SI: Extract — Create Skills From Patterns

What this skill covers

This page keeps a stable Remote OpenClaw URL for the upstream skillwhile preserving the original source content below. The shell stays consistent, and the body can vary as much as the upstream SKILL.md or README varies.

Source files and registry paths

# /si:extract — Create Skills from Patterns

Transforms a recurring pattern or debugging solution into a standalone, portable skill that can be installed in any project.

## Usage

```
/si:extract <pattern description>                  # Interactive extraction
/si:extract <pattern> --name docker-m1-fixes       # Specify skill name
/si:extract <pattern> --output ./skills/            # Custom output directory
/si:extract <pattern> --dry-run                     # Preview without creating files
```

## When to Extract

A learning qualifies for skill extraction when ANY of these are true:

| Criterion | Signal |
|---|---|
| **Recurring** | Same issue across 2+ projects |
| **Non-obvious** | Required real debugging to discover |
| **Broadly applicable** | Not tied to one specific codebase |
| **Complex solution** | Multi-step fix that's easy to forget |
| **User-flagged** | "Save this as a skill", "I want to reuse this" |

## Workflow

### Step 1: Identify the pattern

Read the user's description. Search auto-memory for related entries:

```bash
MEMORY_DIR="$HOME/.claude/projects/$(pwd | sed 's|/|%2F|g; s|%2F|/|; s|^/||')/memory"
grep -rni "<keywords>" "$MEMORY_DIR/"
```

If found in auto-memory, use those entries as source material. If not, use the user's description directly.

### Step 2: Determine skill scope

Ask (max 2 questions):
- "What problem does this solve?" (if not clear)
- "Should this include code examples?" (if applicable)

### Step 3: Generate skill name

Rules for naming:
- Lowercase, hyphens between words
- Descriptive but concise (2-4 words)
- Examples: `docker-m1-fixes`, `api-timeout-patterns`, `pnpm-workspace-setup`

### Step 4: Create the skill files

**Spawn the `skill-extractor` agent** for the actual file generation.

The agent creates:

```
<skill-name>/
├── SKILL.md            # Main skill file with frontmatter
├── README.md           # Human-readable overview
└── reference/          # (optional) Supporting documentation
    └── examples.md     # Concrete examples and edge cases
```

### Step 5: SKILL.md structure

The generated SKILL.md must follow this format:

```markdown
---
name: "skill-name"
description: "<one-line description>. Use when: <trigger conditions>."
---

# <Skill Title>

> One-line summary of what this skill solves.

## Quick Reference

| Problem | Solution |
|---------|----------|
| {{problem 1}} | {{solution 1}} |
| {{problem 2}} | {{solution 2}} |

## The Problem

{{2-3 sentences explaining what goes wrong and why it's non-obvious.}}

## Solutions

### Option 1: {{Name}} (Recommended)

{{Step-by-step with code examples.}}

### Option 2: {{Alternative}}

{{For when Option 1 doesn't apply.}}

## Trade-offs

| Approach | Pros | Cons |
|----------|------|------|
| Option 1 | {{pros}} | {{cons}} |
| Option 2 | {{pros}} | {{cons}} |

## Edge Cases

- {{edge case 1 and how to handle it}}
- {{edge case 2 and how to handle it}}
```

### Step 6: Quality gates

Before finalizing, verify:

- [ ] SKILL.md has valid YAML frontmatter with `name` and `description`
- [ ] `name` matches the folder name (lowercase, hyphens)
- [ ] Description includes "Use when:" trigger conditions
- [ ] Solutions are self-contained (no external context needed)
- [ ] Code examples are complete and copy-pasteable
- [ ] No project-specific hardcoded values (paths, URLs, credentials)
- [ ] No unnecessary dependencies

### Step 7: Report

```
✅ Skill extracted: {{skill-name}}

Files created:
  {{path}}/SKILL.md          ({{lines}} lines)
  {{path}}/README.md         ({{lines}} lines)
  {{path}}/reference/examples.md  ({{lines}} lines)

Install: /plugin install (copy to your skills directory)
Publish: clawhub publish {{path}}

Source: MEMORY.md entries at lines {{n, m, ...}} (retained — the skill is portable, the memory is project-specific)
```

## Examples

### Extracting a debugging pattern

```
/si:extract "Fix for Docker builds failing on Apple Silicon with platform mismatch"
```

Creates `docker-m1-fixes/SKILL.md` with:
- The platform mismatch error message
- Three solutions (build flag, Dockerfile, docker-compose)
- Trade-offs table
- Performance note about Rosetta 2 emulation

### Extracting a workflow pattern

```
/si:extract "Always regenerate TypeScript API client after modifying OpenAPI spec"
```

Creates `api-client-regen/SKILL.md` with:
- Why manual regen is needed
- The exact command sequence
- CI integration snippet
- Common failure modes

## Tips

- Extract patterns that would save time in a *different* project
- Keep skills focused — one problem per skill
- Include the error messages people would search for
- Test the skill by reading it without the original context — does it make sense?

Related Claude Code skills