Skill Extractor

Transform repeated conversation patterns into reusable SKILL.md files.

Workflow

1. Gather Evidence

Ask: "Share a conversation excerpt where Claude did this task well, or describe a task you do repeatedly."

Accept:

• Pasted conversation excerpts
• Task descriptions with examples
• Multiple examples to find common patterns

2. Identify the Pattern

Analyze for these elements:

Element	Find This
Trigger	What phrase starts this workflow?
Input	What does user provide?
Transform	What does Claude do with it?
Output	What format/structure results?
Quality	What separates good from bad?

3. Validate

Confirm: "It sounds like you want to [workflow]. Is that right?"

Refine: "What would you change? What context made it work?"

4. Generate SKILL.md

Output a complete skill file following the format in references/skill-template.md.

5. Test

Run the extracted skill on fresh input. Iterate until it works reliably.

Skill Archetypes

Type	Pattern	Example
Transformer	Format A → Format B	Notes → Email
Analyzer	Input → Assessment	Code → Review
Generator	Parameters → Content	Topic → Blog
Synthesizer	Many → One	Feedback → Themes

Viability Check

Strong candidates:

• Done 3+ times with similar structure
• Clear input → output transformation
• Required specific prompting to work
• Explainable to a colleague

Weak candidates:

• One-off creative tasks
• Simple Q&A (no workflow)
• Requires external data
• Too vague to define success

Output Deliverables

Provide:

1. SKILL.md — Complete, ready to use
2. Test prompt — Verify it works
3. Usage examples — How to invoke
4. Refinement notes — Next iteration

Example Extraction

User says: "I keep asking Claude to turn meeting notes into weekly updates."

Extracted pattern:

• Trigger: "write weekly update" / "summarize this week"
• Input: Bullet points from meetings
• Transform: Organize by Accomplishments/In Progress/Blockers
• Output: Professional email format
• Quality: Outcome-focused, not activity-focused

Result: See references/example-extractions.md for the full weekly-update-writer skill.

References

• references/skill-template.md — Standard skill format
• references/example-extractions.md — Before/after examples