How to open a .skill file on iPhone

Open a .skill file on iPhone, step by step

1. Save the file to Files. A file you downloaded in Safari is already there: open Files, tap Browse, then Downloads (or iCloud Drive, if Downloads isn't on the Browse screen). In the Claude app, Download opens the file in the system preview or in another app, so save it to Files from there.
2. Open the viewer at aiskillpod.com/skill-file-viewer in Safari.
3. Tap Choose a file. If a menu opens, choose Choose File or Browse, not Photo Library, then pick the .skill file where you saved it.
4. Read it. The page shows the skill's name and description, its instructions, a list of every file in it, and any problem that would stop Claude's upload, such as a name that doesn't match the folder.
5. Keep it or copy it. Copy SKILL.md puts the instructions on the clipboard. Keep it and share it with your team saves the instructions to AI Skill Pod; that button is the only thing on the page that sends anything.

Why tapping it in Files may not open it

Anthropic's skill-creator names the file after the skill's folder, such as quote-draft.skill, and writes it as a ZIP with that folder at the top. Apple's help says that tapping a ZIP file in Files creates a folder with the files in it. It doesn't mention .skill, and we haven't tried one on a real iPhone, so this page doesn't promise what a tap does. The viewer reads the ZIP inside whatever the file is called, so you don't need to rename it.

If it came by email, Messages or WhatsApp

Get the attachment into Files first, then pick it in the viewer. If the sender's app shows a preview instead of the file, that's the preview, not the skill: the instructions are inside the ZIP. Ask the sender which AI made it, too. Anthropic's docs say to use skills only from sources you trust, and to read every file in one you didn't write, looking for network calls or file access that don't match what the skill says it does. The viewer opens each text file, so you can do that on your phone.

Install it in Claude afterwards

Anthropic's help describes the upload in Customize > Skills, then +, + Create skill and Upload a skill, and Customize is on claude.ai and in the desktop app. The help doesn't mention the iPhone or Android apps, so install it from a computer:

1. Send the file to yourself or keep it in iCloud Drive, and open it on your Mac or PC.
2. Upload it in Customize > Skills. Claude's help asks for a ZIP of the skill folder and doesn't mention .skill; a .skill file already has that shape, so if the picker won't take it, rename it to end in .zip.

The step-by-step for each computer is in how to open a .skill file on a Mac and on Windows. On an iPad, see how to open a .skill file on iPad.

A worked example: the price-quote skill on a phone

Illustration: a made-up business. Rina runs a two-person cleaning company. Her partner built a skill in Claude that drafts price quotes, and emailed her quote-draft.skill while she was on a job. On her iPhone she saved the attachment to Files, opened the viewer in Safari and picked it. The page showed:

Files in this skill
quote-draft/SKILL.md
quote-draft/references/price-list.md

---
name: quote-draft
description: Drafts a cleaning quote from the rooms, the size and the
  extras a customer asks for. Use when someone asks "how much would it
  cost" or sends a list of rooms.
---

She tapped price-list.md and saw last year's prices, so she called her partner before either of them uploaded the skill. Without the viewer, the only sign of the old price list would have been a wrong quote.

Next step: give it to the team without sending files

A .skill file is one copy for one person. Each colleague saves it, opens it and uploads it, and does it again after every fix. How to send a skill file to a coworker covers what email, Slack and Teams do with the file, and the link that replaces it: in AI Skill Pod, the skill sits in one pod and each person reaches it from their own Claude, Cursor or ChatGPT (Pro, Business, Enterprise). Free covers up to 3 members and 10 skills.

Questions

How do I open a .skill file on my iPhone?

Open the free .skill file viewer in Safari, tap Choose a file and pick the .skill file from Files. The page lists every file in it and shows the skill's instructions. Your iPhone reads the file; nothing is uploaded.

Where is the .skill file I downloaded on my iPhone?

In the Files app: tap Browse, then Downloads. If there's no Downloads folder on the Browse screen, Apple says to tap iCloud Drive and look there.

Why doesn't my iPhone open the .skill file when I tap it?

Apple's help describes tapping a ZIP file in Files to unpack it, and says nothing about .skill files. A .skill file is a ZIP with a different ending, so read it in the viewer instead.

Can I install a .skill file in the Claude app on my iPhone?

Anthropic's help describes uploading a skill in Customize > Skills, which is on claude.ai and in the desktop app, and doesn't mention the iPhone or Android apps. Upload it from a computer; the skill then belongs to your Claude account.