hub · learn · by nav

claude,
actually explained.

what's a skill? what's an MCP? a project? an artifact? if you've heard these words and felt your brain check out, this is for you. seven concepts, plain english, with stuff you can click.

007 concepts built for beginners + builders scroll to start
⟶ scroll
00 / start here

think of claude
like a smart
assistant.

you can talk to it. that's the easy part. the hard part is everything around the talking. how it remembers you. how it connects to your apps. how it builds stuff. how it actually goes and does things in the real world.

that's what these seven things are. they're the parts that turn claude from a chat window into a system that actually works for you.

the seven
concepts.

each one has a live demo. click around. break it. that's how you learn.

01

skills

recipe cards claude pulls when needed.

imagine a chef with a binder of recipe cards. they don't memorize every recipe. when you order pasta, they grab the pasta card. when you order a cake, they grab the cake card. a skill is a card. claude only opens the ones it needs for your task.

for builders

a skill is a folder with a SKILL.md instruction file plus optional scripts and assets. claude loads it on-demand based on what you ask. you can write your own (brand voice, code style, document templates) and claude will apply them automatically when relevant.

demo · pick a task
pdf-skill
creates and edits PDFs
docx-skill
writes word documents
brand-voice
writes in your tone
excel-skill
builds spreadsheets
click a card above to see what claude does
→ waiting...
02

mcp & connectors

the universal plug.

claude on its own is a really smart brain in a jar. it can think. it can write. but it doesn't know what's in your gmail or your google drive. connectors plug it in. click connect once, and now claude can read your inbox, check your calendar, pull files from your drive. it's like giving the brain hands.

for builders

MCP (Model Context Protocol) is the open standard for connecting AI to tools. one protocol, hundreds of integrations. you can build your own MCP server to expose internal tools to claude, or use the existing connector library (gmail, drive, calendar, slack, asana, github, etc).

demo · plug claude in
C
click an app to connect it
03

projects

a workspace with its own rules.

you wouldn't store your taxes in your kid's homework folder. a project is a dedicated folder for one thing. drop in the files that matter. write down the rules (always reply in french, always use my brand colors). every chat inside that project knows the context. nothing leaks between them.

for builders

projects = persistent context window with custom instructions + a file knowledge base. great for codebases, client work, ongoing research. memory and chats inside a project stay scoped to that project. think of it as your private GPT for one job.

demo · switch projects
instagram brand
app codebase
legal docs
04

artifacts

the live whiteboard.

most chatbots dump answers in the chat. claude has a second window. that window is the artifact. ask for a website, you see the website. ask for a poster, you see the poster. ask for a calculator, you can actually use it. it's not a screenshot. it's the real thing, running live.

for builders

artifacts render HTML, React, SVG, mermaid, markdown, and code in a sandboxed preview. they persist across messages so you can iterate. you can fork, share, and embed them. the api version lets you build "claude in claude" apps that call back to the model.

demo · build it live
build me a poster for my pickleball league
→ generating in the preview window...
05

memory

an assistant that doesn't forget.

your barista remembers you take oat milk. memory is that, but for claude. tell it once that you live in edmonton, that you run a basketball brand, that you hate em dashes. it'll remember next time. you can also tell it to forget. you're in charge.

for builders

memory is a structured store of facts claude derives from your past chats. it pulls relevant entries into context for new conversations. you can view, edit, and delete entries. scoped per-project when inside a project. incognito chats skip it entirely.

demo · teach it about you
06

claude code

claude in your terminal.

this one's for the builders. if you've ever wished you could just say "build this app" and have it actually happen on your computer, that's claude code. it lives in your terminal. it sees your files. it writes, edits, runs, and tests code for you. not a chatbot pretending to code, the real thing.

for builders

install via npm, point it at a repo, talk to it. it can read your codebase, write across multiple files, run tests, commit changes. it works with MCP servers, can be hooked into CI, and has a non-interactive mode for scripts. great for refactors, feature work, and "i don't want to context switch" days.

demo · run a real command
07

agents & computer use

claude that actually does things.

a chatbot tells you how to do something. an agent goes and does it. book the flight. send the email. fill the form. organize the spreadsheet. you say "do x" and it does the steps. think of it as the difference between a tour guide and someone who just drives you there.

for builders

computer use lets claude take actions inside a browser or OS, see the screen, click, type, scroll. agentic flows chain tool calls, loops, and decisions to complete multi-step tasks. claude in chrome and claude in excel are productized agent surfaces. you can build your own with the API.

demo · watch it work
task: find the cheapest flight from yeg to lax next friday and email it to my partner
1
open browser, go to flight site
2
enter YEG → LAX, set dates
3
scan results, sort by price
4
copy cheapest flight details
5
open gmail, draft email
6
send. done.

you don't need to know how the engine works to drive the car. but if you ever look under the hood, at least now you know what you're looking at.

by nav