// Use when starting implementation, debugging, or feature work on a project with captured knowledge.
Use when modifying build loop code, debugging stats/token tracking, adding CLI features, changing iteration prompts, or understanding how spectre-build works end-to-end
Use when modifying the plan loop, debugging plan stages, changing clarification flow, scope isolation, or understanding how spectre-build --plan works end-to-end
Use when modifying the ship loop, debugging ship stages, changing clean/test/rebase behavior, or understanding how spectre-build --ship works end-to-end
Use when user wants to search for existing knowledge, recall a specific learning, or discover what knowledge is available.
Use when planning product scaling, adding GUI/server layers, multi-model support, adversarial reviews, live steering, telemetry, scheduling/triggers, or node-based pipeline editors to spectre-build
Use when working with pipeline stages, completion strategies, build loop orchestration, or the web GUI for spectre-build
| name | sparks-apply |
| description | Use when starting implementation, debugging, or feature work on a project with captured knowledge. |
| user-invocable | false |
This project has captured knowledge — patterns, gotchas, decisions, and feature context — from previous sessions. This knowledge:
Without this, you'd waste time rediscovering what's already known or make decisions that contradict established patterns.
Trigger matches are sufficient. If a trigger word appears in the user's request, load the skill—you don't need the description to also match. Don't reframe the user's request to avoid triggers.
The registry tells you exactly where relevant knowledge is. Loading it first makes you faster and more accurate.
DO NOT search the codebase or dispatch agents BEFORE loading relevant knowledge—even if you think you already have enough context. Partial context from Read results or error messages is not a substitute for the complete picture in the skill.
You are also responsible for keeping knowledge current. After completing significant work — implementing features, fixing bugs, discovering gotchas, making architectural decisions, or changing patterns — you MUST proactively check whether any loaded skills need updating, and whether new skills should be captured.
Do NOT wait for the user to say "/learn" or "update the skill." If you changed how something works, the skill that describes it is now stale. Fix it.
The registry is stored at {{project_root}}/.claude/skills/sparks-find/references/registry.toon
Format: {skill-name}|{category}|{triggers}|{description}
Each entry corresponds to a skill that can be loaded via Skill({skill-name})
Categories: feature, gotchas, patterns, decisions, procedures, integration, performance, testing, ux, strategy
{{project_root}}/.claude/skills/sparks-find/references/registry.toonSkill({skill-name})
Loading skills is half the job. The other half is leaving them better than you found them.
After completing work, ask yourself:
/learnSkill(sparks-learn) or tell the user you'd like to /learn{{project_root}}/.claude/skills/sparks-find/references/registry.toonWhen you finish a task that touched areas covered by loaded skills, the skills should reflect the current state before you move on. Stale knowledge is worse than no knowledge — it actively misleads future sessions.
| Thought | Reality |
|---|---|
| "Let me search the codebase first" | Knowledge tells you WHERE to search. Load the skill first. |
| "I'll dispatch an agent to find this" | The skill name is in the registry. Just use Skill({name}). |
| "I need more context first" | The knowledge IS the context. |
| "This seems simple" | Simple tasks benefit from captured patterns too. |
| "I already have context from a Read/system message" | Partial context is dangerous. The skill has the full picture—including related changes you don't know about yet. |
| "The error/issue is narrow and specific" | Narrow symptoms often stem from broader changes (like namespace renames) that the skill documents. |
| "I can figure this out faster by just searching" | You're trading 1 skill load for multiple speculative searches. The skill tells you exactly where to look. |
| "This is really about X, not Y" | Don't reframe the user's words. If they said "release," match against "release"—not your interpretation of the underlying concern. |
| "I have the exact files I'm editing" | File contents ≠ architectural context. Skills tell you related files, patterns across the codebase, and what you don't know you don't know. |
| "The edit is surgical/mechanical" | Surgical edits in isolation risk inconsistency. Skills reveal if similar changes are needed elsewhere. |
| "I'll update the skill later" | Later never comes. Update before moving to the next task. |
| "The user didn't ask me to update knowledge" | You don't need permission. Keeping skills current is part of the job. |
| "The change was small" | Small changes accumulate into large drift. Update now. |
Task: Fix "Template not found at skills/learn/references/find-template.md"
Rationalization: "I already have register_spark.py in context from a Read result. The error points to the exact path. This is a simple path mismatch—I'll just Glob to find where the template actually is."
What happened: Skipped loading feature-sparks-plugin skill. Used Glob to find the file. Fixed it.
What the skill would have provided: Immediate knowledge that skills were renamed to sparks-* namespace, exact file paths in the "Key Files" table, no searching required.
Cost: Extra tool calls, wasted tokens, and reinforced bad habits.
Task: User asks about "npm run release process"
Rationalization: "This is really about URL management for updates, not about the release mechanics itself. The procedure-release skill talks about signing and notarization, which isn't what they're asking about."
What happened: Skipped loading procedure-release. Searched the codebase for update URLs. Missed that the skill documents the entire release infrastructure including how URLs are configured.
What the skill would have provided: Complete context on release targets, URL configuration, and how staging vs production channels work.
The lesson: Trigger match ("release") was sufficient. The LLM shouldn't have required the description to also match, and shouldn't have reframed the task to avoid the trigger.
Task: Add commit message to the commit step in /spectre:clean and /spectre:test commands
Rationalization: "I already have the full contents of both clean.md and test.md from Read results. The task is surgical—I know exactly which lines to edit. I don't need broader context to make this specific change."
What happened: Skipped loading feature-spectre-plugin despite triggers matching ("spectre", "clean", "test"). Made the edit successfully but without understanding the broader SPECTRE workflow architecture.
What the skill would have provided:
The lesson: Having file contents is not the same as having architectural context. The skill tells you what you don't know you don't know—related files, patterns across commands, conventions. A "surgical" edit without skill context risks being inconsistent with the broader system.
User: "How does /sparks work?"
Registry entry: feature-sparks-plugin|feature|sparks, /sparks, knowledge|Use when modifying sparks plugin or debugging hooks
Action: Skill(feature-sparks-plugin)
Then: Use the key files and patterns from that knowledge to guide your work.