Guide · Agent skill
How to use the International Expansion Kickoff agent skill
Updated · written with AI from the project's own documentation and checked against our catalogue data
The expansion-kickoff skill is an agent skill for Claude that starts planning when you tell it you're hiring or expanding into a new country. It gathers basic intake details, frames the choice between an Employer of Record (EOR) and your own legal entity, drafts questions for HR, finance and legal, flags country-specific issues and saves a tracker file. It is written for HR, people-ops, legal teams and founders who need a structured starting point. After this guide you will know how to install it, how to trigger it and what it needs before it works.
International Expansion Kickoffanthropics/claude-for-legal · Apache-2.0 Download the skill Quick start
- 1Download the ZIP. Download the expansion-kickoff ZIP from the skill's page on this directory.
- 2Unzip the skill. Unzip the folder into ~/.claude/skills/ for personal use, or into a project's .claude/skills/ folder for one project.
- 3Check the prerequisites. Confirm the claude-for-legal employment-legal CLAUDE.md config and the international-expansion reference skill are in place.
- 4Start a request. Tell the agent you are hiring or expanding into a country, for example "we're hiring in Germany".
- 5Answer the intake questions. Provide the basic intake details the agent asks for so it can frame the EOR versus entity choice.
- 6Review the questions and flags. Read the drafted cross-functional questions and country-specific flags, and check them with local counsel.
- 7Confirm the saved tracker. Check that expansion-[slug].yaml was created in the employment-legal config folder so you can resume later.
What is an agent skill and what does this one do?
An agent skill is a folder containing a SKILL.md file that gives an AI agent specific instructions for a task. When a request matches the skill's description, the agent follows those instructions.
This skill is for the start of an international expansion project. When you say you are hiring or expanding into a country, the agent gathers intake details, frames the EOR versus entity decision, drafts cross-functional questions, surfaces country-specific flags and creates a persistent tracker file so the work can be picked up in a later session.
- Gathers intake details about the planned hire or expansion
- Frames the choice between an Employer of Record (a third party that employs staff locally) and setting up your own legal entity
- Drafts questions for HR, finance and legal
- Notes country-specific flags
- Saves a YAML tracker file so the project can be resumed later
What do you need before installing?
The skill depends on two other pieces that are not included in the reviewed package: the claude-for-legal employment-legal plugin configuration and the international-expansion reference skill. The skill loads a CLAUDE.md file describing your jurisdictional footprint and escalation table, and the reference skill provides the detailed framework and templates.
You also need local filesystem write access, because the skill saves the expansion tracker YAML file.
- The claude-for-legal employment-legal plugin configuration, with CLAUDE.md at ~/.claude/plugins/config/claude-for-legal/employment-legal/
- The international-expansion reference skill (not included in the reviewed file)
- Local filesystem write access to save the tracker
Install the expansion-kickoff skill
Download the ZIP from the skill's page on this directory and unzip it. You can install it in one of two ways.
Option 1, personal install: unzip the folder into ~/.claude/skills/ so it is available across your projects.
Option 2, project install: unzip the folder into the .claude/skills/ directory of a specific project so it is available only there.
Option 3, Claude apps: upload the skill in the Claude apps under Settings → Capabilities → Skills.
~/.claude/skills/How do you trigger the skill with a natural request?
You do not need to type a command. The skill's description lists phrases that should activate it. Say something like one of these:
The skill also has a slash-style form with an optional country argument. If you leave the country out, the skill asks which country you mean.
- "We're hiring in Germany"
- "Expansion to Japan"
- "First hire in Brazil"
/employment-legal:expansion-kickoff GermanyWhat happens during a kickoff run?
The skill first loads your jurisdictional footprint and escalation table from the plugin config. It then loads the international-expansion reference skill and runs its full workflow.
If a tracker already exists for the country, the skill flags it and offers to update it or confirm that you want to start over. Otherwise it creates a new tracker file named expansion-[slug].yaml in the employment-legal config folder when the run completes.
- Tracker location: ~/.claude/plugins/config/claude-for-legal/employment-legal/expansion-[slug].yaml
- If a tracker exists, the existing update command is /employment-legal:expansion-update [country]
Safety notes: scripts and network access
According to the skill's listing, it does not run scripts and does not use the network. Its main side effect is writing the tracker file to your local config folder.
The output is a planning aid, not legal or tax advice. The skill only covers what the referenced reference skill contains, so have local employment counsel verify requirements before you act on them.
- Runs scripts: no
- Uses network: no
- Writes: the expansion tracker YAML file
Tips for better results
Give the country name in the first message so the skill can match its flags to the right place.
Keep the tracker: when you return to the project, the saved file lets you continue rather than start again.
Use the output as a checklist before speaking with an EOR provider or local counsel, not as a substitute for them.
- Name the country clearly, for example "Germany"
- Check the saved tracker for the next steps before reopening the project
- Confirm the reference skill is installed before running the kickoff
What people use it for
- An HR lead preparing a first employee hire in a new country who needs a structured question list
- A founder comparing an Employer of Record provider against setting up a local entity before a call with a provider
- A legal team drafting cross-functional questions for finance and HR before engaging local counsel
- A people-ops manager keeping a saved, updatable record of expansion work across several sessions
Frequently asked questions
How do I install the expansion-kickoff skill?
Download the ZIP from the skill's page, then unzip it into ~/.claude/skills/ for personal use or into a project's .claude/skills/ folder. You can also upload it in the Claude apps under Settings → Capabilities → Skills.
Is the expansion-kickoff skill free to use?
The source material does not state pricing or licence terms beyond the Apache-2.0 licence listed for the item, so check that licence and the directory page for details. Nothing in the source describes a paid tier.
Does expansion-kickoff work without the claude-for-legal plugin?
Not reliably. The skill loads a CLAUDE.md config file and a reference skill that are not included in this package, so it may not work standalone.
What is the international-expansion reference skill?
It is a companion skill that holds the detailed EOR versus entity framework, cross-functional questions, briefing templates and tracker schema. The expansion-kickoff skill tells the agent to load it before doing substantive work.
Does the skill run scripts or access the internet?
According to its listing, it runs no scripts and uses no network. It does write a tracker YAML file to your local config folder.
Can it replace an Employer of Record provider or employment lawyer?
No. The output is a planning aid, and the skill only covers what its referenced framework contains. Local employment counsel should verify country requirements before you act.
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Our verdict
Use expansion-kickoff if you are an HR, people-ops or legal team, or a founder, planning a first hire in a new country and want a structured, saved checklist before talking to an EOR provider or local counsel. Pick something else if you need final legal or tax answers, or if you do not have the claude-for-legal configuration and the international-expansion reference skill set up.
Download the skill