Automate Tasks With Claude’s “Record a Skill” Feature

Pick a task you already know how to complete. You do not need to know the best way to automate it yet. The recording gives Claude enough context to help you choose that later.

The strongest first tasks have three things:

• a clear starting point
• a visible series of actions
• a clear finished result

Start with a local workflow when possible. You might organize a folder, rename and move finished files, turn meeting notes into project tasks, or connect two desktop apps that do not work well together.

Use sample data for your first recording. Close private conversations, passwords, customer information, and anything else you do not want captured. Claude records what appears on your screen and anything you say while the microphone is on.

Our original test tried to move a large local video into YouTube through Safari. Claude learned the steps, but the saved workflow could not complete the upload because Safari did not support the needed browser actions and the Chrome path could not handle the large local file. That failure clarified the best starting point. Record the task first, then let Claude help choose a method it can actually run.

Pro tip: Install Claude in Chrome before recording a workflow that touches websites. It gives the saved skill a supported path for browser actions.

Open the Claude desktop app on your Mac and switch to Cowork. Click the + button in the composer, select Record a Skill, and then click Start recording.

Anthropic's Record a Skill instructions (https://support.claude.com/en/articles/12512198-how-to-create-custom-skills) cover the current access requirements, recording permissions, and privacy details.

The first time you use the feature, macOS will ask Claude for two permissions:

• Screen Recording so Claude can see what is happening.
• Accessibility so Claude can track your mouse and keyboard actions.

macOS may ask you to restart Claude after granting access. Do that before recording so you do not interrupt the task halfway through.

Leave the microphone on. Your narration gives Claude the context it cannot get from clicks alone. You can switch microphones or mute the audio from the recording controls if needed.

Recordings can run for up to 10 minutes. Choose a task you can demonstrate comfortably inside that window.

This is the important part. Do the task as you normally would and explain what you are doing out loud.

Narrate the decisions behind the clicks. For example:

• "I am choosing this file because it is the newest finished version."
• "This item needs approval, so I am not moving it yet."
• "I always set this upload to private before saving."
• "I am skipping this step because the information is missing."

Do not be afraid to make a mistake. Claude reviews your screen, clicks, typing, screenshots, and transcript together. It can usually tell the difference between the real workflow and an extra window resize, a wrong click, or a short detour.

Think of the recording as a demonstration of the job, the decisions, and the finished result instead of a fixed macro.

Click Done when you finish. Claude will send the recording into a Cowork task and begin analyzing it.

After the recording ends, Claude analyzes the video, your computer actions, and the transcript. It then creates a proposed skill and may recommend a better way to complete the workflow than the method you demonstrated.

This was the most useful lesson from our test. We demonstrated a manual YouTube upload with Finder and Safari. Claude recognized that the more reliable long-term method was the YouTube Data API. We chose computer use instead, and the test stalled on browser and file-upload limits.

Treat Claude's recommendation as part of the feature. The goal is to capture what you are trying to accomplish and let Claude identify the most reliable tools available.

The proposed setup may use:

• Computer use, when available on your plan, for local files and supported desktop actions.
• Claude in Chrome for supported browser workflows.
• A connector or plugin when the service already exposes the right actions.
• A script or API when the task is structured and needs a more reliable path.

You do not need to understand every option before recording. Review the recommendation, ask Claude to explain any setup or permissions, and choose the route that matches the tools you can access.

Open Content on the proposal card before you save anything. Check the skill name, when it should run, the steps Claude captured, the tools it expects to use, and the safety rules.

The recording can help Claude add useful guardrails. In our upload test, the proposed skill included rules to keep the video private, avoid scheduling a publish time, and ask before moving the completed folder. Those details made the proposal more useful than a simple list of clicks.

Click Save to keep the skill. Saved skills appear under Customize > Skills, where you can edit, share, or delete them.

Test the skill on a fresh version of the task. Use a new folder, another set of notes, or a second sample input. Check that it:

• starts from the right input
• uses the intended tool or integration
• creates the expected result
• follows the safety rules
• stops and asks when something is missing

If the test fails, do not force Claude through an unsupported app or browser. Edit the skill, choose a different automation method, or record the improved workflow again.