Before you start · choose one app
Checkpoint You have all four files, this guide, your chosen app, and somewhere to keep your outputs. Allow extra setup time on a new account; do setup before class if possible.
Follow the Claude route.Browser · upload ZIP · edit locally · re-upload
1. Open Claude and check access
Checkpoint You can open the Skills page. Neither workshop skill is enabled. If access is blocked, use the troubleshooting section or pair with a neighbour.
2. Run the task without the skill
Read the exact pedala prompt
Summarise these notes for my manager: Call notes– Pedala (e-bike subscriptions, Barcelona) – Tuesday - attendees: Marta (CEO), Jordi (ops), us - ~1,200 active subscribers; monthly churn up from 4% to 7% since June!! - Jordi thinks it's repair wait times: avg 6 days now vs 2 days in spring. Their mechanic left in May - Marta more worried about new competitor BiciYa, launched at €29/month vs Pedala €39/month - exit survey: 140 responses, 58% of churned users mention repairs, 22% mention price - runway ~9 months - options discussed: hire 2 mechanics (~€6k/month total), cut price to €32, or partner with a repair shop in Gràcia (no quote yet) - Marta wants a decision before the board meeting on 15 Nov - we owe them a recommendation by next Friday - someone mentioned Valencia expansion but parked (Pedala and BiciYa are fictional companies made up for this exercise.)
Checkpoint You have one saved baseline answer and a score out of 5. You have not uploaded or enabled exec-summary yet.
3. Upload and enable exec-summary
Checkpoint exec-summary appears in the Skills list and is enabled. A successful upload alone is not the same as an enabled skill.
4. Repeat the exact task with the skill
Read the exact the same pedala prompt
Summarise these notes for my manager: Call notes– Pedala (e-bike subscriptions, Barcelona) – Tuesday - attendees: Marta (CEO), Jordi (ops), us - ~1,200 active subscribers; monthly churn up from 4% to 7% since June!! - Jordi thinks it's repair wait times: avg 6 days now vs 2 days in spring. Their mechanic left in May - Marta more worried about new competitor BiciYa, launched at €29/month vs Pedala €39/month - exit survey: 140 responses, 58% of churned users mention repairs, 22% mention price - runway ~9 months - options discussed: hire 2 mechanics (~€6k/month total), cut price to €32, or partner with a repair shop in Gràcia (no quote yet) - Marta wants a decision before the board meeting on 15 Nov - we owe them a recommendation by next Friday - someone mentioned Valencia expansion but parked (Pedala and BiciYa are fictional companies made up for this exercise.)
Checkpoint You have two answers from fresh chats, the same model and prompt, and two scores. Record whether you observed a skill-file read separately from the score.
5. Open the skill file on your laptop
Checkpoint You are editing the actual SKILL.md file in the extracted exec-summary folder, not the ZIP or a formatted preview.
6. Change 120 to 60, then save
Checkpoint The saved source file contains the 60-word rule. Changing a local file has not yet updated the skill uploaded to Claude.
7. Upload the edited version
Checkpoint Claude has one enabled exec-summary entry containing your new version, rather than two competing copies.
8. Test your one-line edit
Read the exact pedala prompt
Summarise these notes for my manager: Call notes– Pedala (e-bike subscriptions, Barcelona) – Tuesday - attendees: Marta (CEO), Jordi (ops), us - ~1,200 active subscribers; monthly churn up from 4% to 7% since June!! - Jordi thinks it's repair wait times: avg 6 days now vs 2 days in spring. Their mechanic left in May - Marta more worried about new competitor BiciYa, launched at €29/month vs Pedala €39/month - exit survey: 140 responses, 58% of churned users mention repairs, 22% mention price - runway ~9 months - options discussed: hire 2 mechanics (~€6k/month total), cut price to €32, or partner with a repair shop in Gràcia (no quote yet) - Marta wants a decision before the board meeting on 15 Nov - we owe them a recommendation by next Friday - someone mentioned Valencia expansion but parked (Pedala and BiciYa are fictional companies made up for this exercise.)
Read the exact word-count check
Count the words in the assistant's summary immediately above, including its labels. Report the count only. Do not rewrite the summary.
Checkpoint You changed the stored instructions, reinstalled them, and checked the new behavior in a fresh chat.
9. Test when the skill activates
Read the exact peru test
What's the capital of Peru?
Read the exact article test
Can you condense this article into something my boss can read in 30 seconds? Campus bike repair pilot The student services team tested a bike repair desk for 4 weeks. It served 80 students, and 60 booked a second visit. Average turnaround was 2 days, compared with 5 days at the previous provider. The pilot cost €1,600. The team has a €2,000 budget for next month. It has not yet checked whether the provider can handle twice as many bookings. Ana will collect a capacity quote by Friday. The committee must decide on Monday whether to extend the pilot for another month.
Read the exact poem test
Write a poem about Barcelona.
Checkpoint You tested three separate requests and distinguished expected activation from what you could actually observe.
Follow the Codex route.Local folder · install extracted skill · review the file edit
1. Open a separate local practice folder
Read the exact availability check
For this practice folder, list the names and paths of any available skills named exec-summary or star-feedback. Do not read their full instructions or summarize any workshop files. If either is already installed, tell me its location before we run the baseline. Do not change anything.
Checkpoint The chat uses your separate Skills Workshop folder, and no active workshop skill is available yet. If the app cannot open local folders, use the optional CLI route at the end or pair with someone whose app can.
2. Run the baseline before installing
Read the exact pedala prompt
Summarise these notes for my manager: Call notes– Pedala (e-bike subscriptions, Barcelona) – Tuesday - attendees: Marta (CEO), Jordi (ops), us - ~1,200 active subscribers; monthly churn up from 4% to 7% since June!! - Jordi thinks it's repair wait times: avg 6 days now vs 2 days in spring. Their mechanic left in May - Marta more worried about new competitor BiciYa, launched at €29/month vs Pedala €39/month - exit survey: 140 responses, 58% of churned users mention repairs, 22% mention price - runway ~9 months - options discussed: hire 2 mechanics (~€6k/month total), cut price to €32, or partner with a repair shop in Gràcia (no quote yet) - Marta wants a decision before the board meeting on 15 Nov - we owe them a recommendation by next Friday - someone mentioned Valencia expansion but parked (Pedala and BiciYa are fictional companies made up for this exercise.)
Checkpoint Your baseline answer and score exist before the skill is installed.
3. Ask Codex to install the local skill
Read the exact local-install prompt
In this practice folder only, install the workshop executive-summary skill. 1. Confirm this is the Skills Workshop folder I selected. If it is not, stop and tell me. 2. If it is not already a Git repository, initialize it with git init. Do not create a commit or remote. 3. Extract exec-summary.zip. Copy the included exec-summary folder into .agents/skills/ so the final file is .agents/skills/exec-summary/SKILL.md. Do not create a second nested exec-summary folder. 4. If that destination already exists, stop and tell me rather than overwriting it. 5. Show the final folder tree. Do not write a summary, change other settings, or install the skill globally.
Checkpoint The skill exists in the project’s discovery folder. The setup conversation is not used for the measured summary run.
4. Repeat the identical summary task
Read the exact the same pedala prompt
Summarise these notes for my manager: Call notes– Pedala (e-bike subscriptions, Barcelona) – Tuesday - attendees: Marta (CEO), Jordi (ops), us - ~1,200 active subscribers; monthly churn up from 4% to 7% since June!! - Jordi thinks it's repair wait times: avg 6 days now vs 2 days in spring. Their mechanic left in May - Marta more worried about new competitor BiciYa, launched at €29/month vs Pedala €39/month - exit survey: 140 responses, 58% of churned users mention repairs, 22% mention price - runway ~9 months - options discussed: hire 2 mechanics (~€6k/month total), cut price to €32, or partner with a repair shop in Gràcia (no quote yet) - Marta wants a decision before the board meeting on 15 Nov - we owe them a recommendation by next Friday - someone mentioned Valencia expansion but parked (Pedala and BiciYa are fictional companies made up for this exercise.)
Checkpoint You have the two main answers and scores. Any explicitly forced run is saved separately.
5. Change the instruction in the installed file
Read the exact edit prompt
Open .agents/skills/exec-summary/SKILL.md in this practice folder. Replace only the line "- 120 words maximum in total. Count before you answer." with "- 60 words maximum in total. Count before you answer." Leave the name, description and all other instructions unchanged. Show me the before-and-after line and a diff. Do not generate a summary yet.
Checkpoint The discovered skill file contains the 60-word rule. You checked the edit before running the task.
6. Run the task again and check 60 words
Read the exact pedala prompt
Summarise these notes for my manager: Call notes– Pedala (e-bike subscriptions, Barcelona) – Tuesday - attendees: Marta (CEO), Jordi (ops), us - ~1,200 active subscribers; monthly churn up from 4% to 7% since June!! - Jordi thinks it's repair wait times: avg 6 days now vs 2 days in spring. Their mechanic left in May - Marta more worried about new competitor BiciYa, launched at €29/month vs Pedala €39/month - exit survey: 140 responses, 58% of churned users mention repairs, 22% mention price - runway ~9 months - options discussed: hire 2 mechanics (~€6k/month total), cut price to €32, or partner with a repair shop in Gràcia (no quote yet) - Marta wants a decision before the board meeting on 15 Nov - we owe them a recommendation by next Friday - someone mentioned Valencia expansion but parked (Pedala and BiciYa are fictional companies made up for this exercise.)
Read the exact word-count check
Count the words in the assistant's summary immediately above, including its labels. Report the count only. Do not rewrite the summary.
Checkpoint You have a third answer tied to a reviewed one-line edit, rather than a follow-up request that merely asked for a shorter summary.
7. Test automatic activation
Read the exact peru test
What's the capital of Peru?
Read the exact article test
Can you condense this article into something my boss can read in 30 seconds? Campus bike repair pilot The student services team tested a bike repair desk for 4 weeks. It served 80 students, and 60 booked a second visit. Average turnaround was 2 days, compared with 5 days at the previous provider. The pilot cost €1,600. The team has a €2,000 budget for next month. It has not yet checked whether the provider can handle twice as many bookings. Ana will collect a capacity quote by Friday. The committee must decide on Monday whether to extend the pilot for another month.
Read the exact poem test
Write a poem about Barcelona.
Checkpoint Three fresh chats test the description’s boundaries. A matching-looking output alone does not prove that a file was read.
Keep the evidence.
Score each check with 0 or 1. Count the whole output, including labels. Leave uncertain checks blank until you verify them. Keep the AI answers in your own notes.
| Check | Without | With |
|---|---|---|
| Opens with a recommendation, not the topic | ||
| Exactly 3 reasons; each has a number from the notes | ||
| 120 words or fewer, including labels | ||
| No invented numbers; every number traces to the notes | ||
| Ends with who does what by when (TBD is allowed for missing details) | ||
| Total | — / 5 | — / 5 |
| Check | Without | With |
|---|---|---|
| Opens with a recommendation, not the topic | ||
| Exactly 3 reasons; each has a number from the notes | ||
| 120 words or fewer, including labels | ||
| No invented numbers; every number traces to the notes | ||
| Ends with who does what by when (TBD is allowed for missing details) | ||
| Total | — / 5 | — / 5 |
Did the skill activate?
| Test | Expected | Observed file read |
|---|---|---|
| Peru | No | |
| Article | Yes | |
| Poem | No |
| Test | Expected | Observed file read |
|---|---|---|
| Peru | No | |
| Article | Yes | |
| Poem | No |
The initial comparison uses a 120-word limit. For the edited version, check 60 words separately. A tie is allowed; fluent formatting does not establish factual accuracy.
Optional · try the STAR demo yourself
Do this after the core exercise, or follow the facilitator’s demo. Keep the two workshop skills from competing.
Claude
- In Customize → Skills, turn exec-summary off.
- Upload star-feedback.zip using the same upload steps, and enable it.
- Open a new chat, paste the interview prompt below and send.
Codex
- In a setup chat in Skills Workshop, send the STAR-install prompt below. Review the moved and installed folders.
- Open a fresh chat in that same folder; restart the app if discovery has not updated.
- Paste the interview prompt and send. If needed, try an explicit $star-feedback request in a separate chat.
Read STAR installation prompt
In this practice folder only, move .agents/skills/exec-summary to parked-skills/exec-summary so it is outside the discovered skills directory. Keep that copy; do not delete it. Extract star-feedback.zip and install its star-feedback folder at .agents/skills/star-feedback. Keep references/rubric.md inside that folder. Stop if a destination already exists. Show the resulting tree. Do not score an interview answer yet.
Read the interview prompt
Tell me about a time you led a team. Here's my answer: In my previous job at a consulting firm we had a project that was delayed. The client was unhappy and the team was stressed. We decided to have daily stand-ups and I talked to the client a lot. In the end the project was delivered and the client was happy. I learned that communication is really important.
Checkpoint Look for reads of SKILL.md and references/rubric.md when visible, four scores from 1–4, and a rewritten answer that uses placeholders instead of inventing achievements.
If something does not match
Claude: I cannot find Skills or upload a ZIP
Check code execution under Settings → Capabilities, then go to Customize → Skills. Refresh the page after enabling it. If an organization manages the account, its owner may need to allow code execution and skills. Ask a helper or pair up if blocked. Do not buy a plan just to follow this guide; Free accounts are supported.
Claude: my edited skill still gives 120 words
Reopen the file inside exec-summary-60.zip and check it contains 60. Confirm you uploaded that ZIP, removed the original workshop entry and enabled the new one. Run in a new chat. If it still fails, record a failed test; do not assume a correct upload guarantees compliance.
ZIP: I see two exec-summary folders
Find the inner folder that directly contains SKILL.md. That is the folder to compress or install. The final Claude ZIP path is exec-summary/SKILL.md; the final Codex path is .agents/skills/exec-summary/SKILL.md.
Codex: I cannot see .agents in Finder or File Explorer
Mac: press ⌘Shift. (Command, Shift, period) to show hidden items. Windows: File Explorer → View → Show → Hidden items. Or open the file link Codex gives you. The dot folder is normal.
Codex: the local skill is missing or two copies appear
Confirm the chat is in Skills Workshop and the file is at .agents/skills/exec-summary/SKILL.md. Restart Codex if needed. User-wide or plugin copies can coexist with the local skill; ask a helper to disable the other workshop copy. Do not delete unrelated skills or replace your entire config file.
Codex: Git initialization is blocked
The project-local route uses a practice Git repository so discovery has a clear root. If the app reports Git is unavailable, ask a helper to install/enable Git or use the Claude route. Do not change to your work repository to get past this step.
I cannot tell whether the skill was used
Record Unknown. Visible style and the model saying “I used it” are weaker evidence than a file-read trace. For troubleshooting, explicitly request the named skill in a separate fresh chat; keep that result separate from the automatic trigger tests.
The without-skill answer scores just as well
Keep the result. The model can already produce good summaries. Compare whether the requested format is consistent and then test the edited 60-word rule. A tie is useful evidence, not a reason to alter the baseline after seeing the answer.
The Copy button does not work
Open the matching “Read the exact…” panel. Select the text inside the prompt box, copy with ⌘C or Ctrl+C, then paste into your app. This also works when the browser restricts clipboard access on local files.
Optional: I already use Codex CLI
Use the same local folder and prompts. Open Terminal or PowerShell, type cd (including the space), drag the Skills Workshop folder into the window, then press Enter. Type codex and press Enter. Sign in if asked. Use /new for each fresh conversation; if your version does not offer it, exit and relaunch codex in the same folder. Use /skills to inspect the selector or $exec-summary for a separate forced test. This optional route assumes the CLI is already installed; it is not required for the workshop.
Sources and scope
Product steps checked 15 October 2026. Exact interface labels can vary by version. The exercise design and prompts are workshop material; product installation and loading behavior are grounded in the sources below.
- Claude: enabling, uploading and managing skills
- OpenAI: local skill paths, discovery, invocation and updates
- OpenAI: desktop app, local folders and Codex chats
Only complete one route in class. The separate setup and edit conversations prevent instructions from those conversations becoming part of the measured summary chat. Fresh chats still share account-level preferences and installed skills; this is a practical classroom comparison.