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Agent skill

Skill Knowledge Work

by nyldn in nyldn/claude-octopus

Switch to Knowledge Work mode for research and writing — use when task is non-code focused

MITAuto-check passed

Install Skill Knowledge Work

skills CLI
$ npx skills add nyldn/claude-octopus --skill skill-knowledge-work -a claude-code

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

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install nyldn/claude-octopus skill-knowledge-work --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/nyldn/claude-octopus.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/skill-knowledge-work .claude/skills/skill-knowledge-work && 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-knowledge-work
GitHub stars
4.2k
Used in
1 other repo
Token cost
~1.9k tokens
SKILL.md length
775 words
Files
2
Skills in repo
62
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
MIT

At a glance

Switch to Knowledge Work mode for research and writing — use when task is non-code focused

  • Works in 3 steps: Prompt Content (strongest signal) → Project Type (secondary signal) → Explicit Override (if set via /octo:km)
  • Task is non-code focused
  • SKILL.md covers Context Auto-Detection (v7.8+), When to Use This Override, Override Commands and How Auto-Detection Works, plus 8 more sections
  • Instructions only: no scripts, shell commands, URLs or credentials in SKILL.md

What it does

Skill Knowledge Work is an agent skill from nyldn/claude-octopus. Switch to Knowledge Work mode for research and writing — use when task is non-code focused

Its SKILL.md is about 1.9k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. The skill folder holds 2 other files (for example `agents/openai.yaml`).

The repository describes itself as: Run multiple AI models against the same research, design, or coding task. Surface disagreements before you ship. The licence is MIT.

When your agent uses it

  • Task is non-code focused

Example prompts

  • “/skill-knowledge-work”

Requirements

  • Node.js

Workflow steps

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

  1. Prompt Content (strongest signal)
  2. Project Type (secondary signal)
  3. Explicit Override (if set via /octo:km)

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 18b66ca. 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 bash and json).

    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 Knowledge Work loads about 1.9k tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 28 tokens; SKILL.md has 775 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~28
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~1.9k

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 nyldn/claude-octopus at commit 18b66ca, republished under its MIT licence (© nyldn). 775 words, ~1,940 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/skill-knowledge-work/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder). This skill also uses 1 other file; get the full folder from GitHub.
name
skill-knowledge-work
description
Switch to Knowledge Work mode for research and writing — use when task is non-code focused
disable-model-invocation
true

Host: Codex CLI — This skill was designed for Claude Code and adapted for Codex. Cross-reference commands use installed skill names in Codex rather than /octo:* slash commands. Use the active Codex shell and subagent tools. Do not claim a provider, model, or host subagent is available until the current session exposes it. For host tool equivalents, see skills/blocks/codex-host-adapter.md.

Knowledge Work Mode - Context Override Skill

Context Auto-Detection (v7.8+)

Claude Octopus now auto-detects work context! The system analyzes your prompt and project to determine whether you're in a Dev Context (code-focused) or Knowledge Context (research/strategy-focused).

You typically don't need this skill - context is detected automatically when you use:

  • octo research X - Auto-detects dev vs knowledge research
  • octo build X - Auto-detects code vs document building
  • octo review X - Auto-detects code vs document review

When to Use This Override

Use ONLY when auto-detection is wrong:

  • Auto-detection chose Dev but you want Knowledge behavior
  • Auto-detection chose Knowledge but you want Dev behavior
  • You want to force a specific context for the entire session

Override Commands

Force Knowledge Context
bash
/octo:km on

All subsequent workflows will use Knowledge Context until reset.

Force Dev Context
bash
/octo:km off

All subsequent workflows will use Dev Context until reset.

Return to Auto-Detection
bash
/octo:km auto

Context detection returns to automatic mode.

Check Current Status
bash
/octo:km

Shows current mode (auto, knowledge, or dev).

How Auto-Detection Works

When you use any octo workflow, context is detected by analyzing:

  1. Prompt Content (strongest signal):

    • Knowledge indicators: "market", "ROI", "stakeholders", "strategy", "personas", "presentation", "report", "PRD"
    • Dev indicators: "API", "endpoint", "database", "implementation", "code", "function", "deploy"

  2. Project Type (secondary signal):

    • Has package.json, Cargo.toml, go.mod → Dev Context
    • Mostly .md, .docx, .pdf files → Knowledge Context

  3. Explicit Override (if set via /octo:km):

    • Overrides all auto-detection until reset to "auto"

Visual Indicator Shows Context

When workflows run, you'll see the detected context in the banner:

Dev Context:

🐙 **CLAUDE OCTOPUS ACTIVATED** - Multi-provider research mode
🔍 [Dev] Discover Phase: Technical research on caching patterns

Knowledge Context:

🐙 **CLAUDE OCTOPUS ACTIVATED** - Multi-provider research mode
🔍 [Knowledge] Discover Phase: Market analysis for APAC expansion

Examples of Auto-Detection in Action

Example 1: Technical Research (Auto → Dev)

User: "octo research caching strategies for our Node.js API"

Claude: (auto-detects Dev Context from "Node.js API")

🐙 **CLAUDE OCTOPUS ACTIVATED** - Multi-provider research mode
🔍 [Dev] Discover Phase: Technical research on caching strategies

[Researches with technical/implementation focus]
Example 2: Market Research (Auto → Knowledge)

User: "octo research market opportunities in healthcare AI"

Claude: (auto-detects Knowledge Context from "market opportunities")

🐙 **CLAUDE OCTOPUS ACTIVATED** - Multi-provider research mode
🔍 [Knowledge] Discover Phase: Strategic research on healthcare AI market

[Researches with business/strategic focus]
Example 3: Override When Auto Gets It Wrong

User: "octo research React patterns"
Claude: (auto-detects Dev) 🔍 [Dev] Discover Phase...

User: "Actually, this is for a presentation. Force knowledge mode."

Claude: "Setting context override to Knowledge Mode."

bash
/octo:km on

User: "octo research React patterns"
Claude: (uses override) 🔍 [Knowledge] Discover Phase... (focuses on trends, adoption, strategic implications)

Example 4: Check Current Status

User: "What context mode am I in?"

Claude: 

Current mode: Auto-detection (no override set)
Last detected context: Dev (based on project having package.json)

To override: /octo:km on (force Knowledge) or /octo:km off (force Dev)
To return to auto: /octo:km auto

What Changes Per Context

Dev Context 🔧
WorkflowFocus
octo research XTechnical implementation, libraries, code patterns
octo build XCode generation, architecture, tests
octo review XCode quality, security, performance
Agentscodex, backend-architect, code-reviewer, security-auditor
Show full SKILL.md (324 more words)Show less
Knowledge Context 🎓
WorkflowFocus
octo research XMarket analysis, competitive research, literature synthesis
octo build XPRDs, strategy docs, presentations, reports
octo review XDocument quality, argument strength, completeness
Agentsstrategy-analyst, ux-researcher, exec-communicator, product-writer

Document Delivery 📄

After running knowledge workflows, export to professional formats:

  • DOCX - Word documents for reports, business cases
  • PPTX - PowerPoint presentations for stakeholder decks
  • XLSX - Excel spreadsheets for data analysis

Just say: "Export this to Word" or "Create a PowerPoint presentation"

Override Command Reference

CommandDescription
/octo:kmShow current status (auto, on, or off)
/octo:km onForce Knowledge Context for all workflows
/octo:km offForce Dev Context for all workflows
/octo:km autoReturn to auto-detection (default)

When NOT to Use Override

Don't override if:

  • Auto-detection is working correctly
  • You're doing mixed work (let each prompt be detected individually)
  • You just want to see what context was detected (check the banner)

Override is for:

  • Forcing a specific context for an entire session
  • Correcting persistent misdetection
  • Specific use cases where you know better than auto-detect

Cross-Task Learnings

At the end of significant work sessions, extract learnings:

  1. What task type was this? (debugging, implementation, research, review)
  2. What approach worked? What failed?
  3. What would you do differently next time?

Store learnings in .claude-octopus/learnings/<date>-<summary>.json:

json
{
  "date": "2026-03-21",
  "task_type": "debugging",
  "approach": "Traced the error from the test failure back to the API handler",
  "outcome": "success",
  "lesson": "Always check middleware ordering before investigating handler logic"
}

Each learning file captures: task_type, approach, outcome, and lesson.

Session Start: Relevance Matching

At session start, check for relevant learnings:

  • Read .claude-octopus/learnings/ directory
  • Match by task type and file patterns relevant to the current work
  • Inject top 3 most relevant learnings as context (within ~5% token budget)
  • Prefer recent learnings; deprioritize those older than 30 days
Budget Controls
  • Maximum 5 learnings extracted per session (prevents runaway writes)
  • Maximum 50 learning files retained (oldest pruned automatically)
  • Relevance injection capped at 3 learnings and ~5% of available token budget
  • Learning files are lightweight JSON (~200 bytes each)
  • /octo:discover - Research workflow (auto-detects context)
  • /octo:develop - Build workflow (auto-detects context)
  • /octo:deliver - Review workflow (auto-detects context)
  • /octo:docs - Document export (works in both contexts)

© nyldn, MIT. 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 in skills/skill-knowledge-work of nyldn/claude-octopus.

  • SKILL.md
  • agents/openai.yaml

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 18b66ca

Used in 1 other repository

We found 2 copies of this SKILL.md (exact, near-identical or edited) in other folders, from 1 other GitHub owner. This page covers the copy in nyldn/claude-octopus, which our catalogue first saw on October 7, 2026.

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Switch Brandindranilbanerjee/digital-marketing-pro8541 repos~473Automated safety check: PassMIT

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  • Skill Audit

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  • Skill Content Pipeline

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  • Skill Context Detection

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Questions about Skill Knowledge Work

What does Skill Knowledge Work do?

Switch to Knowledge Work mode for research and writing — use when task is non-code focused. Skill Knowledge Work is an agent skill from nyldn/claude-octopus.

When should I use Skill Knowledge Work?

Skill Knowledge Work fits situations like: task is non-code focused.

How do I install Skill Knowledge Work in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add nyldn/claude-octopus --skill skill-knowledge-work -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/skill-knowledge-work in nyldn/claude-octopus) into .claude/skills/skill-knowledge-work in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Skill Knowledge Work in Codex?

Run `npx skills add nyldn/claude-octopus --skill skill-knowledge-work -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/skill-knowledge-work in nyldn/claude-octopus) into .agents/skills/skill-knowledge-work in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Skill Knowledge Work 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 nyldn/claude-octopus --skill skill-knowledge-work -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-knowledge-work, .gemini/skills/skill-knowledge-work, .github/skills/skill-knowledge-work and .opencode/skills/skill-knowledge-work in your project.

What does Skill Knowledge Work need to run?

SKILL.md names no scripts, command-line tools or credentials: Skill Knowledge Work is instructions for the agent only. Our summary lists: Node.js.

Does Skill Knowledge Work 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 Knowledge Work 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 Knowledge Work use?

Skill Knowledge Work 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 Skill Knowledge Work use?

About 1.9k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 7.8k 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 Skill Knowledge Work?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Skill Knowledge Work: Implementing Ransomware Kill Switch Detection (mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills, 34k stars), Wiki Switch (Ar9av/obsidian-wiki, 3.5k stars), Switch Persona (openakita/openakita, 2k stars) and Bio Isoform Switching (FreedomIntelligence/OpenClaw-Medical-Skills, 3.1k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Skill Knowledge Work?

nyldn (a GitHub user) maintains it in nyldn/claude-octopus, which has 4,173 GitHub stars. The repository holds 62 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on October 7, 2026.

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