Trigger: improve skills, audit skills, refactor skills, skill quality.

Apache-2.0Auto-check passedAgent Workflows

Install Skill Improver

skills CLI
$ npx skills add Gentleman-Programming/gentle-ai --skill skill-improver -a claude-code

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

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install Gentleman-Programming/gentle-ai skill-improver --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/Gentleman-Programming/gentle-ai.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/internal/assets/skills/skill-improver .claude/skills/skill-improver && 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
skill-improver
GitHub stars
7.6k
Token cost
~771 tokens
SKILL.md length
362 words
Files
2 (incl. references)
Skills in repo
15
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
Apache-2.0

At a glance

Trigger: improve skills, audit skills, refactor skills, skill quality.

  • Works in 5 steps: Read docs/skill-style-guide.md; if… → Read .atl/skill-registry.md; use listed… → For each selected skill, audit metadata,… → …
  • Tasks that involve Skill management
  • SKILL.md covers Activation Contract, Hard Rules, Decision Gates and Execution Steps, plus 2 more sections
  • Instructions only: no scripts, shell commands, URLs or credentials in SKILL.md

What it does

Skill Improver is an agent skill from Gentleman-Programming/gentle-ai. Trigger: improve skills, audit skills, refactor skills, skill quality. Audit and upgrade existing LLM-first skills.

Its SKILL.md is about 770 tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. The skill folder holds 2 other files, including reference files (for example `references/skill-style-guide.md`).

It sits in Agent Workflows, covering Skill management and Refactoring. The repository describes itself as: Gentle-AI configures the AI coding agents you already use: Claude Code, Cursor, OpenCode, Codex, Pi, and more. Choose persistent memory, Organic-Driven Development, curated… The licence is Apache-2.0.

When your agent uses it

  • Tasks that involve Skill management
  • Tasks that involve Refactoring

Example prompts

  • “/skill-improver”

Workflow steps

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

  1. Read docs/skill-style-guide.md; if unavailable, read references/skill-style-guide.md; if neither exists, enforce the core LLM-first…
  2. Read .atl/skill-registry.md; use listed paths to select skills. If missing, scan known skill directories for */SKILL.md.
  3. For each selected skill, audit metadata, trigger clarity, section order, body budget, actionability, decision gates, output contract, and…
  4. Return an audit report grouped by skill with severity and exact proposed changes.
  5. In apply mode, edit only safe issues, preserve content, create supporting files when needed, then rerun or request gentle-ai…

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 81d2225. 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.

    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

Skill Improver loads about 771 tokens when it runs, and up to ~1.6k if it reads all its reference files. Until then it costs about 33 tokens; SKILL.md has 362 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~33
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~771
With references · SKILL.md plus every file in references/, read only if the agent opens them
~1.6k

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 Gentleman-Programming/gentle-ai at commit 81d2225, republished under its Apache-2.0 licence (© Gentleman-Programming). 362 words, ~771 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/skill-improver/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder). This skill also uses 1 other file; get the full folder from GitHub.
name
skill-improver
description
Trigger: improve skills, audit skills, refactor skills, skill quality. Audit and upgrade existing LLM-first skills.
license
Apache-2.0
metadata.author
gentleman-programming
metadata.version
1.0

Activation Contract

Use this skill when asked to audit, refactor, normalize, or improve existing SKILL.md files. Use skill-creator instead when creating a brand-new skill from a reusable pattern.

Hard Rules

  • Treat docs/skill-style-guide.md as the normative style contract when it exists.
  • For installed global skills, use references/skill-style-guide.md as the bundled local copy when docs/skill-style-guide.md is unavailable.
  • Treat SKILL.md as the source of truth; preserve author intent, critical rules, activation semantics, and output requirements.
  • Use .atl/skill-registry.md as an index of skill names, triggers, scopes, and exact paths; do not expect generated summaries.
  • Default to audit-only. Modify files only when the user explicitly asks to apply improvements.
  • Never delete meaningful content silently; move long explanation, examples, templates, or schemas into local references/ or assets/.
  • Do not invent triggers, policies, or domain rules. Mark ambiguous cases for human review.

Decision Gates

SituationAction
Missing or invalid frontmatterFix name, quoted one-line description, license, and metadata
Skill reads like tutorial docsConvert to runtime instructions and move background to references/
Body exceeds budgetPreserve rules, move examples/background to supporting files
Branching logic hidden in proseConvert to a compact decision table
Rules conflict or intent is unclearReport the issue; do not rewrite that rule automatically
Show full SKILL.md (161 more words)Show less

Execution Steps

  1. Read docs/skill-style-guide.md; if unavailable, read references/skill-style-guide.md; if neither exists, enforce the core LLM-first structure: frontmatter, Activation Contract, Hard Rules, Decision Gates, Execution Steps, Output Contract, References.
  2. Read .atl/skill-registry.md; use listed paths to select skills. If missing, scan known skill directories for */SKILL.md.
  3. For each selected skill, audit metadata, trigger clarity, section order, body budget, actionability, decision gates, output contract, and local references.
  4. Return an audit report grouped by skill with severity and exact proposed changes.
  5. In apply mode, edit only safe issues, preserve content, create supporting files when needed, then rerun or request gentle-ai skill-registry refresh.

Output Contract

Return:

  • Skills audited and paths used.
  • Issues found, grouped by severity.
  • Files changed, if apply mode was requested.
  • Registry refresh recommendation when skill metadata or paths changed.
  • Ambiguities that need human review.

References

  • docs/skill-style-guide.md — normative LLM-first skill style guide for this repo.
  • references/skill-style-guide.md — bundled local copy for installed global skills when the repo doc is unavailable.

© Gentleman-Programming, Apache-2.0. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

SKILL.md and 1 other file (references) in internal/assets/skills/skill-improver of Gentleman-Programming/gentle-ai.

  • SKILL.md
  • references/skill-style-guide.md

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 81d2225

Compare with similar skills

Skill Improver 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.

Skill Improver compared with similar skills
SkillStarsUsed inTokensAuto-checkLicenceRepo updated
Skill Improver this skillGentleman-Programming/gentle-ai7.6k—~771Automated safety check: PassApache-2.0
Gentle AI Skill ImproverGentleman-Programming/gentle-shell1.2k—~663Automated safety check: PassApache-2.0
Darwin Skill Optimizeralchaincyf/darwin-skill6.2k1 repos~4.7kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Using Agent Skillsaddyosmani/agent-skills102k4 repos~2.4kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Skill Creatorzhayujie/CowAgent47k—~4.7kAutomated safety check: NotesMIT
Task Observerrebelytics/one-skill-to-rule-them-all3.2k1 repos~12kAutomated safety check: PassCC-BY-4.0

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Categories

Questions about Skill Improver

What does Skill Improver do?

Trigger: improve skills, audit skills, refactor skills, skill quality. Skill Improver is an agent skill from Gentleman-Programming/gentle-ai. Trigger: improve skills, audit skills, refactor skills, skill quality.

When should I use Skill Improver?

Skill Improver fits situations like: tasks that involve Skill management; tasks that involve Refactoring.

How do I install Skill Improver in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add Gentleman-Programming/gentle-ai --skill skill-improver -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (internal/assets/skills/skill-improver in Gentleman-Programming/gentle-ai) into .claude/skills/skill-improver in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Skill Improver in Codex?

Run `npx skills add Gentleman-Programming/gentle-ai --skill skill-improver -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (internal/assets/skills/skill-improver in Gentleman-Programming/gentle-ai) into .agents/skills/skill-improver in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Skill Improver 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 Gentleman-Programming/gentle-ai --skill skill-improver -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/skill-improver, .gemini/skills/skill-improver, .github/skills/skill-improver and .opencode/skills/skill-improver in your project.

What does Skill Improver need to run?

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

Does Skill Improver 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 Skill Improver 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 Skill Improver use?

Skill Improver is published under the Apache-2.0 licence (declared in SKILL.md). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Skill Improver use?

About 771 tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 3.1k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full. Its references folder adds about 843 tokens, read only when the agent opens those files.

What are the alternatives to Skill Improver?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Skill Improver: Gentle AI Skill Improver (Gentleman-Programming/gentle-shell, 1.2k stars), Darwin Skill Optimizer (alchaincyf/darwin-skill, 6.2k stars), Using Agent Skills (addyosmani/agent-skills, 102k stars) and Skill Creator (zhayujie/CowAgent, 47k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Skill Improver?

Gentleman-Programming (a GitHub organization) maintains it in Gentleman-Programming/gentle-ai, which has 7,583 GitHub stars. The repository holds 15 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on October 7, 2026.

Source: Gentleman-Programming/gentle-ai on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.