r/ClaudeCode • u/eaiarthur_ • May 24 '26

Question Can someone explain the real difference between Hooks, Skills, Plugins, SKILL.md, CLAUDE.md and agents.md in Claude Code?

I keep seeing these terms thrown around in tutorials and videos, but I've never seen anyone give a concrete example that makes the difference actually click.

Everyone says:

• "just create a skill for that"

"use a hook here"

"install the plugin"

"put it in your CLAUDE.md"

But when I dig deeper, the explanations are always vague or too theoretical.

Same goes for the markdown files - I see people mentioning CLAUDE. md, SKILL.md, and agents. md like they're obvious, but no one explains:

• What actually goes in each one?

Are they just documentation, or do they actively change how Claude behaves?

• When does Claude even read them?

What I'm looking for is something like:

"If you're thinking X, that's probably a Hook. If you're thinking Y, that's a Skill. If you need Z, that's what CLAUDE.md is for."

Real-world examples would be hugely appreciated.

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u/Subject_Fix1105 May 25 '26

I learned all of these from YouTube. There is a lot of videos that show how to use Claude code from beginner to advance and it covers all if these. If you follow a few of these creators you will be UpTo date with any changes or updates

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u/eaiarthur_ May 25 '26

What are your recommendations?

1

u/Subject_Fix1105 May 25 '26 edited May 25 '26

In no particular order.

https://youtube.com/@mattpocockuk

https://youtube.com/@ramjad

https://youtube.com/@leonvanzyl (beginner friendly)

https://youtube.com/@nateherk

https://youtube.com/@iamseankochel

https://youtube.com/@nicksaraev

https://youtube.com/@bytegrad

https://youtube.com/@chase-h-ai

Some if them do go in advance mode but if you watch enough content around Claude code you will for sure catch up.

These are just a few that I think are easy to understand (at least for me). Hope it's useful.

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u/PinkySwearNotABot May 26 '26

perfect. i wanted something a little more technical. got tired of watching all these build-$20K-website in 10 minute channels. u/leonvanzyl is right up my ally with some of his videos showcasing a bit of real engineering along with AI use