Orca CLI
stablyai/orca
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Automatic quality auditor and continuous improvement engine for the scholar-skill suite.
Install Scholar Auto Improve
$ npx skills add joshzyj/open-scholar-skill --skill scholar-auto-improve -a claude-codeProject install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.
$ gh skill install joshzyj/open-scholar-skill scholar-auto-improve --agent claude-codeProject scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/joshzyj/open-scholar-skill.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/.claude/skills/scholar-auto-improve .claude/skills/scholar-auto-improve && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.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/
Install the "scholar-auto-improve" agent skill from https://github.com/joshzyj/open-scholar-skill/tree/main/.claude/skills/scholar-auto-improve into .claude/skills/scholar-auto-improve/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "scholar-auto-improve", then confirm the skill loads.Claude Code copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$skill-installer install https://github.com/joshzyj/open-scholar-skill/tree/main/.claude/skills/scholar-auto-improveType this inside Codex. $skill-installer <name> installs a curated skill from openai/skills. The installer writes to $CODEX_HOME/skills (default ~/.codex/skills). Restart Codex if the skill does not show up.
$ npx skills add joshzyj/open-scholar-skill --skill scholar-auto-improve -a codexProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.codex/skills/.
$ gh skill install joshzyj/open-scholar-skill scholar-auto-improve --agent codexProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/joshzyj/open-scholar-skill.git skills-src && mkdir -p .agents/skills && cp -r skills-src/.claude/skills/scholar-auto-improve .agents/skills/scholar-auto-improve && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.agents/skills/ instead of .agents/skills for a personal install.
Codex skills documentation · loads skills from .agents/skills/
Install the "scholar-auto-improve" agent skill from https://github.com/joshzyj/open-scholar-skill/tree/main/.claude/skills/scholar-auto-improve into .agents/skills/scholar-auto-improve/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "scholar-auto-improve", then confirm the skill loads.Codex copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ npx skills add joshzyj/open-scholar-skill --skill scholar-auto-improve -a cursorProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.cursor/skills/.
$ gh skill install joshzyj/open-scholar-skill scholar-auto-improve --agent cursorProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/joshzyj/open-scholar-skill.git skills-src && mkdir -p .cursor/skills && cp -r skills-src/.claude/skills/scholar-auto-improve .cursor/skills/scholar-auto-improve && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.cursor/skills/ instead of .cursor/skills for a personal install.
Cursor skills documentation · loads skills from .cursor/skills/, .agents/skills/, .claude/skills/, .codex/skills/
Install the "scholar-auto-improve" agent skill from https://github.com/joshzyj/open-scholar-skill/tree/main/.claude/skills/scholar-auto-improve into .cursor/skills/scholar-auto-improve/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "scholar-auto-improve", then confirm the skill loads.Cursor copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ gemini skills install https://github.com/joshzyj/open-scholar-skill.git --path .claude/skills/scholar-auto-improve--scope user (default) or --scope workspace; --path is the subfolder of the repo that holds the skill; --consent skips the security confirmation prompt.
$ npx skills add joshzyj/open-scholar-skill --skill scholar-auto-improve -a gemini-cliProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.gemini/skills/.
$ gh skill install joshzyj/open-scholar-skill scholar-auto-improve --agent gemini-cliProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/joshzyj/open-scholar-skill.git skills-src && mkdir -p .gemini/skills && cp -r skills-src/.claude/skills/scholar-auto-improve .gemini/skills/scholar-auto-improve && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.gemini/skills/ instead of .gemini/skills for a personal install, then run /skills reload.
Gemini CLI skills documentation · loads skills from .gemini/skills/, .agents/skills/
Install the "scholar-auto-improve" agent skill from https://github.com/joshzyj/open-scholar-skill/tree/main/.claude/skills/scholar-auto-improve into .gemini/skills/scholar-auto-improve/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "scholar-auto-improve", then confirm the skill loads.Gemini CLI copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ gh skill install joshzyj/open-scholar-skill scholar-auto-improveInstalls for Copilot at project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Preview a skill first with gh skill preview. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).
$ npx skills add joshzyj/open-scholar-skill --skill scholar-auto-improve -a github-copilotProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.copilot/skills/.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/joshzyj/open-scholar-skill.git skills-src && mkdir -p .github/skills && cp -r skills-src/.claude/skills/scholar-auto-improve .github/skills/scholar-auto-improve && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.copilot/skills/ instead of .github/skills for a personal install. Commit .github/skills so cloud agent and code review can use it.
GitHub Copilot skills documentation · loads skills from .github/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/
Install the "scholar-auto-improve" agent skill from https://github.com/joshzyj/open-scholar-skill/tree/main/.claude/skills/scholar-auto-improve into .github/skills/scholar-auto-improve/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "scholar-auto-improve", then confirm the skill loads.GitHub Copilot copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ npx skills add joshzyj/open-scholar-skill --skill scholar-auto-improve -a opencodeOpenCode documents no install command of its own. Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.config/opencode/skills/.
$ gh skill install joshzyj/open-scholar-skill scholar-auto-improve --agent opencodeProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/joshzyj/open-scholar-skill.git skills-src && mkdir -p .opencode/skills && cp -r skills-src/.claude/skills/scholar-auto-improve .opencode/skills/scholar-auto-improve && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.config/opencode/skills/ instead of .opencode/skills for a personal install.
OpenCode skills documentation · loads skills from .opencode/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/
Install the "scholar-auto-improve" agent skill from https://github.com/joshzyj/open-scholar-skill/tree/main/.claude/skills/scholar-auto-improve into .opencode/skills/scholar-auto-improve/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "scholar-auto-improve", then confirm the skill loads.OpenCode copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
Facts
- Skill name
scholar-auto-improve- GitHub stars
- 168
- Token cost
- ~8k tokens
- SKILL.md length
- 2,560 words
- Files
- 2 (incl. references)
- Skills in repo
- 30
- Repo updated
- First seen
- Licence
- Custom licence
At a glance
Automatic quality auditor and continuous improvement engine for the scholar-skill suite.
- Works in 4 steps: Never modify SKILL.md files without… → Never delete output files — only create… → Preserve all existing functionality —… → …
- Tasks that involve Session handoff
- SKILL.md covers ABSOLUTE RULES, Arguments, Dispatch Table and Step 0: Setup, plus 5 more sections
- Calls bash
What it does
Scholar Auto Improve is an agent skill from joshzyj/open-scholar-skill. Automatic quality auditor and continuous improvement engine for the scholar-skill suite. Four modes: (1) OBSERVE — post-skill output audit (run after any skill); (2) AUDIT — skill-suite structural health check; (3) IMPROVE — propose and apply fixes to skill definitions; (4) EVOLVE — cross-session pattern analysis and systemic improvements. Designed to run automatically at the end of any scholar-skill invocation.
Its SKILL.md is about 8k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. The skill folder holds 2 other files, including reference files (for example `references/diagnostic-patterns.md`).
It sits in Agent Workflows, covering Session handoff. The repository describes itself as: Open scholar skill, a claude code plugin, for academic research.
When your agent uses it
- Tasks that involve Session handoff
Example prompts
- “/scholar-auto-improve”
Workflow steps
4 steps, taken from the first numbered list in SKILL.md.
- Never modify SKILL.md files without explicit user confirmation — propose changes, don't apply silently.
- Never delete output files — only create new diagnostic/improvement files.
- Preserve all existing functionality — improvements must be additive or corrective, never destructive.
- Log everything — every observation, diagnosis, and proposal gets recorded in the improvement log.
What it can do on your machine
Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 6e5ac8e. 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
Shell commands in SKILL.md call:
bash
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
Scholar Auto Improve loads about 8k tokens when it runs, and up to ~10k if it reads all its reference files. Until then it costs about 109 tokens; SKILL.md has 2,560 words of instructions outside code blocks.
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
Its licence (Custom licence) doesn't allow us to republish the file, so here is its outline and opening line. It has 2,560 words (~8,035 tokens).
“You are a meta-level quality auditor for the scholar-skill academic writing plugin suite. Your job is to observe, diagnose, and improve the skill ecosystem — catching issues before they compound and evolving the suite based on usage patterns.”
- name
- scholar-auto-improve
- tools
- Read, Bash, Write, Glob, Grep, Task, WebSearch, Agent
- argument-hint
- [mode: observe|audit|improve|evolve] [optional: skill-name] [optional: output-path]
- user-invocable
- true
Files
SKILL.md and 1 other file (references) in .claude/skills/scholar-auto-improve of joshzyj/open-scholar-skill.
- SKILL.md
- references/diagnostic-patterns.md
Open the folder on GitHubat commit 6e5ac8e
Compare with similar skills
Scholar Auto Improve 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 | Stars | Used in | Tokens | Auto-check | Licence | Repo updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scholar Auto Improve this skilljoshzyj/open-scholar-skill | 168 | — | ~8k | Automated safety check: Pass | Custom licence | |
| Orca CLIstablyai/orca | 89k | 2 repos | ~593 | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Beads Task Memorygastownhall/beads | 28k | — | ~1.2k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Session History Searchslopus/happy | 24k | — | ~3.1k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Paseo Agent Handoffgetpaseo/paseo | 20k | 1 repos | ~606 | Automated safety check: Pass | Custom licence | |
| Memori Long-Term MemoryMemoriLabs/Memori | 17k | — | ~2k | Automated safety check: Notes | Custom licence |
Similar skills
Beads Task Memory
gastownhall/beads
Tracks multi-session work with dependencies in the bd issue tracker so the agent can find ready tasks and recover its context after conversation compaction.
Session History Search
slopus/happy
Searches past Claude Code, Codex and Cursor sessions and summarizes what was worked on, tried or decided, using extraction scripts instead of reading raw logs.
Paseo Agent Handoff
getpaseo/paseo
Hands off the current task, including context, decisions and failed attempts, to a fresh agent through Paseo by writing a self-contained briefing prompt and launching that agent.
Memori Long-Term Memory
MemoriLabs/Memori
Connects Claude Code to Memori Cloud for long-term memory, recalling stored context before substantive replies and saving new context afterward.
Beads
liwp/again
A skill your agent uses when working in a repository that uses bd or Beads for durable project task tracking, issue dependencies, blocker management, multi-session handoff, or shared work memory.
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Scholar Causal
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Related
Categories
Questions about Scholar Auto Improve
What does Scholar Auto Improve do?
Automatic quality auditor and continuous improvement engine for the scholar-skill suite. Scholar Auto Improve is an agent skill from joshzyj/open-scholar-skill. Automatic quality auditor and continuous improvement engine for the scholar-skill suite.
When should I use Scholar Auto Improve?
Scholar Auto Improve fits situations like: tasks that involve Session handoff.
How do I install Scholar Auto Improve in Claude Code?
Run `npx skills add joshzyj/open-scholar-skill --skill scholar-auto-improve -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (.claude/skills/scholar-auto-improve in joshzyj/open-scholar-skill) into .claude/skills/scholar-auto-improve in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.
How do I install Scholar Auto Improve in Codex?
Run `npx skills add joshzyj/open-scholar-skill --skill scholar-auto-improve -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (.claude/skills/scholar-auto-improve in joshzyj/open-scholar-skill) into .agents/skills/scholar-auto-improve in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.
Can I use Scholar Auto Improve 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 joshzyj/open-scholar-skill --skill scholar-auto-improve -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/scholar-auto-improve, .gemini/skills/scholar-auto-improve, .github/skills/scholar-auto-improve and .opencode/skills/scholar-auto-improve in your project.
What does Scholar Auto Improve need to run?
Going by SKILL.md and its folder, Scholar Auto Improve needs the command-line tools its instructions call (bash).
Does Scholar Auto Improve 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 Scholar Auto Improve 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 Scholar Auto Improve use?
Scholar Auto Improve has a licence file (the repository's licence) that doesn't match a standard licence. Read it on GitHub before reusing the skill.
How many tokens does Scholar Auto Improve use?
About 8k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 32k 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 1.9k tokens, read only when the agent opens those files.
What are the alternatives to Scholar Auto Improve?
Skills that share tags, products or a category with Scholar Auto Improve: Orca CLI (stablyai/orca, 89k stars), Beads Task Memory (gastownhall/beads, 28k stars), Session History Search (slopus/happy, 24k stars) and Paseo Agent Handoff (getpaseo/paseo, 20k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.
Who maintains Scholar Auto Improve?
joshzyj (a GitHub user) maintains it in joshzyj/open-scholar-skill, which has 168 GitHub stars. The repository holds 30 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on September 18, 2026.
Source: joshzyj/open-scholar-skill on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.