# Where Are the Key Skill Files Located in the Anthropics knowledge-work-plugins Repository > Find key skill files in the anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins repository. Discover their location at //skills//SKILL.md for easy access. - Repository: [Anthropic/knowledge-work-plugins](https://github.com/anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins) - Tags: how-to-guide - Published: 2026-05-25 --- **Key skill files in the anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins repository are located at `//skills//SKILL.md`, where each domain folder contains a `skills/` subdirectory housing individual capability definitions.** The anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins repository organizes every capability as a self-contained skill definition. These **key skill files** serve as the canonical source for input/output schemas, examples, and auxiliary documentation that the cowork-plugin runtime consumes. ## Directory Structure Convention The repository enforces a strict three-level hierarchy to isolate business domains from implementation details. ### Domain Folders Top-level directories group related business functions. Available domains include `product-management`, `human-resources`, `engineering`, `finance`, `data`, `customer-support`, `marketing`, `legal`, `partner-built`, and `bio-research`. ### Skill Subdirectories Each domain contains a `skills/` folder that aggregates related capabilities. For example, `product-management/skills/` contains `write-spec`, `sprint-planning`, and `roadmap-update`. ### SKILL.md Files Every individual skill resides in its own subfolder containing a [`SKILL.md`](https://github.com/anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins/blob/main/SKILL.md) file. This markdown file is the definitive specification, defining the skill's purpose, input JSON schema, output JSON schema, and usage examples. ## Representative Key Skill File Paths The following table maps domains to their canonical skill definitions: | Domain | Skill | File Path | |--------|-------|-----------| | Product Management | Write-Spec | [`product-management/skills/write-spec/SKILL.md`](https://github.com/anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins/blob/main/product-management/skills/write-spec/SKILL.md) | | Product Management | Sprint-Planning | [`product-management/skills/sprint-planning/SKILL.md`](https://github.com/anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins/blob/main/product-management/skills/sprint-planning/SKILL.md) | | Human Resources | Recruiting-Pipeline | [`human-resources/skills/recruiting-pipeline/SKILL.md`](https://github.com/anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins/blob/main/human-resources/skills/recruiting-pipeline/SKILL.md) | | Engineering | Incident-Response | [`engineering/skills/incident-response/SKILL.md`](https://github.com/anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins/blob/main/engineering/skills/incident-response/SKILL.md) | | Engineering | Debug | [`engineering/skills/debug/SKILL.md`](https://github.com/anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins/blob/main/engineering/skills/debug/SKILL.md) | | Finance | Variance-Analysis | [`finance/skills/variance-analysis/SKILL.md`](https://github.com/anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins/blob/main/finance/skills/variance-analysis/SKILL.md) | | Data | SQL-Queries | [`data/skills/sql-queries/SKILL.md`](https://github.com/anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins/blob/main/data/skills/sql-queries/SKILL.md) | | Partner-Built (Zoom) | Zoom-MCP Whiteboard | [`partner-built/zoom-plugin/skills/zoom-mcp/whiteboard/SKILL.md`](https://github.com/anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins/blob/main/partner-built/zoom-plugin/skills/zoom-mcp/whiteboard/SKILL.md) | ## Programmatically Accessing Skill Definitions Integrations typically load skills by fetching the raw [`SKILL.md`](https://github.com/anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins/blob/main/SKILL.md) content and parsing its YAML front matter. The following Python example retrieves the **Write-Spec** skill definition directly from the repository: ```python import requests import yaml # Construct raw GitHub URL for the skill file SKILL_URL = ( "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins/main/" "product-management/skills/write-spec/SKILL.md" ) resp = requests.get(SKILL_URL) resp.raise_for_status() content = resp.text # Split YAML front matter from markdown body front_matter, md_body = content.split("---", 2)[1:3] spec = yaml.safe_load(front_matter) print("Skill name:", spec["name"]) print("Description:", spec["description"]) print("Input schema:", spec["input"]["properties"]) print("Output schema:", spec["output"]["properties"]) ``` This script outputs the skill's meta-information, which the cowork-plugin runtime uses to validate prompts and construct execution payloads. ## Summary - **Key skill files** follow the rigid path convention `//skills//SKILL.md`. - Each [`SKILL.md`](https://github.com/anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins/blob/main/SKILL.md) file contains YAML front matter specifying input/output schemas and a markdown body with implementation guidance. - Domain folders like `engineering/` and `product-management/` organize capabilities by business function. - The repository exposes these definitions via standard GitHub raw content URLs for programmatic consumption. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is the exact file path pattern for skill definitions? Skill definitions reside at `//skills//SKILL.md`. The domain folder represents the business vertical, the `skills/` subdirectory aggregates capabilities, and the individual skill folder houses the canonical [`SKILL.md`](https://github.com/anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins/blob/main/SKILL.md) specification file. ### How do I add a new skill to the repository? Create a new subfolder under the appropriate domain's `skills/` directory and include a [`SKILL.md`](https://github.com/anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins/blob/main/SKILL.md) file with valid YAML front matter defining the `name`, `description`, `input`, and `output` schemas. The cowork-plugin runtime automatically discovers files matching this pattern. ### What information does a SKILL.md file contain? Each [`SKILL.md`](https://github.com/anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins/blob/main/SKILL.md) contains YAML front matter specifying the skill's name, description, version, and JSON schemas for inputs and outputs, followed by a markdown body with usage examples, constraints, and implementation notes. ### Can external tools reference these skill files directly? Yes, tools can fetch raw content directly from GitHub using URLs like `https://raw.githubusercontent.com/anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins/main//SKILL.md` and parse the YAML front matter to discover schema definitions without cloning the repository.