Zero introduction. Straight into the ‘how’:
1. Type /setup.
Claude’s team made a skill to set up your Claude.
And no one knows it.
A skill is a saved set of instructions Claude follows for one kind of task.
Just type /setup and prompt it:
/setup This is a new Claude account.
Set up my Claude from scratch, step by step.
It is the best onboarding Claude has, and it is already built in.
If you’re stuck at a step, just prompt it:
I couldn’t complete this step. Explain in ASD STE 100.
It will write in Simplified English, like IKEA instructions.
Once you’re done with a step, just prompt it:
Consider it done. What else can I do?
You can stop the newsletter here.
Your Claude is mostly set up once you follow every step.
Why not use the skill /team-onboarding? It is a Claude Code skill that turns your last 30 days of Claude Code use into a guide for a teammate. A brand-new user has no history for it to read. Save it for next month.
I am sharing my 33,970 Claude skills at the end of this newsletter (+ my favorite 9).
2. Open a Team plan.
Do not use a personal account Claude. The Team plan is safer.
You (the owner):
Go to claude.com/pricing.
Click the Team & Enterprise tab.
Click Get Team plan.
Subscribe for a Premium seat.
Never go over 150 seats (Enterprise pricing is much more costly).
Note: Brand new to Claude → Skip this note. Already have a Claude account on that work email → By default, creating the Team moves that account into it. A Pro or Max plan is cancelled with a refund for the unused days. Custom skills and app connections do not come along. It is one-way.
To keep your personal account as it is, tick Keep your personal account separate before you finish.
Two rules.
The creator needs a work email (no Gmail, Yahoo, or Hotmail).
And Team needs two members minimum.
Upgrade to join my next live workshop on Claude.
3. Opus 5.5 + Medium always. Switch to High when it matters.
Claude comes in versions called models. Effort is how hard it thinks before answering. Every Team seat gets Opus 5.5.
As of today, Opus 5.5 is the best model.
Now here’s how to choose the effort level, by Claude’s team themselves:
Medium is Opus 5.5’s default, marked Default in the menu.
The picker remembers your last choice, so check it once.
I use Medium for about 80% of my work. Switch to High for tasks you only get one shot at, like a proposal or the email to your biggest client. You can switch mid-chat.
Ignore Extra high and Max unless you run long coding jobs. Higher effort takes longer and burns your limit faster.
Skip Fable 5.1 for now. Anthropic says Opus 5.5 “performs at the level of Claude Fable 5.1 on most work.” But I am pretty sure Claude will soon release Fable 5.5, and it will be (even) better than Opus 5.5. Stay subscribed to keep up!
If you are already a subscriber, upgrade today to join my live classes.
4. Three switches.
You (the owner):
1 - Turn memory on. Organization settings → Capabilities.
Note: Once memory is on, leave it on. If an owner turns it off later, every member’s memories are deleted immediately. Permanently.
2 - Turn Rate chats off. Organization settings → Data and Privacy → Rate chats. Team does not train on your chats by default. The small thumbs up and down icons under each answer are the exception. Pressing either one sends the whole conversation to Anthropic, which keeps it for up to 5 years and may use it for training. More on that in Privacy.
3 - Turn your memory on. Settings → Memory. Switch on Generate memory from chats and Search and reference chats.
PS: This newsletter grows from your shares. And I keep hitting 1,000+ shares! It’s my weekly north star. Sharing is free & helps me stay laser focused on mastering AI for you.
5. Connect your apps once.
Go to:
Organization settings → Connectors → Browse connectors.
Pick the app, click Add to your team.
That makes it available, not connected.
Then everyone does: Customize → Connectors.
On the web: claude.ai/customize/connectors.
Start with three.
Google (Gmail, Calendar, Drive) or Microsoft 365. Whichever runs your email.
Slack or Teams.
Your project tool (Notion, Asana, Atlassian, and similar).
Claude can draft and send email through Gmail. By default, it asks you before each send, reply, or forward. So don’t stress it.
6. Download 33,970 skills.
Claude Skills are pre-made super instructions for Claude.
You can build your own with the skill ‘/skill-creator’.
Or you can download the 33,970 skills I shortlisted.
The link: https://skillsclau.de.
You have nothing to do besides confirming your email with the OTP (the little password you receive by email).
I put the 9 skills I use the most at the very top of the website:
A reminder on how to install a skill:
Left side menu → Click on “Customize”.
Click on “Skills” → the “+” → then “Create skill” → “Upload a skill”.
Select the skill you just downloaded from me.
You are now ready.
7. Where to start.
You can’t master Claude in one day.
Instead, book 20 minutes this week & open this newsletter.
Download the Claude app to start.
Play with the Chat mode first. Try to copy your voice.
Pay for one month of the $100 plan to get Opus 5.5 + Code.
Ask for a tough deliverable. An Excel, a PDF, an HTML, something.
Be amazed. Start your rabbit hole journey on how to master it completely.
PS: This newsletter is growing because you guys are sharing it.
On every one of my free articles, I get over 1,000+ shares!! It keeps it free.
The best kind of share is to your colleagues, in your group chat (on Teams or Slack). You’re helping them save tokens, and you help me spread the word!
And if it’s the first time you’re here, don’t miss the next newsletter:
PS: I run weekly workshops on mastering Claude. Live calls.
AI 101: 23 minutes to master Claude. No more.
AI 201: How to go beyond the basics with Claude Code.
AI 301: Every Friday, we use Claude Code to build something ambitious.
Join us here: ruben.substack.com/p/upgrade.
I am not paid by Claude to write this.
I don’t care about Claude, or any other AI model.
I don’t pick sides. I’m not paid to make this newsletter.
I’m sharing, twice a week, how my work is changing (very fast) with AI.
As I’m trying to keep up, I want you to keep up.
This is why I write ‘How to AI’.
STE has a great origin story. European airlines asked for it in the 1980s so maintenance manuals would make sense to mechanics reading English as a second language. Instructions max out at 20 words a sentence.
I guess I'm too old to understand or appreciate this - I'm trying to figure out why would I want to interconnect all my personal data with the chance that at some point it will get hacked. Won't use gmail knowing that it's not secure.