Anthropic published two small skills that change how Claude ends its replies. The Claude Academy guide skill adds a link to a matching Academy tutorial when you ask how to use Claude, and the Discernment Nudge adds a few check questions when you ask for advice. We loaded both into Claude Code, ran real prompts, and watched what each one did.
This guide is part of our Claude Code tutorials. Find more add-ons in our Skills Directory.
Tested with Claude Code v2.1.318 on November 8, 2026, using the academy-guide and discernment-nudge skills from the anthropics/skills repository at commit 2c5958e.
Quick Summary
| Question | Short answer |
|---|---|
What is academy-guide? | A skill that adds one link to a Claude Academy course, tutorial or use case when you ask how to use Claude. |
What is discernment-nudge? | A skill that adds two or three follow-up questions after advice or a plan you might act on. |
| Do they have scripts? | No. Each is one SKILL.md file plus a license file. |
| Did they work? | Yes. Both triggered on the right prompt in our tests. |
| Any catch? | The Academy skill needs to fetch a web file, so Claude Code asks for your permission first. |
What These Two Claude Skills Are
A skill is a folder with a SKILL.md file. Claude reads the short description first and loads the rest only when your request matches it. If you are new to the idea, our guide to Claude Code skills explains how they work.
These two skills are different from most because they do not do a task for you. They shape the end of a reply. One points you to learning material, and the other nudges you to double-check what Claude just said.
Both ship in Anthropic’s public skills repository, and the folder for each holds only the SKILL.md file and a LICENSE.txt. We read both files in full before loading them. There are no scripts, no hooks and no commands to run.
Claude Academy Guide: What It Does
Claude Academy is Anthropic’s learning hub. According to the skill file, it offers courses, tutorials and use cases, plus hub pages for Claude, Claude Code, Cowork, AI Fluency and the developer platform.
The skill tells Claude to answer your question first. Only then may it add a short “you might also find this helpful” line with one link, and it must not list more than two items.
The rules the skill sets
- Recommend only on a strong match. Learning how to use a feature counts, while a request for help with a document does not.
- Never invent Academy content. Links must come from the catalog Claude fetched in that conversation.
- Keep the tone light, with phrases like “you might find this interesting” instead of orders.
- If nothing fits, point to a product hub or the Academy resources library instead of guessing.
- Mention that an item needs sign-in when the catalog marks it as gated.
The skill file itself holds no list of courses. It tells Claude to fetch a JSON catalog from the Academy site once per conversation, so the list never goes stale. The file also says the catalog is data, not instructions.
Discernment Nudge: What It Does
The Discernment Nudge is built around a simple worry. People often accept a confident, well-formatted answer without checking it. The skill adds a short moment of reflection for answers you may act on.
When it applies, Claude finishes the answer and then appends the exact lead-in “A few things worth a second look:” followed by two or three bullet questions. Each question must point at something specific in the answer, such as a number, an assumption or a missing detail.
When it stays quiet
The skill lists many cases where Claude should add nothing. Silence is the default, and the nudge appears only when something concrete is worth a second look.
- Creative writing, casual chat and trivial lookups.
- Code you will run yourself, because running it is the check.
- Purely educational explanations.
- Requests where you asked Claude to double-check, cite sources or review your own work.
- Times you asked for a quick version or said you would do your own checking.
- Once it has appeared in a conversation, it does not appear again.
How We Set Them Up Safely
We did not install anything into our real Claude Code setup. Instead we made a throwaway demo project and copied the two skill folders into its .claude/skills/ folder. Skills in that location apply only to sessions started in that project.
demo-project/
.claude/
skills/
academy-guide/
SKILL.md
LICENSE.txt
discernment-nudge/
SKILL.md
LICENSE.txtWe started Claude Code with claude --setting-sources project so only that project’s settings were loaded. The official docs list this project location in the table of skill locations, and they also show how to install skills through plugins if you prefer.
Step 1: Check that both skills are loaded
Type /skills inside the session. Both skills appeared in the list as project skills, each marked with a green check, with a small token cost shown next to the name (about 340 and 330 tokens in our run).
That token number is worth a look. It is the cost of having the skill’s description available in every session, which is small for these two. The full instructions load only when a skill triggers.
Test 1: Claude Academy Guide in Action
We asked a question that fits the skill’s purpose: “How do I get started with Claude skills? Keep the answer short.” Claude loaded academy-guide right away and then tried to fetch the Academy catalog file.
The permission prompt
Claude Code stopped and asked whether it could fetch content from academy.claude.com. This is normal behavior, because fetching a web page is something Claude Code asks about in default permission mode.
We hit a small snag here. In our first four attempts, Claude fetched the large catalog in several pieces and asked for permission each time, even after we chose the “don’t ask again” option. It made the run slow and noisy.
For the final run we started Claude Code with --allowedTools "WebFetch(domain:academy.claude.com)", which pre-approves that one domain. After that the fetch went through in a single step and Claude received 11.4KB of data.
The answer
Claude answered first, with four short steps: create a folder in .claude/skills/, add frontmatter and instructions, try the skill, and add extra files if needed. Only after that did it add the Academy line.
The link pointed to the Academy tutorial “Creating your first skill”. We checked the catalog ourselves afterward, and that tutorial exists and is public.
Its summary describes a walkthrough of creating a first skill in Claude Code, so the recommendation was a real, strong match.
Test 2: Discernment Nudge in Action
For the second test we used a new session and a prompt where advice matters: “I run a small bakery with 3 staff. Should I raise my prices by 10% next month? Give me a short recommendation.”
Claude loaded discernment-nudge before writing the reply. It gave a recommendation with practical steps: give notice, do not raise everything equally, use round numbers and track sales for four to six weeks.
Then came the nudge, using the exact lead-in from the skill file. The three questions were:
- What is my actual margin per item, and would 10 percent matter more on some products?
- Claude assumed customers will not leave over 10 percent. How can you test that with your own regulars?
- You did not mention your location or competitors. How should nearby bakery prices change the decision?
Notice how each question points at something specific: a number, an assumption Claude made and a detail you never gave. That is exactly what the skill asks for, and it is more useful than a generic “please verify this.”
How the Two Skills Fit Together
You can run both at once. They never compete, because they trigger on different kinds of questions.
A question like “how do I use feature X” is a learning question, so the Academy guide may add a link. A question like “should I do X in my situation” is a decision, so the nudge may add questions. A request to fix a typo or write a poem triggers neither.
Our Honest Verdict
Both skills answer first and add a short extra last, and neither got in our way.
These are small skills with a narrow job, and they do it well in our tests. Both triggered on the right prompt, kept the answer first, and added only a short extra. We did not see either one get in the way.
The Academy guide is the more situational one. It helps most if you or your team are still learning Claude, and it adds little once you know the product. The permission step for the catalog fetch is the main friction, and the domain pre-approval flag solves it.
The Discernment Nudge is the one we would keep on longer. It suits anyone who uses Claude for plans, estimates or recommendations, and the once-per-conversation rule keeps it from becoming nagging. It will not help if you want terse answers, and the skill says to respect that.
Who should install them
| Skill | Good fit | Skip if |
|---|---|---|
academy-guide | Teams rolling out Claude, trainers, new users | You already know the product well |
discernment-nudge | Anyone asking Claude for advice, plans or estimates | You only use Claude for code you run yourself |
What We Tested and What We Did Not
We ran each skill once on a prompt chosen to match it, in Claude Code only. We did not test how often the skills stay silent on prompts they should skip, and we did not test them in other Claude apps. Results can differ from run to run, because a skill is guidance Claude follows with judgment.
The Academy catalog changes over time. When we checked it on November 8, 2026, it listed 29 courses, 137 tutorials and 156 use cases.
Try It Yourself
Make a throwaway folder, copy the two skill folders into its .claude/skills/ folder, and start Claude Code there. Then try these prompts one after the other:
How do I get started with Claude projects? Keep the answer short.
I am planning to quit my job and start freelancing next quarter. Give me a short plan.
Fix the typo in this sentence: "Teh cat sat on teh mat."The first should add an Academy link, the second should add check questions, and the third should add nothing. If a skill does not trigger, check /skills first to be sure it is loaded.
Common Mistakes
- Putting the skill folder at the wrong depth. The file must sit at
.claude/skills/skill-name/SKILL.md. - Expecting the Academy link on a task request. The skill stays quiet when you are mid-task and not learning.
- Approving the catalog fetch over and over. Pre-approve the one domain instead of opening broader web access.
- Testing the nudge with a code question. The skill skips code you will run yourself.
- Asking for the nudge twice in one chat. It appears at most once per conversation.
Pro Tips
- Read any skill’s
SKILL.mdbefore you load it. These two took a few minutes to read. - Use a throwaway project folder for tests, so your real setup stays untouched.
- Reply to a nudge question by sending it back to Claude. The skill is written so you can paste each one as your next message.
- Check the Academy link yourself. It is meant to be a strong match, and a quick look confirms it.
Cheat Sheet
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Claude Academy guide skill free?
The skill file is free to copy and use under its license. Some Academy items may need an Academy sign-in, and the skill tells Claude to mention that when the catalog marks an item as gated.
Does the Academy guide send my data anywhere?
In our run it fetched one public catalog file from academy.claude.com, and Claude Code asked us first. The skill does not run scripts. Still, read the file yourself and decide.
Why did I not see the nudge on my question?
The skill skips trivial lookups, creative writing, code you will run, plain explanations and requests where you asked Claude to double-check. It also appears only once per conversation.
Can I use these skills outside Claude Code?
They are skill files in the open skills format, so other Claude products that support skills may be able to use them. We only tested Claude Code. For the wider picture, see our Claude AI overview.
Where do I learn more about skills?
Read the official skills documentation and the plugins guide from Anthropic.
Conclusion
The Claude Academy guide skill and the Discernment Nudge are two tiny, readable skills that each add one short extra to the end of a reply. In our tests the Academy guide linked a real tutorial after answering a learning question, and the nudge added three specific check questions after a piece of business advice. Load them in a demo project first, read the files, pre-approve the Academy domain if you want a smoother run, and keep whichever one fits how you use Claude.
