Desktop app Customize window doesn't show user-authored skills from ~/.claude/skills/

[samkorn]

Description

In the Claude Desktop app on Mac, the Code tab's Customize window does not display user-authored skills located in ~/.claude/skills/. It only shows Anthropic-published / claude.ai skills (e.g., unstick, email-drafter, pdf, etc.).

The skills are loaded and functional at runtime — they appear in the system prompt and can be invoked normally. They just don't appear in the Customize UI, which makes it look like they aren't installed.

Steps to reproduce

1. Create custom skills in ~/.claude/skills/ (e.g., todo.md, scope.md)
2. Open the Claude Desktop app on Mac
3. Switch to the Code tab
4. Open the Customize window
5. Observe that only Anthropic-published skills are listed — user-authored skills from ~/.claude/skills/ are missing

Expected behavior

User-authored skills from ~/.claude/skills/ should appear in the Customize window alongside Anthropic-published skills, or there should be a separate section for them.

Environment

• Platform: macOS
• Claude Desktop app (Code tab)

[github-actions]

Found 1 possible duplicate issue:

1. [BUG] Skills from ~/.claude/skills/ and plugins not shown in Customize -> Skills panel #31597

This issue will be automatically closed as a duplicate in 3 days.

• If your issue is a duplicate, please close it and 👍 the existing issue instead
• To prevent auto-closure, add a comment or 👎 this comment

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

[patajones]

This issue is not a duplicate of the three linked issues. Here's why:

#39994 and #31597 are about skills not appearing in the Customize > Skills panel (a UI settings window). Both issues explicitly state that skills do work when invoked via slash commands — the problem is visibility in the settings panel, not autocomplete in the chat input. These are unrelated to this request.

#10246 is a parity request between the CLI and VS Code Extension — not the Desktop app. Different surface, different context.

This issue specifically requests a / autocomplete dropdown in the Desktop app's chat input box — a feature that exists in the terminal CLI but is entirely absent in the Desktop app's Code tab. None of the linked issues address this.

Please do not auto-close. 👎

[patajones]

I can confirm this issue on Claude Desktop (Code tab) on Windows as well.

Typing / in the chat input shows no autocomplete dropdown. There is no way to browse available skills or built-in commands from the input box — you have to know the exact command name. The + button only offers "Add image", with no skill picker or command browser.

Skills do work when the full name is typed directly, confirming this is purely a discoverability problem, not a functionality one.

Note: I'm using Claude Desktop on Windows connected via /remote-control to a Claude Code session running on a Linux server. The autocomplete works fine in the terminal CLI on Linux — the gap is specifically in the Desktop app's Code tab on Windows.

Environment:

Platform: Windows (Claude Desktop app)
Claude Code session: Linux server via /remote-control
Interface: Claude Desktop app, Code tab

[samkorn]

This issue is not a duplicate of the three linked issues. Here's why:

#39994 and #31597 are about skills not appearing in the Customize > Skills panel (a UI settings window). Both issues explicitly state that skills do work when invoked via slash commands — the problem is visibility in the settings panel, not autocomplete in the chat input. These are unrelated to this request.

#10246 is a parity request between the CLI and VS Code Extension — not the Desktop app. Different surface, different context.

This issue specifically requests a / autocomplete dropdown in the Desktop app's chat input box — a feature that exists in the terminal CLI but is entirely absent in the Desktop app's Code tab. None of the linked issues address this.

Please do not auto-close. 👎

@patajones It looks like you may have commented this on the wrong issue. You cite this issue (#39994), as one of the things your issue isn't similar to. This issue is in fact about the Customize UI, and does appear to be a duplicate, which is why I had not reacted to the bot's message.