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TempleKit

Add the free TempleKit skill to Claude

The TempleKit skill teaches Claude to work like a careful family historian. Give it a census page, a parish entry or a letter in old handwriting, and it transcribes, translates, lists everyone named, explains what the record proves, writes a citation for FamilySearch and tells you where to look next. It takes about two minutes to add, and it works with a free Claude account.

Last checked . Spot something out of date? Email team@templekit.com.

TempleKit research skill for Claude

One ZIP file, about 16 KB. Free. Works with Free, Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise Claude plans.

Download the skill

Add it, step by step

  1. Download the skill

    Use the button above. You get one file, templekit-research.zip. Don't unzip it.

  2. Open Claude and sign in

    At claude.ai or in the Claude desktop app. A free account works.

  3. Turn on code execution

    Open Settings, then Capabilities, and turn on Code execution and file creation. Claude needs it to use any skill. (On a Team or Enterprise plan, an owner turns it on under Organization settings.)

  4. Upload the skill

    Open Customize, then Skills. Click +, then Create skill, then Upload a skill, and choose the ZIP you downloaded.

  5. Check it's on

    “templekit-research” appears in your skills list. Make sure its switch is on.

  6. Try it

    Start a new chat, attach a photo or screenshot of a record, and type “Read this record.” Claude uses the skill on its own whenever it fits.

Things to ask

Read this record. (Attach a photo or screenshot of a census page, register entry, will or letter.)
Here's what I know about my great-grandfather. Make me a research plan to find his parents.
Translate this Danish christening entry and tell me what it proves.
Write a FamilySearch source citation for this record.
Which of the people in this census household might still need temple ordinances, and what should I check first?
Write a 120-word story for the back of her family name card, using only these records.

What's inside

  • SKILL.md: the checklist for reading a record and for finding an ancestor, the ground rules, and the Church's rules for temple names.
  • Record types: what each kind of record usually proves, and when civil registration began by country.
  • Languages: month names, record words and reading tips for ten languages, from TempleKit's genealogy word lists.
  • Calendars: when each country switched from the Julian calendar, from our date calculator.
  • Citations and free archives by country, from our record search.

Want Claude to search FamilySearch for you, too? See Research with Claude.

5Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord; 6And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.
Jesus Christ3 Nephi 25:5–6Jesus Christ, quoting Malachi to the NephitesWhat the scriptures and prophets teach about family history →

Questions

What is a skill?

A folder of instructions and reference notes that Claude loads when it's useful. The TempleKit skill teaches Claude a family historian's checklist, ten languages' record words, calendar changes, citation formats, free archives by country, and the Church's rules for temple names.

Is it free?

Yes. The skill is free, and Anthropic says skills work on Free, Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise plans as long as code execution is on.

I don't see Customize or Skills.

Turn on code execution first (Settings, then Capabilities). On a Team or Enterprise plan your owner may need to allow skills under Organization settings, then Plugins & skills.

The upload didn't work.

Upload the ZIP exactly as downloaded. Claude looks for a folder named templekit-research with a SKILL.md file inside; unzipping and re-zipping can break that.

Does it work in Claude in Chrome?

Use the ready-made TempleKit shortcuts there instead. They carry the same rules. See Research with Claude.

I use ChatGPT or Gemini, not Claude.

Download the same checklist as one file from Put Claude to work (templekit.com/ai): attach it at the start of any AI chat, or paste it into a ChatGPT Project or a Gemini Gem.

How do I update it?

Download it again, delete the old one in Customize, then Skills, and upload the new ZIP. The date we last changed it is on this page.

Can Claude reserve names with it?

In a regular Claude chat it can't reach FamilySearch, so it tells you who looks ready and why. In Claude Cowork or Claude in Chrome it can reserve your relatives' names in your own browser, 10 at a time after your OK. See Put Claude to work.

More guides

Research your family with ClaudeLet Claude find records, read old handwriting and reserve names, with your OKFamily name cards, explainedEvery box on the card, and what TempleKit addsPrint family name cards two-sidedActual size, flip on long edge, and lining up the backReservations, limits and expiryThe 300-row limit, the two-year clock, and sharing with the templeCousins, removed, half and stepWhat the relationship words meanFree record sources by countryWhere to look next, country by country