Darwin Skill Optimizer
alchaincyf/darwin-skill
Scores SKILL.md files on a nine-dimension rubric, then improves them in a keep-or-revert loop with independent judge agents, test prompts, git history and human checkpoints.
Iteratively improve a Claude Code skill using the skill-reviewer agent until it meets quality standards.
Install Skill Improver
$ npx skills add sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills --skill skill-improver -a claude-codeProject install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.
$ gh skill install sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills skill-improver --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/sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/skill-improver .claude/skills/skill-improver && 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 "skill-improver" agent skill from https://github.com/sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills/tree/main/skills/skill-improver into .claude/skills/skill-improver/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "skill-improver", 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/sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills/tree/main/skills/skill-improverType 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 sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills --skill skill-improver -a codexProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.codex/skills/.
$ gh skill install sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills skill-improver --agent codexProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .agents/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/skill-improver .agents/skills/skill-improver && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.agents/skills/ instead of .agents/skills for a personal install.
Codex skills documentation · loads skills from .agents/skills/
Install the "skill-improver" agent skill from https://github.com/sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills/tree/main/skills/skill-improver into .agents/skills/skill-improver/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "skill-improver", 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 sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills --skill skill-improver -a cursorProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.cursor/skills/.
$ gh skill install sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills skill-improver --agent cursorProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .cursor/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/skill-improver .cursor/skills/skill-improver && 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 "skill-improver" agent skill from https://github.com/sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills/tree/main/skills/skill-improver into .cursor/skills/skill-improver/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "skill-improver", 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/sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills.git --path skills/skill-improver--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 sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills --skill skill-improver -a gemini-cliProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.gemini/skills/.
$ gh skill install sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills skill-improver --agent gemini-cliProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .gemini/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/skill-improver .gemini/skills/skill-improver && 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 "skill-improver" agent skill from https://github.com/sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills/tree/main/skills/skill-improver into .gemini/skills/skill-improver/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "skill-improver", 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 sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills skill-improverInstalls 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 sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills --skill skill-improver -a github-copilotProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.copilot/skills/.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .github/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/skill-improver .github/skills/skill-improver && 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 "skill-improver" agent skill from https://github.com/sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills/tree/main/skills/skill-improver into .github/skills/skill-improver/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "skill-improver", 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 sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills --skill skill-improver -a opencodeOpenCode documents no install command of its own. Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.config/opencode/skills/.
$ gh skill install sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills skill-improver --agent opencodeProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .opencode/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/skill-improver .opencode/skills/skill-improver && 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 "skill-improver" agent skill from https://github.com/sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills/tree/main/skills/skill-improver into .opencode/skills/skill-improver/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "skill-improver", 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
skill-improver- GitHub stars
- 47k
- Used in
- 2 other repos
- Token cost
- ~1.5k tokens
- SKILL.md length
- 746 words
- Files
- 1
- Skills in repo
- 1,394
- Repo updated
- First seen
- Licence
- MIT
At a glance
Iteratively improve a Claude Code skill using the skill-reviewer agent until it meets quality standards.
- Works in 5 steps: Review - Call skill-reviewer on the… → Categorize - Parse issues by severity → Fix - Address critical and major issues → …
- Improving a skill with multiple quality issues
- SKILL.md covers Prerequisites, Core Loop, When to Use and When NOT to Use, plus 7 more sections
- Instructions only: no scripts, shell commands, URLs or credentials in SKILL.md
What it does
Skill Improver is an agent skill from sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills. Iteratively improve a Claude Code skill using the skill-reviewer agent until it meets quality standards. Use when improving a skill with multiple quality issues, iterating on a new skill until it meets standards, or automated fix-review cycles instead of manual editing.
Its SKILL.md is about 1.5k 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 Agent Workflows, covering Skill management. The repository describes itself as: AAS Core is the local, agent-first control plane for complete catalog discovery, agent-owned selection, stack validation, and planning, backed by 2,400+ agentic skills. Includes… The licence is MIT.
When your agent uses it
- Improving a skill with multiple quality issues
- Iterating on a new skill until it meets standards
- Automated fix-review cycles instead of manual editing
Example prompts
- “/skill-improver”
Workflow steps
5 steps, taken from the first numbered list in SKILL.md.
- Review - Call skill-reviewer on the target skill
- Categorize - Parse issues by severity
- Fix - Address critical and major issues
- Evaluate - Check minor issues for validity before fixing
- Repeat - Continue until quality bar is met
What it can do on your machine
Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 1e53ce2. 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 1.5k tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 71 tokens; SKILL.md has 746 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
The full file from sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills at commit 1e53ce2, republished under its MIT licence (© sickn33). 746 words, ~1,516 tokens.
Download SKILL.mdSave it as
.claude/skills/skill-improver/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder).- name
- skill-improver
- description
- Iteratively improve a Claude Code skill using the skill-reviewer agent until it meets quality standards. Use when improving a skill with multiple quality issues, iterating on a new skill until it meets standards, or automated fix-review cycles instead of manual editing.
- risk
- critical
- source
- community
- date_added
- 2026-09-04
Skill Improvement Methodology
Iteratively improve a Claude Code skill using the skill-reviewer agent until it meets quality standards.
Prerequisites
Requires the plugin-dev plugin which provides the skill-reviewer agent.
Verify it's enabled: run /plugins — plugin-dev should appear in the list. If missing, install from the Trail of Bits plugin repository.
Core Loop
- Review - Call skill-reviewer on the target skill
- Categorize - Parse issues by severity
- Fix - Address critical and major issues
- Evaluate - Check minor issues for validity before fixing
- Repeat - Continue until quality bar is met
When to Use
- Improving a skill with multiple quality issues
- Iterating on a new skill until it meets standards
- Automated fix-review cycles instead of manual editing
- Consistent quality enforcement across skills
When NOT to Use
- One-time review: Use
/skill-reviewerdirectly instead - Quick single fixes: Edit the file directly
- Non-skill files: Only works on SKILL.md files
- Experimental skills: Manual iteration gives more control during exploration
Issue Categorization
Critical Issues (MUST fix immediately)
These block skill loading or cause runtime failures:
- Missing required frontmatter fields (name, description) — Claude cannot index or trigger the skill
- Invalid YAML frontmatter syntax — Parsing fails, skill won't load
- Referenced files that don't exist — Runtime errors when Claude follows links
- Broken file paths — Same as above, leads to tool failures
Major Issues (MUST fix)
These significantly degrade skill effectiveness:
- Weak or vague trigger descriptions — Claude may not recognize when to use the skill
- Wrong writing voice (second person "you" instead of imperative) — Inconsistent with Claude's execution model
- SKILL.md exceeds 500 lines without using references/ — Overloads context, reduces comprehension
- Missing "When to Use" or "When NOT to Use" sections — Required by project quality standards
- Description doesn't specify when to trigger — Skill may never be selected
Minor Issues (Evaluate before fixing)
These are polish items that may or may not improve the skill:
- Subjective style preferences — Reviewer may have different taste than author
- Optional enhancements — May add complexity without proportional value
- "Nice to have" improvements — Consider cost-benefit before implementing
- Formatting suggestions — Often valid but low impact
Minor Issue Evaluation
Before implementing any minor issue fix, evaluate:
- Is this a genuine improvement? - Does it add real value or just satisfy a preference?
- Could this be a false positive? - Is the reviewer misunderstanding context?
- Would this actually help Claude use the skill? - Focus on functional improvements
Only implement minor fixes that are clearly beneficial. Skill-reviewer may produce false positives.
Invoking skill-reviewer
Use the skill-reviewer agent from the plugin-dev plugin. Request a review by asking Claude to:
Review the skill at [SKILL_PATH] using the plugin-dev:skill-reviewer agent. Provide a detailed quality assessment with issues categorized by severity.
Replace [SKILL_PATH] with the absolute path to the skill directory (e.g., /path/to/plugins/my-plugin/skills/my-skill).
Show full SKILL.md (299 more words)Show less
Example Fix Cycle
Iteration 1 — skill-reviewer output:
Critical: SKILL.md:1 - Missing required 'name' field in frontmatter
Major: SKILL.md:3 - Description uses second person ("you should use")
Major: Missing "When NOT to Use" section
Minor: Line 45 is verboseFixes applied:
- Added name field to frontmatter
- Rewrote description in third person
- Added "When NOT to Use" section
Iteration 2 — run skill-reviewer again to verify fixes:
Minor: Line 45 is verboseMinor issue evaluation: Line 45 communicates effectively as-is. The verbosity provides useful context. Skip.
All critical/major issues resolved. Output the completion marker:
<skill-improvement-complete>Note: The marker MUST appear in the output. Statements like "quality bar met" or "looks good" will NOT stop the loop.
Completion Criteria
CRITICAL: The stop hook ONLY checks for the explicit marker below. No other signal will terminate the loop.
Output this marker when done:
<skill-improvement-complete>When to output the marker:
- skill-reviewer reports "Pass" or no issues found → output marker immediately
- All critical and major issues are fixed AND you've verified the fixes → output marker
- Remaining issues are only minor AND you've evaluated them as false positives or not worth fixing → output marker
When NOT to output the marker:
- Any critical issue remains unfixed
- Any major issue remains unfixed
- You haven't run skill-reviewer to verify your fixes worked
The marker is the ONLY way to complete the loop. Natural language like "looks good" or "quality bar met" will NOT stop the loop.
Rationalizations to Reject
- "I'll just mark it complete and come back later" - Fix issues now
- "This minor issue seems wrong, I'll skip all of them" - Evaluate each one individually
- "The reviewer is being too strict" - The quality bar exists for a reason
- "It's good enough" - If there are major issues, it's not good enough
Limitations
- Use this skill only when the task clearly matches the scope described above.
- Do not treat the output as a substitute for environment-specific validation, testing, or expert review.
- Stop and ask for clarification if required inputs, permissions, safety boundaries, or success criteria are missing.
© sickn33, 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/skill-improver of sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills.
Open the folder on GitHubat commit 1e53ce2
Used in 2 other repositories
We found 11 copies of this SKILL.md (exact, near-identical or edited) in other folders, from 2 other GitHub owners. This page covers the copy in sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills, which our catalogue first saw on October 7, 2026.
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 | Stars | Used in | Tokens | Auto-check | Licence | Repo updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skill Improver this skillsickn33/agentic-awesome-skills | 47k | 2 repos | ~1.5k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Darwin Skill Optimizeralchaincyf/darwin-skill | 6.2k | 1 repos | ~4.7k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Using Agent Skillsaddyosmani/agent-skills | 102k | 4 repos | ~2.4k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Skill Creatorzhayujie/CowAgent | 47k | — | ~4.7k | Automated safety check: Notes | MIT | |
| Task Observerrebelytics/one-skill-to-rule-them-all | 3.2k | 1 repos | ~12k | Automated safety check: Pass | CC-BY-4.0 | |
| Skill Stocktakeaffaan-m/ECC | 274k | 5 repos | ~1.9k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT |
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Related
Categories
Questions about Skill Improver
What does Skill Improver do?
Iteratively improve a Claude Code skill using the skill-reviewer agent until it meets quality standards. Skill Improver is an agent skill from sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills. Iteratively improve a Claude Code skill using the skill-reviewer agent until it meets quality standards.
When should I use Skill Improver?
Skill Improver fits situations like: improving a skill with multiple quality issues; iterating on a new skill until it meets standards; automated fix-review cycles instead of manual editing.
How do I install Skill Improver in Claude Code?
Run `npx skills add sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills --skill skill-improver -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/skill-improver in sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills) 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 sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills --skill skill-improver -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/skill-improver in sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills) 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 sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills --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 MIT licence (the repository's licence). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.
How many tokens does Skill Improver use?
About 1.5k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 6.1k 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 Improver?
Skills that share tags, products or a category with Skill Improver: Darwin Skill Optimizer (alchaincyf/darwin-skill, 6.2k stars), Using Agent Skills (addyosmani/agent-skills, 102k stars), Skill Creator (zhayujie/CowAgent, 47k stars) and Task Observer (rebelytics/one-skill-to-rule-them-all, 3.2k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.
Who maintains Skill Improver?
sickn33 (a GitHub user) maintains it in sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills, which has 47,304 GitHub stars. The repository holds 1,394 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on October 6, 2026.
Source: sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.