Skill Improvement Loop

Take an existing skill and iteratively improve it based on real-world feedback. Follows the Anthropic best practice: "Iterate on a single task until Claude succeeds, then extract the winning approach."

Input

The user provides: $ARGUMENTS

Parse the input:

• Path to the skill folder
• Optional: description of issues, test results, or feedback

If path is missing, ask: "Which skill should I improve? Provide the path to the skill folder."

Step 1: Understand Current State

Read the skill and gather context:

1. Read SKILL.md and all supporting files
2. Run a quick review (same as /skill-maker:review) to establish baseline score
3. Present current state:

CURRENT STATE: [skill-name]
═══════════════════════════

Grade: [A-F]
Description quality: [X/10]
Key strengths: [list]
Key weaknesses: [list]

Step 2: Gather Feedback

If the user provided issue descriptions, use those. Otherwise, ask:

"What problems are you experiencing with this skill? Select what applies or describe your own:"

Offer common improvement areas:

1. Trigger issues - "Skill doesn't activate when it should" / "Skill activates when it shouldn't"
2. Output quality - "Results are inconsistent" / "Claude misses steps" / "Wrong format"
3. Edge cases - "Works for simple cases but fails on [specific scenario]"
4. Scope - "Too broad - tries to do too much" / "Too narrow - missing capabilities"
5. Instructions - "Claude doesn't follow the workflow" / "Skips validation steps"

Step 3: Diagnose Root Cause

For each reported issue, determine the root cause:

Trigger Issues

• Under-triggering: Description missing trigger phrases or too specific
  • Fix: Add more trigger phrase variations to description
• Over-triggering: Description too broad, missing negative triggers
  • Fix: Narrow scope, add "Do NOT use for..." clause
• Wrong context: Keywords match but domain is different
  • Fix: Add domain qualifiers to trigger phrases

Output Quality

• Inconsistency: Instructions too vague or ambiguous
  • Fix: Add specific constraints, validation gates, examples
• Missing steps: Workflow not explicit enough
  • Fix: Break into numbered steps with explicit validation
• Wrong format: Output format not specified
  • Fix: Add output format section with examples

Edge Cases

• Unhandled scenario: Instructions don't cover this case
  • Fix: Add conditional logic or new workflow branch
• Conflicting rules: Two instructions contradict for this input
  • Fix: Add priority ordering or decision tree

Scope Issues

• Too broad: Single skill trying to handle too many use cases
  • Fix: Split into multiple focused skills
• Too narrow: Valid use cases excluded
  • Fix: Expand description triggers and workflow steps

Instruction Following

• Instructions buried: Critical rules not near the top
  • Fix: Move to top with ## Critical header
• Too verbose: Claude loses focus in long instructions
  • Fix: Move details to references/, keep SKILL.md lean
• Passive voice: Instructions read as suggestions, not commands
  • Fix: Convert to imperative form

Step 4: Apply Improvements

For each diagnosed issue:

1. Show the current state (before)
2. Explain the root cause
3. Show the proposed fix (after)
4. Apply the fix

Track all changes:

CHANGES APPLIED:
1. [File]: [What changed] - [Why]
2. [File]: [What changed] - [Why]
3. [File]: [What changed] - [Why]

Step 5: Re-Validate

After all improvements:

1. Run full validation again
2. Compare scores:

IMPROVEMENT RESULTS: [skill-name]
══════════════════════════════════

                Before  →  After
Grade:          [X]     →  [Y]
Description:    [X/10]  →  [Y/10]
Structure:      [X/6]   →  [Y/6]
Body Quality:   [X/9]   →  [Y/9]

Changes made: [X] modifications across [Y] files

Step 6: Generate Test Cases

After improving, automatically generate triggering tests for the changed areas:

VERIFY THESE IMPROVEMENTS:

If you fixed triggers, test these queries:
1. "[query that previously failed]" → Should now trigger: YES/NO
2. "[query that over-triggered]" → Should now NOT trigger: YES/NO

If you fixed output, test this scenario:
- Input: [the scenario that was failing]
- Expected: [what should now happen]

Step 7: Offer Next Iteration

Improvement round complete. Options:
1. Run /skill-maker:test to generate a full test suite
2. Continue improving (provide more feedback)
3. Done - the skill is ready

Iteration Philosophy

• One task at a time: Fix the most impactful issue first
• Test after each change: Verify the fix doesn't break other things
• Max 3 rounds: If still broken after 3 improvement rounds, suggest restructuring
• Preserve user intent: Never change the fundamental purpose of the skill
• Show your reasoning: Explain WHY each change helps, not just WHAT changed