TL;DR Expert

Overview

The TL;DR Expert skill produces clear, concise summaries of technical content. It applies structured patterns to distill complex information into actionable briefs at the right level of detail for the audience.

When to use: Writing PR descriptions, summarizing code changes for reviewers, creating executive briefs for stakeholders, distilling long discussions into decisions and action items, or generating release notes.

When NOT to use: Writing full documentation (use the docs skill), producing marketing copy, creating detailed tutorials, or writing specifications that require exhaustive coverage.

Quick Reference

Pattern	Format	Key Points
Executive summary	Conclusion first, then evidence, then details	Lead with the recommendation; inverted pyramid
PR description	What changed, why, how to test	Reviewers read the title and first paragraph
Code change	Files changed, key decisions, impact areas	Focus on intent, not line-by-line diff
Meeting notes	Decisions, action items, open questions	Skip discussion; capture outcomes
Release notes	User-facing changes, breaking changes, migration	Write for users, not developers
Technical brief	Problem, solution, alternatives, recommendation	One page max; link to details

Common Mistakes

Mistake	Correct Pattern
Too verbose; includes every detail	Cut to 20% of original length while keeping 80% of value
Missing context; assumes reader knows	Include one sentence of background before the summary
Burying the lead in the third paragraph	First sentence states the conclusion or key change
No actionable items in meeting notes	Every meeting summary ends with owners and deadlines
Summarizing HOW instead of WHY	Lead with intent and impact, not implementation details
No audience awareness	Adjust depth: exec = 3 bullets, dev = 1 paragraph
Release notes written for developers	Focus on what users can do differently, not code changes
PR description says "various fixes"	List each change with a reason; vague helps no one
Missing breaking changes in release notes	Breaking changes get their own section with migration steps
Using jargon for non-technical audience	Match vocabulary to the reader's expertise level

Delegation

Content discovery: Use Explore agent to gather source material
Detailed review: Use Task agent for thorough analysis before summarizing
Code review: Delegate to code-reviewer agent for change impact assessment

If the docs skill is available, delegate full documentation tasks to it.

References