Skills vs Connectors vs Plugins

If you’ve opened the Customise tab inside Claude CoWork and immediately felt your brain short-circuit… you’re not alone, and it’s not you. There are three things sitting there – skills, connectors, plugins – and the names do approximately nothing to explain what any of them actually do.

So here’s the version that actually sticks.

The one-sentence version (before we go deeper)

Skills are instructions. Connectors are access. Plugins are bundles of both.

That’s genuinely the whole thing. But knowing *what* they are and knowing *how to use them* are two different conversations, so let’s go one layer deeper.

What is a skill in Claude CoWork?

A skill is a set of reusable instructions – a step-by-step guide for how Claude should handle a specific type of task. It lives in a simple text file, it has a name and a description, and then it has the actual instructions for how to do the thing.

When you ask Claude to do something that matches the skill’s description, it finds the skill, follows the instructions, and applies them to your specific request. Every time. Consistently.

Think of it like this: you’ve got a brilliant assistant who’s capable of lots of things, but you want them to handle your content a very specific way – your way, your tone, your format. Instead of explaining it from scratch every single conversation, you write it down once. That’s a skill.

The good news? You don’t have to write skills from scratch. Claude will help you create them, you can download them from other people, or you can write the instructions yourself if you’re the type who actually enjoys that sort of thing. They’re also shareable – so if someone has already figured out the right instructions for something you need, you can grab their skill and use it.

What is a connector in Claude CoWork?

A connector is how Claude gets access to your other platforms and tools. Gmail, Google Calendar, Notion, Slack – any external software you want Claude to be able to interact with.

There are a few types worth knowing about:

Official web connectors – the verified ones. You connect them through a login process (called OAuth, if you want the technical term), and Claude gets secure permission to access that tool on your behalf. These are the Gmail, Notion, Google Calendar integrations you’ll see listed in CoWork.

Desktop connectors – this is where things get a bit more interesting. Claude in Chrome, for example, lets Claude actually navigate and take actions inside your browser. Want Claude to go fill out a form, scrape some information, or operate a website? That’s where desktop connectors come in.

Custom connectors – these use an API key rather than a standard login. A bit more technical, but they let you connect to basically anything – including tools that aren’t officially verified. If the standard login is “front door access,” the API key version is more like giving someone a specific key to a specific room.

The simple way to think about it: if skills are what Claude knows how to do, connectors are where Claude is allowed to go.

What is a plugin in Claude CoWork?

A plugin is a bundle. It takes multiple skills, connectors, and sometimes specialised sub-agents, and packages them up so Claude can take on an entire role or specialty – not just one task, but a whole function in your business.

The difference between a skill and a plugin is the difference between a capability and a role. A skill might be “write a good Instagram caption.” A plugin might be “social media manager” – someone who can write captions, repurpose content, check what’s performing, understand your brand voice, AND knows how all those tasks connect to each other.

Official plugins are verified by Anthropic and available at [claude.com/plugins](http://claude.com/plugins). But you can build your own custom plugins, import ones you find online, or customise an existing plugin to your specific requirements. (So if there’s a plugin that does 80% of what you want, you’re not starting from scratch.)

Inside a plugin, you’ll usually find: a collection of skills, specialised agents for particular types of thinking, and connected tools or services that tie everything together.

Okay but – which one do I actually start with?

Here’s the practical version, because that’s the part that actually matters:

If you want Claude to do a specific task a specific way – build a skill.

If you want Claude to access a tool you’re already using – add a connector.

If you want Claude to take on a whole role in your business – install or build a plugin.

Most people start with connectors (connecting the tools they’re already in every day) and skills (teaching Claude how they want things done). Plugins come in once you’re ready to hand Claude something more substantial – a whole system rather than individual tasks.

Why this actually matters

The reason most people feel like AI isn’t really working in their business yet – like it’s still just a fancy search engine or a better spellchecker – is because they haven’t set up this layer.

Skills, connectors, and plugins are what take Claude from “helpful in a conversation” to “genuinely running parts of your operation.” That’s not an exaggeration. That’s the actual shift.

And it’s the shift I teach inside AIMM – not just what AI can do in theory, but how to wire it into your actual business so it handles real things.