Agent skill

Growth Log

by affaan-m in affaan-m/ECC

Write growth log entries that extract reusable patterns from completed work — root cause, transferable rule, and a recognizable signal — instead of diary-style event narration, with a 4-8 sentence…

MITAuto-check passedDevelopment

Install Growth Log

skills CLI
$ npx skills add affaan-m/ECC --skill growth-log -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install affaan-m/ECC growth-log --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/affaan-m/ECC.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/growth-log .claude/skills/growth-log && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.

Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/

Facts

Skill name
growth-log
GitHub stars
277k
Used in
1 other repo
Token cost
~1.7k tokens
SKILL.md length
831 words
Files
1
Skills in repo
683
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
MIT

At a glance

Write growth log entries that extract reusable patterns from completed work — root cause, transferable rule, and a recognizable signal — instead of diary-style event narration, with a 4-8 sentence…

  • Works in 5 steps: State what happened in one sentence → Ask "why?" iteratively until you reach… → Generalize: "What class of problem is… → …
  • Capturing what was learned after a complex task
  • SKILL.md covers When to Activate, The Three Rules, Entry Template and Entry Types, plus 4 more sections
  • Instructions only: no scripts, shell commands, URLs or credentials in SKILL.md

What it does

Growth Log is an agent skill from affaan-m/ECC. Write growth log entries that extract reusable patterns from completed work — root cause, transferable rule, and a recognizable signal — instead of diary-style event narration, with a 4-8 sentence template and merge-duplicates discipline. Use when capturing what was learned after a complex task, debugging session, failure, or rollback, when reviewing progress over a period, or when a delivery gate asks what was learned.

Its SKILL.md is about 1.7k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. It is a single SKILL.md file with no bundled scripts.

It sits in Development, covering Journaling and reflection, Root cause analysis and Text to speech and voice. The repository describes itself as: The agent harness performance optimization system. Skills, instincts, memory, security, and research-first development for Claude Code, Codex, Opencode, Cursor and beyond. The licence is MIT.

When your agent uses it

  • Capturing what was learned after a complex task
  • Debugging session
  • Reviewing progress over a period
  • A delivery gate asks what was learned

Example prompts

  • “/growth-log”

Workflow steps

5 steps, taken from the first numbered list in SKILL.md.

  1. State what happened in one sentence
  2. Ask "why?" iteratively until you reach root cause (usually 3-5 whys)
  3. Generalize: "What class of problem is this?" (not "Chrome 128 bug" but "browser default change breaking existing behavior")
  4. Formulate as: "Next time I see [signal], I will [action]."
  5. Name the signal: what specific observable tells you this pattern is active?

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 2d515e4. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

  • Tool permissions

    Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.

    From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

  • Runs code

    No scripts in the folder and no shell commands in SKILL.md (its code samples are markdown).

    From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

  • Network

    No URLs in SKILL.md.

    From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.

  • Credentials

    Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.

    From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Growth Log loads about 1.7k tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 109 tokens; SKILL.md has 831 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~109
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~1.7k

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Auto-check passed

The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from affaan-m/ECC at commit 2d515e4, republished under its MIT licence (© affaan-m). 831 words, ~1,747 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/growth-log/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder).
name
growth-log
description
Write growth log entries that extract reusable patterns from completed work — root cause, transferable rule, and a recognizable signal — instead of diary-style event narration, with a 4-8 sentence template and merge-duplicates discipline. Use when capturing what was learned after a complex task, debugging session, failure, or rollback, when reviewing progress over a period, or when a delivery gate asks what was learned.
metadata.version
1.1.0
metadata.origin
ECC

Growth Log Skill

The problem: Most people write "fixed a bug in X" as a learning log. That's a diary entry, not a learning artifact. A real growth log extracts the pattern so you recognize it next time.

This skill teaches: How to write learning entries that compound across sessions. Works with any note-taking system — Markdown files, Notion, Obsidian, plain text. Templates are generic; adapt to your setup.

When to Activate

  • After completing a complex task (multi-file, new feature, architecture change)
  • After a failure, mistake, or "that was harder than expected" moment
  • When you want to review what you've learned over a period

When NOT to activate: Trivial changes (typo fixes, single-line tweaks, config value changes with no debugging). The threshold: did this task involve debugging, redoing, rollback, or a non-obvious decision? If yes → write an entry. If no → skip.

The Three Rules

Rule 1: Failures > Achievements

A failure is nutritionally denser than a success. One bug that took 2 hours to find teaches more than 3 features that worked first try.

Bad: "Successfully implemented the login flow." Good (web dev): "Login flow: session token wasn't persisting because the cookie SameSite defaulted to Lax in Chrome 128+. Pattern: always explicitly set SameSite=None; Secure when cross-origin. Signal to recognize: auth breaks after browser upgrade or when crossing origin boundaries." Good (data pipeline): "CSV import failed silently on empty rows because pandas.read_csv(dropna=False) keeps zero-width rows that len() counts as valid. Pattern: always df.dropna(how='all', inplace=True) before row-count validation."

Rule 2: The Bole Principle (伯乐原则)

Before writing a new entry, ask: "Is this fundamentally the same as something I already recorded?"

Same root cause, different symptom → merge, don't duplicate. New root cause → new entry.

How to check: Search existing entries for keywords from your root cause before writing. If you find a match, add your new symptom as an additional example under the existing entry rather than creating a duplicate.

Example: "Forgot to update the output index after creating a file" and "Forgot to update skill ratings after a task" — same root cause (no automatic capture trigger). Merge into one entry about "post-task capture gaps."

Rule 3: Must Be Transferable

Every entry must answer: "Next time I face a similar situation, what do I do differently?"

If you can't write that sentence, you haven't extracted the pattern yet.

How to extract a pattern from a concrete event:

  1. State what happened in one sentence
  2. Ask "why?" iteratively until you reach root cause (usually 3-5 whys)
  3. Generalize: "What class of problem is this?" (not "Chrome 128 bug" but "browser default change breaking existing behavior")
  4. Formulate as: "Next time I see [signal], I will [action]."
  5. Name the signal: what specific observable tells you this pattern is active?

Entry Template

Scope: One entry per distinct root cause. Typical length: 4-8 sentences. If it takes >2 minutes to write, you're narrating events. If <30 seconds, you haven't gone deep enough.

markdown
## [Title: the pattern, not the event]

### Context
- What was I trying to do?
- What went wrong / what worked surprisingly well?

### Root Cause / Core Insight
- The underlying mechanism, not just the symptom

### The Pattern (transferable)
- Next time [similar situation], I will [specific action].
- Signal to recognize: [what observable tells me this pattern is active?]

### Related
- [entry-name](../path/to/related-entry.md)
Show full SKILL.md (345 more words)Show less

Entry Types

All four types use the template above. The type determines which sections carry the most weight:

TypeWhen to UseEmphasisExample Title
FailureSomething broke, needed debugging, or required reworkRoot Cause"Config inheritance ≠ behavior inheritance across sessions"
MethodologyA repeatable process emerged from the workContext / Pattern"PPT → open-book exam study guide: three-layer structure"
Pattern DiscoveryA reusable insight about tools, systems, or thinkingPattern section"PR description template: describe the gap, not the feature"
Capability ChangeA measurable skill improvementContext (before vs after)"Git: from clone/push to independent PR with 12 commits"

Quality Checklist

Before finalizing a growth log entry:

  • Does the title name the pattern, not the event?
  • Is there a "Next time I will..." sentence?
  • Is the "Signal to recognize" specific enough to trigger the pattern next time?
  • Did I search existing entries for duplicates before writing? (Bole Principle)
  • Is the root cause distinguished from the symptom?
  • Are related memories cross-linked?
  • Is the entry 4-8 sentences? Shorter = too shallow; longer = narrating events.

Anti-Patterns

  • Avoid: "Fixed bug in payment module" (event, not pattern)
  • Avoid: Copying the git commit message verbatim (commits describe what changed; logs extract why it matters)
  • Avoid: Writing an entry for every commit (only when a pattern emerges)
  • Avoid: Skipping the transferable sentence (without it, it's just a diary — this is non-negotiable)
  • Avoid: Duplicating the same pattern under different titles (violates Bole Principle — search before writing)

Storage

Store entries wherever you keep notes. Common patterns:

  • Markdown files in a growth-log/ directory (one file per day: YYYY-MM-DD.md)
  • A dedicated section in Notion, Obsidian, or your note-taking app
  • Plain text files with a consistent naming convention

Pick one convention and stick to it. Searchability matters more than format.

If You Use Delivery Gate

The delivery-gate Stop hook checks that learning files were modified today via filesystem timestamps. This skill teaches what to write — so the file that delivery-gate checks actually contains useful patterns, not empty timestamps.

Task completes → delivery-gate checks: was the learning file touched today?
  → Stale (no file modified): block — "what did you learn?"
  → Fresh (file touched): pass — this skill ensures the content is useful

Having enforcement without methodology → empty entries. Having methodology without enforcement → forgotten captures. Each is independently useful; together they close the loop.

© affaan-m, MIT. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

Just SKILL.md in skills/growth-log of affaan-m/ECC.

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 2d515e4

Used in 1 other repository

We found 1 copy of this SKILL.md (exact, near-identical or edited) in other folders, from 1 other GitHub owner. This page covers the copy in affaan-m/ECC, which our catalogue first saw on October 7, 2026.

Compare with similar skills

Growth Log next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.

Growth Log compared with similar skills
SkillStarsUsed inTokensAuto-checkLicenceRepo updated
Growth Log this skillaffaan-m/ECC277k1 repos~1.7kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
OpenLogi macOS Permissions TriageAprilNEA/OpenLogi23k—~2.5kAutomated safety check: NotesApache-2.0
Bug Finder for daisyUIsaadeghi/daisyui43k—~2.3kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Root Cause Debugginggarrytan/gstack136k—~1.4kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Graph-Based Bug Tracingtirth8205/code-review-graph32k1 repos~287Automated safety check: PassMIT
Systematic DebuggingChrisWiles/claude-code-showcase6.1k3 repos~1.2kAutomated safety check: PassNone

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Questions about Growth Log

What does Growth Log do?

Write growth log entries that extract reusable patterns from completed work — root cause, transferable rule, and a recognizable signal — instead of diary-style event narration, with a 4-8 sentence…. Growth Log is an agent skill from affaan-m/ECC. Write growth log entries that extract reusable patterns from completed work — root cause, transferable rule, and a recognizable signal — instead of diary-style event narration, with a 4-8 sentence template and merge-duplicates discipline.

When should I use Growth Log?

Growth Log fits situations like: capturing what was learned after a complex task; debugging session; reviewing progress over a period; A delivery gate asks what was learned.

How do I install Growth Log in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add affaan-m/ECC --skill growth-log -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/growth-log in affaan-m/ECC) into .claude/skills/growth-log in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Growth Log in Codex?

Run `npx skills add affaan-m/ECC --skill growth-log -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/growth-log in affaan-m/ECC) into .agents/skills/growth-log in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Growth Log in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?

Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add affaan-m/ECC --skill growth-log -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/growth-log, .gemini/skills/growth-log, .github/skills/growth-log and .opencode/skills/growth-log in your project.

What does Growth Log need to run?

SKILL.md names no scripts, command-line tools or credentials: Growth Log is instructions for the agent only.

Does Growth Log access the network?

SKILL.md contains no URLs. Any network use would come from the scripts or tools the agent runs. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Growth Log safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.

What licence does Growth Log use?

Growth Log is published under the MIT licence (the repository's licence). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Growth Log use?

About 1.7k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 7k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full.

What are the alternatives to Growth Log?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Growth Log: OpenLogi macOS Permissions Triage (AprilNEA/OpenLogi, 23k stars), Bug Finder for daisyUI (saadeghi/daisyui, 43k stars), Root Cause Debugging (garrytan/gstack, 136k stars) and Graph-Based Bug Tracing (tirth8205/code-review-graph, 32k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Growth Log?

affaan-m (a GitHub user) maintains it in affaan-m/ECC, which has 276,673 GitHub stars. The repository holds 683 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on October 11, 2026.

Source: affaan-m/ECC on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.