| name | lift-the-reference |
| description | Use when the user provides a reference implementation (URL, repo path, branch, file) plus a verb like "use", "copy", "adapt", "port", "model after" - mandates fetching/reading the reference before designing, and lifting the structure rather than reimagining it. |
Lift the Reference, Don't Redesign
Why this skill exists
The single most-corrected behavior across sessions (14+ incidents): the user
points at an existing implementation - "use the ripgrep impl from oh-my-pi",
"use playwright_rs instead of building your own renderer", "I told you to
copy as much as possible from those tools" - and the agent designs a
"cleaner" alternative instead. The user has to repeat the directive,
sometimes multiple times in the same thread.
When this fires
User message contains BOTH:
- A reference: URL (GitHub, docs site), filesystem path, branch name, or
@filename mention.
- A lift-verb: use, copy, adapt, port, mirror, model after, base on,
follow, like X does, take from.
Also fires on phrases like "don't redesign", "don't rewrite from scratch",
"don't reinvent".
Required behavior
- Fetch first. Use Read / WebFetch /
gh / git show to load the
reference content into your context. Quote the relevant section back to
the user in 5-15 lines.
- Map the structure. State the reference's shape: file layout, key
types, entry points, public API. One paragraph.
- Identify deltas. State what (if anything) needs to differ for the
user's use case, and why. Default to "no delta".
- Then implement. Mirror the reference's naming, ordering, error
handling, and idioms. If you are tempted to rename, reorder, or
"improve", articulate the cost-benefit out loud before doing so.
What "lifting" is NOT
- Reading the reference, then writing your own version from memory.
- Cherry-picking only the API surface and rebuilding internals.
- "I read it and the spirit of it is X" - the user wants the letter, not
the spirit.
- Proposing an alternative architecture in the same turn.
Anti-pattern to refuse
"Want me to revise the plan to use a slightly different approach that..." -
No. The user already chose the approach. Implement it.
Override
The only valid reason to deviate from the reference is a technical
incompatibility with the target environment (different language, missing
dependency, breaking API change). State it explicitly; do not deviate for
aesthetic reasons.
