skill-improve

name	skill-improve
version	1.2.1
description	Retrofit the OIAE self-improvement loop to existing skills and analyze feedback to propose evidence-based amendments. Adds Retrospective, Feedback Check, and version tracking to skills that lack them. Reads feedback/log.md to identify recurring issues and propose targeted skill improvements. Use when the user asks to improve a skill, retrofit feedback to a skill, add the improvement loop, fix a skill based on feedback, or analyze skill performance. Trigger phrases include "improve skill", "retrofit skill", "add feedback loop", "skill keeps failing", "fix skill", "analyze skill feedback", "skill performance", "add retrospective", "skill improvement".

Skill Improve (orchestrator)

Retrofit the OIAE (Observe/Inspect/Amend/Evaluate) self-improvement loop to existing skills and analyze accumulated feedback to propose evidence-based amendments.

Role definition lives in the subagent

The auditor judgment — OIAE opt-in level assessment, retrofit content generation, path-discipline grep, feedback pattern detection, amendment proposal text, and previous-amendment evaluation — lives in the @agent-skill-improve:skill-improve subagent.

This skill is the orchestrator: it resolves the target skill path, hands the bundle (SKILL.md, references, feedback log, amendments file) to the subagent, presents the subagent's proposals to the user for approval, applies approved amendments, runs the install script, performs the smoke check, and commits/pushes.

Use this skill when running the full retrofit + amendment cycle. Use @agent-skill-improve:skill-improve directly when another agent just needs the auditor judgment without the install/commit flow.

Locating your own reference files

Distinct from "Paths" below (which is about the dev repo root you retrofit skills inside): this skill's own "$SKILL_HOME"/references/retrofit-checklist.md, and my-skill-factory's references/skill-improvement-guide.md (a separate plugin), live at each plugin's install location, not at any relative path from your working directory. Resolve both in one Bash call before reading either:

SKILL_HOME=$(ls -d ~/.claude/plugins/cache/hideki-plugins/skill-improve/*/skills/skill-improve 2>/dev/null | sort -V | tail -1)
MSF_HOME=$(ls -d ~/.claude/plugins/cache/hideki-plugins/my-skill-factory/*/skills/my-skill-factory 2>/dev/null | sort -V | tail -1)
echo "$SKILL_HOME"; echo "$MSF_HOME"

Re-derive both in the same Bash call as any later read — shell state doesn't persist between separate Bash tool calls. If either comes back empty, note in your output that the corresponding template wasn't reachable rather than guessing at its content.

Paths

Examples below use <repo-root> for the user's local clone of the skill repository. Resolve once per session:

• macOS / Linux: typically ~/private/repos/agent-skill-set
• Windows: typically D:\Shared\agents\my-skills
• Otherwise: ask the user, or run git -C <any-skill-dir> rev-parse --show-toplevel.

install_skill.py auto-detects the repo via git rev-parse --show-toplevel, so once you cd <repo-root> you can invoke it with forward-slash relative paths on any platform.

Path discipline (applies to every retrofit and amendment)

When this skill writes new content into an existing skill (Retrospective, Feedback Check, amendments, file-path references), never introduce hardcoded operator-specific or OS-specific absolute paths. Forbidden patterns: /Users/<name>/..., /home/<name>/..., C:\Users\<name>\..., D:\Shared\..., /private/..., or any path that assumes the skill repo lives at one specific location.

Use <repo-root> (the skill repo root, see "Paths" above), ~ / $HOME, or runtime resolution (git rev-parse --show-toplevel) instead. Concrete paths are allowed only as explicitly-framed documentation examples ("on Windows this typically resolves to D:\...").

Pre-install verification. Before running install_skill.py after a retrofit or amendment, grep the modified skill's source for path leaks:

grep -rn -e '/Users/' -e '/home/' -e '/private/' -e 'C:\\' -e 'D:\\' \
  <repo-root>/<skill-name>/ --exclude-dir=feedback

Each remaining hit must be either an example explicitly framed as such, or replaced with a placeholder / runtime resolution. Apply this check whether the change came from the retrofit Phase 2 or from an evidence-driven amendment in Phase 3.

Arguments

Argument	Default	Description
--skill	(required)	Skill name or path to the skill directory
--retrofit-only	false	Only add OIAE components, skip feedback analysis
--analyze-only	false	Only analyze feedback, skip retrofit

Workflow

Feedback Check

Before starting Phase 1, look for accumulated feedback on this skill itself:

• If feedback/log.md exists next to this SKILL.md and has 5 or more entries, read the last 10.
• If a pattern is apparent (the same issue keyword in 3+ entries, or average rating below 3), tell the user (in Japanese): 「過去のフィードバックで類似パターンを検出: [簡潔に]。/skill-improve --skill skill-improve で改善案を分析できます (=自分自身を分析)。」
• Continue with normal execution either way.

If feedback/log.md does not exist, skip silently.

Phase 1: Locate and Read the Skill

1. Resolve skill path:

   • If a name is given, check <repo-root>/<skill-name>/
   • If a path is given, use it directly
   • Read the skill's SKILL.md

2. Check for existing OIAE components:

   • version: field in frontmatter
   • ### Retrospective section in body
   • ### Feedback Check section in body
   • feedback/ directory existence

3. Check for existing feedback:

   • feedback/log.md — does it exist? How many entries?
   • feedback/amendments.md — any pending amendments?

4. Report current state to user:

   "Skill <name>: version [present/missing], Retrospective [present/missing], Feedback Check [present/missing], feedback entries: N"

Phase 2: Retrofit (if components missing)

Skip this phase if --analyze-only is set or all OIAE components are already present.

Read "$SKILL_HOME"/references/retrofit-checklist.md for the step-by-step process and placement rules.

1. Assess opt-in level (None / Observe / Full):

   • Full: Skill has a multi-phase workflow, expected >5 uses, complex output
   • Observe: Uncertain usage frequency, simpler workflow
   • None: One-shot skill, CLI wrapper, deterministic utility

2. Present assessment to user:

   "I recommend [level] for this skill because [reason]. Proceed?"

3. Add missing components using templates from "$MSF_HOME"/references/skill-improvement-guide.md:

   • Add version: 1.0.0 to frontmatter if missing
   • Add ### Feedback Check section (Full level only)
   • Add ### Retrospective section (Observe or Full level)

4. Run the path-discipline grep from "Path discipline" above on the skill's source dir and replace any non-example hits with placeholders or runtime resolution.

5. Run the install script:

   cd <repo-root>
   python my-skill-factory/scripts/install_skill.py <skill-name>
   

6. Smoke check (REQUIRED before reporting completion). Verify the retrofitted skill actually loads:

   • claude -p listing confirms <skill-name>:<skill-name> is present in a fresh session.
   • Frontmatter version field reads as the value just written.
   • Path-discipline grep over the source dir still returns no non-example hits.

   Code-only review is NOT sufficient — a typo in the new Retrospective section, a malformed frontmatter, or a missed path leak only surfaces when the skill is actually loaded. Treat any issue found here as a smoke-discovered fix to commit before reporting completion.

7. Commit and push:

   cd <repo-root>
   git add <skill-name>/ my-marketplace/plugins/<skill-name>/ my-marketplace/.claude-plugin/marketplace.json
   git commit -m "chore: retrofit OIAE improvement loop to <skill-name> skill"
   git push
   

Phase 3: Analyze Feedback (if log.md exists)

Skip this phase if --retrofit-only is set or no feedback/log.md exists.

Read "$MSF_HOME"/references/skill-improvement-guide.md for pattern detection heuristics and amendment format.

1. Evaluate previous amendments — If feedback/amendments.md exists with entries in applied — monitoring status:

   • Read log entries dated after the amendment
   • Check if the specific issue pattern recurred
   • Check if ratings improved
   • Update status to effective, ineffective, or insufficient data
   • For ineffective amendments, suggest git revert <commit>

2. Read all feedback — Read feedback/log.md in full

3. Identify patterns using these heuristics:

   • Same issue keyword in Corrections/Issues across 3+ entries → recurring problem
   • Average rating below 3.0 over last 10 entries → general underperformance
   • Declining ratings over time → skill degrading
   • Outcome distribution >30% partial-success or failure → structural issues
   • Issues clustering after a version bump → recent amendment may have caused problems

4. Read current skill — SKILL.md + relevant references to understand current instructions

5. Propose amendments — For each identified pattern:

   • What to change (file path, section)
   • Why (cite specific feedback entries by date as evidence)
   • The proposed text change
   • Suggested version bump (patch or minor)

6. Present to user — Show all proposed amendments with supporting evidence for approval

7. Apply approved changes:

   • Edit the skill files
   • Bump version in frontmatter
   • Run the path-discipline grep from "Path discipline" above on the modified skill; replace any non-example hits with placeholders or runtime resolution.

8. Record amendment — Append to feedback/amendments.md using format from "$MSF_HOME"/references/skill-improvement-guide.md

9. Install:

   cd <repo-root>
   python my-skill-factory/scripts/install_skill.py <skill-name>
   

10. Smoke check (REQUIRED before commit/push). Verify the amended skill actually loads:

Phase 4: Report

Summarize what was done:

• OIAE components retrofitted (if any)
• Previous amendments evaluated (status updates)
• Patterns found in feedback (if any)
• Amendments applied (if any)
• Current skill version

Retrospective

After Phase 4 (Report) completes, reflect on this run of skill-improve itself:

1. Consider: were there mid-session corrections (rejected amendments, scope changes, wrong target skill, install/commit failures, missed path leaks)?

2. Ask the user (in Japanese): 「今回の改善作業のフィードバック (1-5の評価、気になった点、または何もなければEnter)」 If the user provides a rating < 5, ALWAYS follow up with: 「なぜその評価ですか？ (改善のために具体的に教えてください)」 Record the response verbatim as Rating reason. A rating without the "why" loses the strongest improvement signal — never skip this follow-up for ratings 1-4, even in auto-mode.

3. If the user provides feedback OR if corrections/issues actually occurred: a. Create feedback/ next to this SKILL.md if it does not exist (resolve the directory via git rev-parse --show-toplevel from this skill's source dir, then append /skill-improve/feedback/). b. Read feedback/log.md (create with # Feedback Log header followed by a blank line and the comment <!-- Append new entries at the top. Do not edit previous entries. --> if it does not exist). c. Prepend a new entry directly after the header, using the format from "$MSF_HOME"/references/skill-improvement-guide.md:

   ## <ISO-8601 timestamp>
   - **Skill Version**: <version from this file's frontmatter>
   - **Task**: <which target skill, retrofit / analyze / both>
   - **Outcome**: success | partial-success | failure | error
   - **Rating**: <N>/5 (or "—" if not provided)
   - : 
    : 
    : 
   
   

Behavior Scenarios

BDD spec lives in "$SKILL_HOME"/references/scenarios.feature (resolve $SKILL_HOME per "Locating your own reference files" above). Read only when auditing or amending this skill (e.g., via /skill-improve --skill skill-improve); not needed for normal execution.

References

Read these on-demand only — they are not auto-loaded. Resolve $SKILL_HOME / $MSF_HOME per "Locating your own reference files" above first.

• "$SKILL_HOME"/references/scenarios.feature — Gherkin BDD spec for this skill. WHEN TO READ: only when auditing or amending the skill itself (e.g., via /skill-improve --skill skill-improve). Never during normal execution.
• "$SKILL_HOME"/references/retrofit-checklist.md — Step-by-step checklist for adding OIAE components with placement rules. WHEN TO READ: only in Phase 2 (retrofit) when OIAE components are missing from the target skill.
• "$MSF_HOME"/references/skill-improvement-guide.md — OIAE protocol, log format, amendment format, templates, pattern detection heuristics. WHEN TO READ: in Phase 2 when looking up template wording, and in Phase 3 when applying pattern-detection heuristics or formatting an amendments.md entry.