Use Claude Code skills with Roo Code

Roo Code (formerly Roo Cline) is a Cline fork that adds multi-mode personas — Code, Architect, Ask, Debug, Custom. It reads a .roo/ directory of per-mode rule subdirectories, giving you fine-grained control over which skills activate for which persona. The mapping from SKILL.md to a Roo rule is direct: same Markdown body, dropped into the right per-mode folder.

Roo Code rule-file format (2026)

Roo's modern format is .roo/rules-code/, .roo/rules-architect/, .roo/rules-debug/, etc. Each subdirectory holds rules that load only when that mode is active. There's also a .roo/rules/ directory for mode-agnostic rules. Roo retains Cline-compatible reading of .clinerules/ as a fallback for compatibility.

Modern (2026)	Legacy fallback
.roo/rules-<mode>/<rule-name>.md	.clinerules (Cline-compatible fallback)

Upstream docs: https://docs.roocode.com/

SKILL.md → Roo Code field mapping

SKILL.md field	Roo Code equivalent
name	→ implicit from filename
description	→ optional top-of-file Markdown heading
allowed-tools	→ Roo's per-mode tool-list config (e.g., Code mode has terminal, file edit; Ask mode is read-only)
user-invokable	→ implicit — every rule in the active mode loads

Worked example

Pick any ClaudSkills SKILL.md from the catalog. Strip the YAML frontmatter; drop the body into the file shown below:

# File: .roo/rules-architect/system-design.md

# System design (Architect mode)

When asked to design a new system, walk through requirements,
trade-offs, then propose 2-3 architecture variants with explicit
pros and cons of each.

Save, restart your editor session, and the skill becomes available to Roo Code's agent on the next prompt.

Recommended skills for Roo Code users

From the 6 skills below, pick the one or two that match your project's most-common workflows. Each links to the full SKILL.md on ClaudSkills.

• system-design Design systems, services, and architectures. Trigger with "design a system for", "how should we architect", "system design for", "what's the right architecture for", or when the us
• architecture Architectural decision-making framework. Requirements analysis, trade-off evaluation, ADR documentation. Use when making architecture decisions or analyzing system design.
• code-reviewer Comprehensive code review skill for TypeScript, JavaScript, Python, Swift, Kotlin, Go. Includes automated code analysis, best practice checking, security scanning, and review check
• debug Structured debugging session — reproduce, isolate, diagnose, and fix. Trigger with an error message or stack trace, "this works in staging but not prod", "something broke after the
• tech-debt Identify, categorize, and prioritize technical debt. Trigger with "tech debt", "technical debt audit", "what should we refactor", "code health", or when the user asks about code qu
• documentation Documentation generation workflow covering API docs, architecture docs, README files, code comments, and technical writing.

Limitations to know about

• Roo's per-mode loading means you have to decide which mode each skill belongs to — there's no SKILL.md equivalent of "applies to all modes" other than putting the file in the mode-agnostic .roo/rules/ dir.
• Roo's Custom mode lets you define your own persona. Skills with strong personas of their own (e.g., "act as a senior staff engineer") work well as Custom mode anchors.
• Like Cline, Roo runs against any model. Claude-specific tool-use idioms may behave differently with GPT or local models.

FAQ

Which Roo mode should I put a SKILL.md in?

Map by intent: code-writing skills go in .roo/rules-code/; architecture / design skills in .roo/rules-architect/; debugging in .roo/rules-debug/; advisory / read-only in .roo/rules-ask/. Skills that should always load (like brand voice or a code-style guide) go in mode-agnostic .roo/rules/.

Can a single skill apply to multiple Roo modes?

Yes — symlink the same file into each mode's directory, or use .roo/rules/ for true mode-agnostic loading.

Is Roo's tool list compatible with SKILL.md's <code>allowed-tools</code> field?

Mostly. Roo's per-mode tool-list is configured at the mode level, not the rule level. If a SKILL.md specifies allowed-tools: [Bash, Read, Write], that's a hint about which Roo mode it fits — Code mode in this case, since it has terminal + file edit access.

Keep reading

• All integrations — the full landscape across Cursor, Cline, Roo, Windsurf, Codex, Continue
• Claude Code skill catalogs compared — 5 catalogs head-to-head
• How to write a Claude Code skill
• SKILL.md frontmatter reference
• Browse 69,000+ skills