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User requests a capability that doesn't exist, (4) An external API or tool fails, (5) Claude realizes its knowledge is outdated or incorrect, (6) A better approach is discovered for a recurring task.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.
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User requests a capability that doesn't exist, (4) An external API or tool fails, (5) Claude realizes its knowledge is outdated or incorrect, (6) A better approach is discovered for a recurring task.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.
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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.
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Knowledge was outdated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.
LEARNINGS.md — corrections, knowledge gaps, best practices
ERRORS.md — command failures, exceptions
FEATURE_REQUESTS.md — user-requested capabilities
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
Optional: Enable Hook
For automatic reminders at session start:
# Copy hook to OpenClaw hooks directorycp -r hooks/openclaw ~/.openclaw/hooks/self-improvement
# Enable it
openclaw hooks enable self-improvement
See references/openclaw-integration.md for complete details.
Generic Setup (Other Agents)
For Claude Code, Codex, Copilot, or other agents, create .learnings/ in your project:
mkdir -p .learnings
Copy templates from assets/ or create files with headers.
Add reference to agent files AGENTS.md, CLAUDE.md, or .github/copilot-instructions.md to remind yourself to log learnings. (this is an alternative to hook-based reminders)
Self-Improvement Workflow
When errors or corrections occur:
Log to .learnings/ERRORS.md, LEARNINGS.md, or FEATURE_REQUESTS.md
Review and promote broadly applicable learnings to:
CLAUDE.md - project facts and conventions
AGENTS.md - workflows and automation
.github/copilot-instructions.md - Copilot context
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 of what was learned
### Details
Full context: what happened, what was wrong, what's correct
### Suggested Action
Specific fix or improvement to make
### Metadata- Source: conversation | error | user_feedback
- Related Files: path/to/file.ext
- Tags: tag1, tag2
- See Also: LRN-20250110-001 (if related to existing entry)
- Pattern-Key: simplify.dead_code | harden.input_validation (optional, for recurring-pattern tracking)
- Recurrence-Count: 1 (optional)
- First-Seen: 2025-01-15 (optional)
- Last-Seen: 2025-01-15 (optional)
---
Error Entry
Append to .learnings/ERRORS.md:
## [ERR-YYYYMMDD-XXX] skill_or_command_name
**Logged**: ISO-8601 timestamp
**Priority**: high
**Status**: pending
**Area**: frontend | backend | infra | tests | docs | config
### Summary
Brief description of what failed
### Error
Actual error message or output
### Context
- Command/operation attempted
- Input or parameters used
- Environment details if relevant
### Suggested Fix
If identifiable, what might resolve this
### Metadata
- Reproducible: yes | no | unknown
- Related Files: path/to/file.ext
- See Also: ERR-20250110-001 (if recurring)
---
Feature Request Entry
Append to .learnings/FEATURE_REQUESTS.md:
## [FEAT-YYYYMMDD-XXX] capability_name
**Logged**: ISO-8601 timestamp
**Priority**: medium
**Status**: pending
**Area**: frontend | backend | infra | tests | docs | config
### Requested Capability
What the user wanted to do
### User Context
Why they needed it, what problem they're solving
### Complexity Estimate
simple | medium | complex
### Suggested Implementation
How this could be built, what it might extend
### Metadata
- Frequency: first_time | recurring- Related Features: existing_feature_name
---
ID Generation
Format: TYPE-YYYYMMDD-XXX
TYPE: LRN (learning), ERR (error), FEAT (feature)
YYYYMMDD: Current date
XXX: Sequential number or random 3 chars (e.g., 001, A7B)
This skill works across different AI coding agents with agent-specific activation.
Claude Code
Activation: Hooks (UserPromptSubmit, PostToolUse)
Setup: .claude/settings.json with hook configuration
Detection: Automatic via hook scripts
Codex CLI
Activation: Hooks (same pattern as Claude Code)
Setup: .codex/settings.json with hook configuration
Detection: Automatic via hook scripts
GitHub Copilot
Activation: Manual (no hook support)
Setup: Add to .github/copilot-instructions.md:
## Self-Improvement
After solving non-obvious issues, consider logging to `.learnings/`:
1. Use format from self-improvement skill
2. Link related entries with See Also
3. Promote high-value learnings to skills
Ask in chat: "Should I log this as a learning?"
Detection: Manual review at session end
OpenClaw
Activation: Workspace injection + inter-agent messaging
Setup: See "OpenClaw Setup" section above
Detection: Via session tools and workspace files
Agent-Agnostic Guidance
Regardless of agent, apply self-improvement when you:
