| name | Compound Learnings |
| description | Capture insights and corrections to make future work easier. Implements RSI (Recursive Self-Improvement) through automated correction detection and pattern extraction. |
| version | 2.0.0 |
| author | CircleTel Engineering |
| dependencies | error-registry |
Compound Learnings
"Each unit of engineering work should make subsequent units easier—not harder."
This skill implements the compound engineering philosophy AND Recursive Self-Improvement (RSI): systematically capturing what you learn during development to accelerate future work. Now includes automatic correction detection to learn from mistakes.
When This Skill Activates
This skill should be invoked:
- After completing a significant task or feature
- When you discover a pattern that will be reused
- After debugging a tricky issue
- When you find a better way to do something
- At the end of a productive session
- NEW: When Claude is corrected during a task (auto-detected)
Keywords: compound, learnings, document what I learned, capture pattern, session summary, retrospective, correction, mistake, wrong, actually, instead
RSI: Self-Updating Through Corrections
NEW in v2.0: This skill now detects and learns from corrections automatically.
Correction Detection Triggers
The skill watches for these patterns indicating a correction:
- "No, actually..." / "That's not right" / "That's wrong"
- "Instead, do..." / "The correct way is..."
- User provides alternative code immediately after Claude's output
- User references documentation contradicting Claude's suggestion
- "Don't do that" / "Never do X"
Correction Workflow
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ RSI CORRECTION LOOP │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ CLAUDE OUTPUT ──► USER CORRECTION ──► DETECT ──► EXTRACT │
│ │ │ │
│ │ ▼ │
│ │ STORE IN │
│ │ corrections/ │
│ │ │ │
│ │ ▼ │
│ FUTURE OUTPUTS ◄──── APPLY RULE ◄──── SYNTHESIZE RULE │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Command: /correction
Use /correction to manually capture a correction.
/correction
/correction "Use admin_notes not notes column"
Correction Entry Format
# Correction: [Brief Description]
**Date**: YYYY-MM-DD
**Session**: [session-name]
**Skill Affected**: [which skill was wrong]
## Original Approach
[What Claude did/suggested]
## Correction Received
[How user corrected Claude]
## Learning Extracted
[Rule derived from correction]
## Application
- **Update to**: [Which skill/pattern to update]
- **Rule**: [Concrete rule to add]
## Validation
- [ ] Rule added to skill
- [ ] No regression in related areas
The Compound Workflow
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ COMPOUND ENGINEERING CYCLE │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ PLAN ──────► WORK ──────► REVIEW ──────► COMPOUND │
│ │ │ │
│ │ │ │
│ └──────────── Future work is easier ◄──────┘ │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Command: /compound
Use /compound to trigger the learning capture workflow.
Usage
/compound
/compound "console migration patterns"
/compound --pattern "API error handling"
What to Capture
1. Friction Points (What Slowed You Down)
## Friction: [Brief Title]
**Task**: What were you trying to do?
**Obstacle**: What slowed you down?
**Root Cause**: Why did this happen?
**Solution**: How did you resolve it?
**Prevention**: How can future tasks avoid this?
2. Patterns (Reusable Solutions)
## Pattern: [Pattern Name]
**Context**: When to use this pattern
**Problem**: What problem does it solve?
**Solution**: The pattern itself (with code)
**Trade-offs**: Pros and cons
**Examples**: Where it's used in CircleTel
3. Discoveries (Things You Learned)
## Discovery: [Brief Title]
**Context**: What were you working on?
**Insight**: What did you learn?
**Impact**: How does this change future work?
**References**: Related files, docs, or code
4. Shortcuts (Time Savers)
## Shortcut: [Brief Title]
**Before**: How it was done previously
**After**: The faster/better way
**Savings**: Estimated time saved
**Command/Code**: The actual shortcut
File Organization
.claude/skills/compound-learnings/
├── SKILL.md # This file
├── templates/
│ ├── learning-template.md # Template for learnings
│ ├── pattern-template.md # Template for patterns
│ └── correction-template.md # NEW: Template for corrections
├── corrections/ # NEW: RSI corrections
│ └── YYYY-MM-DD_topic.md # Detected corrections
├── extracted-rules/ # NEW: Synthesized rules
│ └── rule-name.md # Rules derived from corrections
└── learnings/
├── YYYY-MM-DD_topic.md # Date-prefixed learnings
└── patterns/
├── api-routes.md # API route patterns
├── error-handling.md # Error handling patterns
├── testing.md # Testing patterns
└── migrations.md # Migration patterns
Extracted Rules (RSI Output)
Rules synthesized from corrections are stored in extracted-rules/:
# Rule: [Rule Name]
**Derived From**: corrections/YYYY-MM-DD_topic.md
**Confidence**: high | medium | low
**Applications**: N times
## The Rule
[Clear, actionable rule]
## Example
[Code or workflow example]
## Counter-Example
[What NOT to do - the original mistake]
Example Extracted Rules
| Rule | Derived From | Applications |
|---|
Use admin_notes not notes | Correction 2026-02-06 | 3 |
Always await context.params | Correction 2026-02-08 | 5 |
| Add service_role policy | Correction 2026-02-09 | 4 |
Integration with MEMORY.md
After capturing learnings, the most important insights should be summarized in MEMORY.md for cross-session persistence:
# In MEMORY.md
## Key Patterns
- API routes: Use apiLogger, not console.log (see compound-learnings/patterns/api-routes.md)
- Error handling: Use lib/errors/app-error.ts classes (see patterns/error-handling.md)
## Recent Learnings
- 2026-02-09: Console migration - batch by domain, use parallel agents
Best Practices
DO Capture
- Solutions to problems that took >30 minutes to solve
- Patterns you'll use more than twice
- Gotchas specific to CircleTel's stack
- Commands or workflows that saved significant time
- Architectural decisions and their rationale
DON'T Capture
- Obvious things documented elsewhere
- One-off fixes unlikely to recur
- External library documentation (just link to it)
- Temporary workarounds (capture the proper fix instead)
Example Compound Session
You: /compound
Claude: Let me analyze this session for compoundable learnings...
## Session Summary: Console Migration (2026-02-09)
### Patterns Extracted
1. **Batch Migration Pattern**: Group files by domain (cron, payments, admin)
for focused, reviewable commits.
2. **Logger Selection Pattern**: Match logger to domain:
- `apiLogger` - API routes
- `cronLogger` - Scheduled tasks
- `webhookLogger` - External webhooks
- `paymentLogger` - Payment flows
### Friction Points
1. **Duplicate catch blocks**: Automated migration introduced syntax errors.
Prevention: Always run type-check before committing bulk changes.
### Time Savings
- Parallel subagents reduced migration time by ~70%
- Domain-based batching made PRs reviewable
Shall I save these to learnings/2026-02-09_console-migration.md?
Metrics
Track the compound effect over time:
| Metric | Description |
|---|
| Patterns Created | Number of reusable patterns documented |
| Friction Resolved | Issues prevented by prior learnings |
| Time Saved | Estimated hours saved by patterns |
| MEMORY.md Updates | Cross-session insights captured |
Related Skills
session-manager - Name and resume sessionsrefactor - Identify improvement opportunitiestech-debt-analyzer - Track technical debtfilesystem-context - Persist context across sessions
Philosophy: Don't just ship code—ship knowledge. Every task completed is an investment in your future velocity.
Final Step: Session Signal Check
After completing the compound-learnings capture, run a quick signal check:
pwsh -NonInteractive -File /home/circletel/.claude/hooks/session-end-check.ps1 -ProjectPath /home/circletel
If signals are displayed, mention them to the user:
"Signal check detected: [signals]. Run /claude-md-guardian when ready for a full audit."
If no output: continue silently.
