| name | self-improvement |
| description | Captures learnings, errors, and corrections to enable continuous improvement. Use when: (1) A command or operation fails unexpectedly, (2) User corrects Claude ('No, that's wrong...', 'Actually...'), (3) User requests a capability that doesn't exist, (4) An external API or tool fails, (5) Claude realizes its knowledge is outdated or incorrect, (6) A better approach is discovered for a recurring task. Also review learnings before major tasks. |
| metadata | null |
Self-Improvement Skill
Log learnings and errors to markdown files for continuous improvement. Coding agents can later process these into fixes, and important learnings get promoted to project memory.
First-Use Initialisation
Before logging anything, ensure the .learnings/ directory and files exist in the project or workspace root. If any are missing, create them:
mkdir -p .learnings
[ -f .learnings/LEARNINGS.md ] || printf "# Learnings\n\nCorrections, insights, and knowledge gaps captured during development.\n\n**Categories**: correction | insight | knowledge_gap | best_practice\n\n---\n" > .learnings/LEARNINGS.md
[ -f .learnings/ERRORS.md ] || printf "# Errors\n\nCommand failures and integration errors.\n\n---\n" > .learnings/ERRORS.md
[ -f .learnings/FEATURE_REQUESTS.md ] || printf "# Feature Requests\n\nCapabilities requested by the user.\n\n---\n" > .learnings/FEATURE_REQUESTS.md
Never overwrite existing files. This is a no-op if .learnings/ is already initialised.
Do not log secrets, tokens, private keys, environment variables, or full source/config files unless the user explicitly asks for that level of detail. Prefer short summaries or redacted excerpts over raw command output or full transcripts.
If you want automatic reminders or setup assistance, use the opt-in hook workflow described in Hook Integration.
Quick Reference
| Situation | Action |
|---|
| Command/operation fails | Log to .learnings/ERRORS.md |
| User corrects you | Log to .learnings/LEARNINGS.md with category correction |
| User wants missing feature | Log to .learnings/FEATURE_REQUESTS.md |
| API/external tool fails | Log to .learnings/ERRORS.md with integration details |
| Knowledge was outdated | Log to .learnings/LEARNINGS.md with category knowledge_gap |
| Found better approach | Log to .learnings/LEARNINGS.md with category best_practice |
| Simplify/Harden recurring patterns | Log/update .learnings/LEARNINGS.md with Source: simplify-and-harden and a stable Pattern-Key |
| Similar to existing entry | Link with See Also, consider priority bump |
| Broadly applicable learning | Promote to CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md, and/or .github/copilot-instructions.md |
| Workflow improvements | Promote to AGENTS.md (OpenClaw workspace) |
| Tool gotchas | Promote to TOOLS.md (OpenClaw workspace) |
| Behavioral patterns | Promote to SOUL.md (OpenClaw workspace) |
OpenClaw Setup (Recommended)
OpenClaw is the primary platform for this skill. It uses workspace-based prompt injection with automatic skill loading.
Installation
Via ClawdHub (recommended):
clawdhub install self-improving-agent
Manual:
git clone https://github.com/peterskoett/self-improving-agent.git ~/.openclaw/skills/self-improving-agent
Workspace Structure
OpenClaw injects these files into every session:
~/.openclaw/workspace/
├── AGENTS.md
├── SOUL.md
├── TOOLS.md
├── MEMORY.md
├── memory/
│ └── YYYY-MM-DD.md
└── .learnings/
├── LEARNINGS.md
├── ERRORS.md
└── FEATURE_REQUESTS.md
Promotion Targets
When learnings prove broadly applicable, promote them to workspace files:
| Learning Type | Promote To | Example |
|---|
| Behavioral patterns | SOUL.md | "Be concise, avoid disclaimers" |
| Workflow improvements | AGENTS.md | "Spawn sub-agents for long tasks" |
| Tool gotchas | TOOLS.md | "Git push needs auth configured first" |
Inter-Session Communication
OpenClaw provides tools to share learnings across sessions:
- sessions_list — View active/recent sessions
- sessions_history — Read another session's transcript
- sessions_send — Send a learning to another session
- sessions_spawn — Spawn a sub-agent for background work
Use these only in trusted environments and only when the user explicitly wants cross-session sharing.
Generic Setup (Other Agents)
For Claude Code, Codex, Copilot, or other agents, create .learnings/ in the project or workspace root.
Logging Format
Learning Entry
Append to .learnings/LEARNINGS.md:
## [LRN-YYYYMMDD-XXX] category
**Logged**: ISO-8601 timestamp
**Priority**: low | medium | high | critical
**Status**: pending
**Area**: frontend | backend | infra | tests | docs | config
### Summary
One-line description
### Details
Full context
### Suggested Action
Specific fix or improvement
### Metadata
- Source: conversation | error | user_feedback
- Related Files: path/to/file.ext
- Tags: tag1, tag2
Error Entry
Append to .learnings/ERRORS.md:
## [ERR-YYYYMMDD-XXX] skill_or_command_name
**Logged**: ISO-8601 timestamp
**Priority**: high
**Status**: pending
### Summary
Brief description
### Error
Actual error message
### Context
- Command attempted
- Input/parameters
- Environment details
### Suggested Fix
Prevention strategy
Feature Request Entry
Append to .learnings/FEATURE_REQUESTS.md:
## [REQ-YYYYMMDD-XXX] feature_name
**Logged**: ISO-8601 timestamp
**Priority**: low | medium | high
**Status**: pending
### Summary
Brief description
### Use Case
Why needed
### Suggested Implementation
How to implement
