How to Use Claude Skills on the Mobile App
Not all Claude skills are available on mobile. Here's how to check what runs on your phone, start a skill from the toolbar, and keep the underlying prompts accessible when a skill isn't there.
Updated 5 min read
To use a Claude skill on the mobile app, open a chat, tap the skill icon in the toolbar, and select the skill you want to run. Not every skill available in the desktop web app appears on mobile: skills that require file uploads, browser tools, or integrations the mobile interface does not support may not be listed.
When a skill is unavailable on mobile, the underlying prompt or instructions behind it can still be useful if you have them saved somewhere accessible. Tools like fenbs keep approved prompts and project context outside any one app, so a connected assistant can read the same starting instructions on any device.
What Claude skills are
A skill is a saved, reusable workflow: a set of instructions, any supporting files, and optionally a tool connection that Claude uses to complete a specific kind of task. You create or install a skill once, then start it from the skill picker instead of retyping the same instructions each session.
Skills in Claude.ai and Claude Code both package reusable guidance, but their storage and distribution paths differ. For Claude Code's skill locations and syncing, see Anthropic's Claude Code skills documentation (opens in a new tab). For building a skill from scratch, the skill creation guide covers the steps.
Which skills appear on the mobile app
Open the Claude mobile app and start a new chat. Tap the skill or tools icon in the message bar — the exact label depends on your app version. Skills that rely on desktop-only capabilities, specific integrations, or file upload flows may not appear in the mobile list.
- Tap the skill icon in the message toolbar to open the skill picker.
- Scroll through available skills and tap the one you want to activate.
- Supply any required input the skill prompts you for, then send your message.
- If a skill is greyed out or absent, check the skill's detail view in the desktop app for a note on platform support.
Anthropic's help center is the reliable source for current mobile skill availability, because the feature set changes with each app release. Check Anthropic's skill usage guide (opens in a new tab) before assuming a skill is missing or broken.
When a skill is not available on mobile
If the skill you need does not appear, you have two options. First, switch to the desktop app where the skill is available and start the task there. Second, use the prompt or instructions behind the skill directly in a mobile chat.
Pasting the skill's instructions into a mobile chat works, but it requires having those instructions saved somewhere outside Claude. If the skill lives only inside Claude's interface and you have no copy of its instructions, you cannot replicate it on a device where the skill does not load.
This is the practical difference between a skill and the prompt behind it. A skill is an installed tool with all its packaging; the prompt is the reasoning and instructions at the core. Keeping that prompt in a shared record means any Claude session can use it — on any device. For how skills compare to project instructions and artifacts, see Claude projects vs. skills vs. artifacts.
How to use skill instructions on mobile without the skill
If a skill is unavailable on mobile, open your saved copy of the instructions and paste them at the start of a new chat. Then add the specific task. This is less convenient than tapping the skill picker, but it produces the same output if the prompt is accurate.
Keep the pasted version clean: remove any internal revision notes and include only the instructions the assistant needs. A clear, focused prompt is easier to type and review on a phone than a long document with surrounding context.
If the skill requires a tool connection — for example, access to a repository or a third-party service — that connection will still be missing even if you paste the instructions. Note the gap explicitly so the assistant asks for what it needs rather than guessing.
Keep approved prompts accessible on any device
Store the instructions behind your key skills in fenbs Skills and prompts. Any connected AI can list and read the prompt — on mobile or desktop — even when the skill packaging itself is not available. Add the project context alongside the prompt so you do not have to re-explain the work in each session.
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How to do this with fenbs
- Create a free account, free for one person with no credit card, and add a project for the work you do with Claude.
- On the desktop app, copy the instructions from any skill you use regularly. Save them in Skills and prompts in fenbs with the skill's purpose and any required inputs.
- Connect Claude to fenbs through Integrations. Ask Claude to list available skills and prompts before starting a task.
- When a skill is unavailable on mobile, ask your connected Claude session to read the prompt from fenbs and apply it to the current input.
- Record decisions about approved instructions in Decisions and rules so later sessions do not use an outdated version.
fenbs does not change which skills Claude shows on mobile, and it does not provide the tool connections a skill may use. If you need the full skill experience, use the desktop app. What fenbs provides is a copy of the approved instructions that any Claude session can read, wherever you are working.
For related reading, see Claude skills examples and the AI prompts topic hub. For questions about how skills compare to Claude's memory settings, the Claude memory vs. skills guide explains the difference.