills
Treat a third-party skill as code you are about to run with your permissions. Skills can include scripts, call tools and shape what Claude does with your files. Before installing, read SKILL.md and every script, check the licence and maintainer, pin a version, and keep permissions narrow.
A skill’s instructions are effectively a prompt you trust. A malicious one can tell Claude to read secrets, run shell commands or post data somewhere. Scripts can do the same directly. Run this checklist every time:
- Read SKILL.md in full. Look for instructions to fetch remote URLs, run
curl | bash, read.envfiles, or “ignore previous instructions”. - Read every file in
scripts/. Search for network calls (curl,fetch,requests), base64 blobs and obfuscated code. - Check hooks and plugin config. Plugins can add hooks that run on tool calls. Know what each one runs.
- Check MCP config. A plugin that adds an MCP server is connecting Claude to an outside service. Confirm the endpoint and what it can access.
- Verify the licence and maintainer. A real LICENSE file, a named maintainer, an issue tracker with responses.
- Check recency and stars, then ignore stars. Popular repos can still ship a bad commit. Popularity lowers risk; it does not remove it.
- Pin a version. Install from a tag or commit, not a moving branch, so a later push cannot change behaviour silently.
- Install at project level first. Use
.claude/skillsin a test project before promoting to~/.claude/skills. - Keep permission prompts on. Do not auto-approve shell commands for a skill you installed today.
- Never put secrets in skill files. API keys belong in environment variables or a secret manager.
- Re-check on update. Read the diff when you pull a new version.
- Remove what you do not use. Every installed skill is surface area and context cost.
| Red flag | What to do |
|---|---|
| Script downloads and runs remote code | Do not install |
| Instructions mention reading credentials | Do not install |
| No licence, anonymous author, no history | Read twice or skip |
| Huge single file with no structure | Likely low value; skip |
| Hook runs on every tool call | Understand it before enabling |
For building your own skill instead, which removes most of this risk, see how to build a Claude Code skill.
Takeaway: five minutes of reading is the whole cost of safety here. Pay it.
Common mistakes with free Claude Code skills
The most common mistake is installing too many skills at once. Others: trusting star counts as quality, ignoring licences, expecting SEO or analytics skills to produce data they cannot access, and never testing a skill against your own baseline.
- Installing whole libraries. Each skill description sits in context so Claude can decide when to load it. Dozens of overlapping skills make selection noisier. Install the five you will use.
- Overlapping process skills. Superpowers and gstack both define how to plan and review. Running both can produce conflicting instructions.
- Mistaking stars for testing. No repo here publishes independent quality benchmarks that we found.
- Ignoring source-available terms. The Anthropic document skills are free to use, not free to redistribute.
- Expecting data from method. An SEO skill cannot know search volume without a data connection.
- No baseline. Run the same task with and without a skill. If output does not improve, uninstall.
- Leaving stale skills. A skill written for an older Claude Code may reference commands that changed.
Takeaway: fewer, tested skills beat a big install.
Recommended free skill stacks by role
Pick a stack of three to five free skills based on your main job. Marketers start with marketingskills and the official marketing plugin; SEOs with claude-seo; writers with humanizer; developers with superpowers or gstack; everyone with Anthropic’s document skills.
| Role | Core free stack |
|---|---|
| Marketer | marketingskills, knowledge-work-plugins (marketing), humanizer, document skills |
| SEO | claude-seo, claude-blog or seomachine, humanizer |
| Content writer | marketingskills (copywriting, copy-editing), claude-blog, humanizer |
| Developer | superpowers or gstack, frontend-design, selected wshobson/agents plugins |
| Founder or freelancer | marketingskills, get-shit-done, document skills |
| Non-developer | document skills, knowledge-work-plugins for your role |
If you have never used a terminal, read Claude Code skills for non-developers before installing anything.
Start with one row. Use it for a week on real work. Then add or remove one skill at a time, so you know which change made the difference.
Takeaway: a stack is something you test and trim, not a list you install once.
FAQ
What are the best free Claude Code skills?
For most people: Anthropic’s anthropics/skills (document skills, frontend-design, skill-creator), coreyhaines31/marketingskills for marketing, AgriciDaniel/claude-seo for SEO, blader/humanizer for writing, and obra/superpowers or garrytan/gstack for development.
Are Anthropic’s official Claude skills free?
Yes, to use with Claude. Most skills in anthropics/skills are Apache-2.0. The docx, pdf, pptx and xlsx skills are source-available, governed by your agreement with Anthropic.
Are the Anthropic document skills open source?
No. The README describes them as source-available, not open source. You can read and use them with Claude, but not relicense them.
How do I install free Claude Code skills?
Use /plugin marketplace add owner/repo then /plugin install, or copy a skill folder into ~/.claude/skills (personal) or .claude/skills (project). Check each repo’s README for its exact command.
Is it safe to install Claude Code skills from GitHub?
It can be, if you read SKILL.md and every script first, pin a version, and keep permission prompts on. Treat skills like any code you run.
What licence should a free skill have?
MIT or Apache-2.0 are the common open-source choices. Both let you use and modify the skill commercially. No licence file means reuse rights are unclear.
What is the most popular free Claude Code skill repo?
By GitHub stars on 2 November 2026, obra/superpowers had 310,623, followed by anthropics/skills at 186,355 and garrytan/gstack at 138,591.
Are there free Claude Code skills for marketing?
Yes. coreyhaines31/marketingskills (MIT) has more than 50 marketing skills, and Anthropic’s knowledge-work-plugins includes an Apache-2.0 marketing plugin.
Are there free Claude Code skills for SEO?
Yes. AgriciDaniel/claude-seo, TheCraigHewitt/seomachine and AgriciDaniel/claude-blog are MIT; aaron-he-zhu/seo-geo-claude-skills is Apache-2.0. You still need a data source for keyword metrics.
Is there a free skill to make AI writing sound human?
blader/humanizer (MIT) flags and rewrites common AI writing patterns. It removes tells; it does not add original substance.
Do paid Claude Code skill packs work better than free ones?
We have not tested them, so we cannot say. Paid packs save curation time and sometimes target niche platforms. Free repos let you read the source before installing.
How much do paid Claude Code skill packs cost?
On the listings we checked: $39 for the Contra SEO and AEO pack, $50 one-time for SuperSkills, and $167 one-time for the Inflectual marketing bundle.
How many skills should I install?
Start with three to five that match your main job. Every skill description adds context, and overlapping skills can conflict.
Can I modify a free Claude Code skill?
Under MIT or Apache-2.0, yes, including for commercial use, as long as you keep the licence notice. Check terms for source-available skills.
Do Claude Code skills work in Claude.ai too?
The Agent Skills format is shared across Claude products, and Anthropic’s document skills power Claude’s file features. Plugin install commands are specific to Claude Code.
What is the difference between a skill and a plugin?
A skill is one SKILL.md folder. A plugin bundles skills with commands, agents, hooks or MCP config, installed through a marketplace.
Where can I find more free Claude Code skills?
ComposioHQ/awesome-claude-skills, travisvn/awesome-claude-skills and anthropics/claude-plugins-official are the main indexes. Check each linked repo’s licence.
Sources and methodology
Checked on 2 November 2026:
- GitHub REST API for star counts, licence SPDX IDs and last push dates on all 15 repos
- anthropics/skills README and per-skill LICENSE.txt files for licence status
skills/folder listings for marketingskills and anthropics/skills- Paid pack sales pages: superskills-one.vercel.app, the Contra listing and the Inflectual Gumroad listing
- Reddit threads on favourite Claude Code skills (via public snapshots), used for objections and community sentiment only
Stars and dates change daily. Commands get renamed. If something here does not match, the repo’s README wins.
Your next step
Install Anthropic’s document skills and one skill from the section that matches your job. Run the security checklist on the second one. Then give both a real task you already know the right answer to. If the output is better than what you get without the skill, keep it. If not, uninstall and try the next one on the list.
