Detailed Comparison
| Aspect | Skills (user-invocable) | Skills (model-invocable) | Agents |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | Workflow template | Knowledge module | Context isolation tool |
| Location | .claude/skills/ | .claude/skills/ | .claude/agents/ |
| Invocation | /skill-name (user types) | Auto-loaded by model | Task tool delegation |
| Frontmatter | disable-model-invocation: true | Default (no flag needed) | n/a |
| Execution | In main conversation | Loaded into context | Separate subprocess |
| Context | Shares main context | Adds to agent context | Isolated context |
| Best for | Repeatable manual workflows | Reusable knowledge | Scope-limited analysis |
| Token cost | Low (template only) | Medium (knowledge loaded) | High (full agent) |
| Examples | /commit, /pr, /ship | TDD, security-guardian | security-audit, perf-audit |