Skip to main content

Using Built-In Skills

Module: Skills | Lesson: 2 of 3 | Time: ~10 minutes

What You Will Learn​

  • How to use the /commit skill
  • How to use claude-api, simplify, and review-pr skills
  • How to discover and invoke available skills

Prerequisites​

What Are Built-In Skills?​

Claude Code ships with several built-in skills that handle common development workflows. Unlike custom skills that you create yourself, these come pre-installed and ready to use.

Built-in skills are invoked using slash commands — you type a / followed by the skill name directly in your Claude Code conversation.

The /commit Skill​

The most commonly used built-in skill is /commit. Instead of manually staging files, writing a commit message, and running git commit, you can simply type:

/commit

Claude will:

  1. Look at all your staged and unstaged changes
  2. Analyze what was modified and why
  3. Write a clear, descriptive commit message
  4. Create the commit for you
When to Use /commit

Use /commit after you have finished a set of related changes. Claude writes better commit messages than most of us do by hand because it reads every change and summarizes the intent, not just the files.

The /simplify Skill​

The /simplify skill reviews your recently changed code and looks for opportunities to improve it:

/simplify

Claude will examine your changes for:

  • Code that could be reused instead of duplicated
  • Unnecessarily complex logic that could be simplified
  • Quality and efficiency improvements

It then makes the improvements automatically. This is a great skill to run after you finish a feature but before you commit.

The claude-api Skill​

If you are building an application that uses the Anthropic API or SDK, Claude Code has a specialized skill that activates automatically. When Claude detects that your code imports anthropic or @anthropic-ai/sdk, it brings in up-to-date knowledge about:

  • The Claude API endpoints and parameters
  • The Anthropic SDK for Python and TypeScript
  • Best practices for API usage

You do not need to type a slash command for this one — it activates automatically based on the context of your code.

How to See Available Skills​

To see all the slash commands available in your current session, simply type / in the Claude Code prompt and pause. You will see a list of available commands.

You can also type part of a name to filter:

/co

This would show /commit and any other commands starting with "co".

Manual vs Automatic Activation​

Skills activate in two ways:

ActivationHow It WorksExample
ManualYou type a slash command/commit, /simplify
AutomaticClaude detects the right contextclaude-api activates when your code uses the Anthropic SDK

Manual skills require you to explicitly invoke them. You are in control of when they run.

Automatic skills activate on their own when Claude recognizes a relevant situation. You do not need to remember to invoke them — Claude handles it.

note

Automatic activation is based on signals like the libraries your code imports, the files you are editing, or the type of task you are working on. Claude does not run these skills constantly — only when the context matches.

Try It Yourself​

Let us try the /commit skill on a real change:

  1. Open your terminal and navigate to any Git project (or create a test one):
mkdir skill-test
cd skill-test
git init
  1. Create a simple file:
echo "Hello from skills test" > readme.txt
git add readme.txt
  1. Start Claude Code in this directory:
claude
  1. Type /commit and press Enter
  2. Watch Claude analyze your staged change and create a commit with an appropriate message
  3. Verify the commit was made:
git log --oneline
warning

The /commit skill needs staged changes or unstaged modifications to work with. If your working directory is completely clean, Claude will tell you there is nothing to commit.

What You Learned​

  • Claude Code includes built-in skills like /commit, /simplify, and claude-api
  • /commit analyzes your changes and creates a well-written commit automatically
  • /simplify reviews changed code for quality improvements
  • claude-api activates automatically when your code uses the Anthropic SDK
  • Type / in the prompt to see all available slash commands
  • Skills can be manual (you invoke them) or automatic (context-triggered)
Help Us Improve

How was this lesson? Take 2 minutes to share your feedback — it helps us make the tutorials better for everyone.

Give Feedback →

Next Up​

Next: Creating Custom Skills