| name | chat-to-skill |
| description | Convert current chat session into a reusable skill. Use when user says "/chat-to-skill", "save this as skill", "create skill from chat", "turn this into a skill", or wants to preserve learnings from the conversation as long-term memory. |
Chat to Skill
Transform conversation history into reusable skills — long-term memory for Claude.
Process
1. Analyze Dialog
Scan the entire conversation to identify:
- Primary goal: What was the user trying to achieve?
- Secondary goals: Any related objectives discovered along the way
- Errors encountered: Mistakes, dead ends, wrong approaches
- Successful path: What actually worked
2. Abstract to Reusable Patterns
Critical: Do NOT create skills for specific cases. Abstract to general patterns.
Ask yourself:
- What CATEGORY of problem was solved? (not the specific instance)
- What would this look like with different data/context?
- Would this skill be useful in other projects?
Abstraction levels (from bad to good):
| Too specific (BAD) | Good abstraction |
|---|
| "Seed users from client Excel" | "Import spreadsheet data into Rails" |
| "Parse names into fields" | (implementation detail, not a skill) |
| "Fix pytest in project X" | "Configure pytest for monorepos" |
| "Add dark mode to app Y" | "Implement theme switching in React" |
Rules:
- Remove project names, organization names, specific entities
- Focus on the TECHNIQUE, not the specific data
- If something is just an implementation detail (name parsing, date formatting), it's not a separate skill
- One dialog = usually one skill (the main workflow), not multiple micro-skills
3. Extract Context-Specific Details
Depending on the task type, look for:
Development tasks:
- Commands and flags that worked
- Versions and compatibility (what works with what)
- Configuration that was needed
- Code patterns and architectural decisions
- Debugging process (how the root cause was found)
- Tool/library choices and why
Research/analysis tasks:
- Sources that proved useful
- Search strategies that worked
- How to validate findings
Process/workflow tasks:
- Order of operations (what must come first)
- Decision criteria (how choices were made)
- Stakeholders or dependencies
Any task:
- Prerequisites that weren't obvious
- Context that matters for success
- Signs that indicate the right/wrong path
4. Choose Topic (if multiple found)
If dialog contains several distinct learnable patterns, use AskUserQuestion:
Question: "I found several skill candidates. Which to create?"
Options: List 2-4 abstracted topics (not specific tasks), plus "All of them"
5. Validate Skill Candidate
Before proposing, check:
If NO to any — either abstract further or skip skill creation.
6. Propose Topic (if valid)
Present ONE main skill (not a list of micro-topics):
Skill candidate: [Abstracted name]
What it captures: [1-2 sentences about the reusable pattern]
Key learnings:
- [Main insight 1]
- [Main insight 2]
- [Mistake to avoid]
Then ask using AskUserQuestion tool:
Question: "How does this skill proposal look?"
Options:
- "Good, create it" — proceed to step 7
- "Too specific" — re-abstract: remove project/entity names, find broader pattern
- "Wrong focus" — re-analyze: what was the MAIN technique vs implementation details?
- "Not reusable" — reconsider: is this a one-off task or a recurring pattern?
7. Revise (if needed)
Based on user's choice, fix the specific issue:
"Too specific":
- What broader category does this belong to?
- Would this apply with different tools/platforms? Generalize.
"Wrong focus":
- What would you google to solve this problem?
- The answer is probably the real skill name.
"Not reusable":
- How often would this exact situation repeat?
- If rarely — maybe no skill needed. Ask user what they hoped to capture.
8. Prepare Knowledge Package
Goal: One sentence — what this skill helps achieve
Trigger: When should this skill activate? (keywords, file types, contexts)
Mistakes to avoid:
- Specific errors from the dialog
- Why they were wrong
- What they cost (time, confusion)
Optimal path:
- Shortest working sequence
- No exploration, only essentials
- Include specific commands/configs if applicable
Key details:
- Versions/compatibility if relevant
- Non-obvious prerequisites
- How to verify success
9. Create Skill
Use /skill-creator with the prepared knowledge package.
