skill-from-github

When users want to accomplish something, search GitHub for quality projects that solve the problem, understand them deeply, then create a skill based on that knowledge.

When to Use

When users describe a task and you want to find existing tools/projects to learn from:

• "I want to be able to convert markdown to PDF"
• "Help me analyze sentiment in customer reviews"
• "I need to generate API documentation from code"

Workflow

Step 1: Understand User Intent

Clarify what the user wants to achieve:

• What is the input?
• What is the expected output?
• Any constraints (language, framework, etc.)?

Step 2: Search GitHub

Search for projects that solve this problem:

{task keywords} language:{preferred} stars:>100 sort:stars

Search tips:

• Start broad, then narrow down
• Try different keyword combinations
• Include "cli", "tool", "library" if relevant

Quality filters (must meet ALL):

• Stars > 100 (community validated)
• Updated within last 12 months (actively maintained)
• Has README with clear documentation
• Has actual code (not just awesome-list)

Step 3: Present Options to User

Show top 3-5 candidates:

## Found X projects that can help

### Option 1: [project-name](github-url)
- Stars: xxx | Last updated: xxx
- What it does: one-line description
- Why it's good: specific strength

### Option 2: ...

Which one should I dive into? Or should I search differently?

Wait for user confirmation before proceeding.

Step 4: Deep Dive into Selected Project

Once user selects a project, thoroughly understand it:

1. Read README - Understand purpose, features, usage
2. Read core source files - Understand how it works
3. Check examples - See real usage patterns
4. Note dependencies - What it relies on
5. Identify key concepts - The mental model behind it

Extract:

• Core algorithm/approach
• Input/output formats
• Error handling patterns
• Best practices encoded in the code

Step 5: Summarize Understanding

Present what you learned to user:

## Understanding [project-name]

### Core Approach
How it solves the problem...

### Key Techniques
1. ...
2. ...

### Limitations
- ...

### What I'll encode in the skill
- ...

Does this look right? Should I proceed to create the skill?

Wait for user confirmation.

Step 6: Create Skill via skill-creator

Hand off to skill-creator with:

1. Clear purpose - What the skill does
2. Methodology - The approach learned from the project
3. Step-by-step process - Concrete instructions
4. Quality criteria - What good output looks like
5. Common pitfalls - What to avoid (learned from project issues/docs)

Important: The skill should encode the knowledge from the project, not just wrap the tool. The skill should work even without the original project installed.

Example

User: "I want to write better commit messages"

Step 2 - Search:

commit message convention stars:>100 sort:stars

Step 3 - Present:

## Found 4 projects

### Option 1: conventional-commits/conventionalcommits.org (4.2k ⭐)
- Specification for human and machine readable commit messages
- Why: Industry standard, used by Angular, Vue, etc.

### Option 2: commitizen/cz-cli (15k ⭐)
- CLI tool for creating conventional commits
- Why: Battle-tested, lots of adapters

### Option 3: carloscuesta/gitmoji (14k ⭐)
- Emoji guide for commit messages
- Why: Visual, fun approach

Which one interests you?

User: "Let's go with conventional commits"

Step 4 - Deep dive:

• Read the specification
• Understand types (feat, fix, docs, etc.)
• Learn about scopes, breaking changes
• Study real-world examples

Step 5 - Summarize:

## Understanding Conventional Commits

### Core Approach
Structured format: <type>(<scope>): <description>

### Key Types
- feat: new feature
- fix: bug fix
- docs: documentation
- ...

### Benefits Learned
- Automated changelog generation
- Semantic versioning
- Clear history

Ready to create a commit message skill based on this?

Step 6 - Create skill with these principles encoded

Important Notes

1. Always get user confirmation - At step 3 (project selection) and step 5 (before creating)
2. Prefer learning over wrapping - Encode the knowledge, not just "run this tool"
3. Check license - Mention if project has restrictive license
4. Credit the source - Include attribution in generated skill
5. Quality over speed - Take time to truly understand the project

What This Skill is NOT

• NOT a package installer
• NOT a tool wrapper
• It's about learning from the best projects and encoding that knowledge into a reusable skill