skill-from-book

What this skill does

# Skill From Book

Transform book content into structured, context-efficient Claude skills.

## Overview

This skill guides you through converting a book (in markdown format) into a well-organized skill with:
- Granular knowledge files (one concept per file)
- Workflows for repeatable tasks
- Use-case guidelines (mapping tasks to relevant files)
- Progress tracking for multi-session work
- Subagent extraction tasks

## CRITICAL INSTRUCTIONS

**YOU MUST FOLLOW THIS WORKFLOW STRICTLY. DO NOT SKIP OR REORDER PHASES.**

1. **DO NOT read the book markdown file content before starting Phase 1**
2. **MUST read each reference file BEFORE starting its corresponding phase**
3. **MUST complete each phase before moving to the next**
4. **MUST use subagents for extraction tasks**
5. **MUST propose workflows to user before finalization**

---

## Workflow

### Phase 1: Analysis

**STOP! Before proceeding, you MUST:**
1. Read `references/analysis-guide.md` completely
2. Only then proceed with the steps below

**Phase 1 Steps:**

1. **Extract TOC and outline ONLY** (DO NOT read full book content)
   ```bash
   # Count total lines
   wc -l book.md
   
   # Extract headers/TOC - THIS IS ALL YOU NEED
   grep -E "^#{1,3} " book.md
   ```

2. **Identify knowledge categories from outline**
   - Core principles/philosophy
   - Rules and guidelines
   - Examples (good vs bad)
   - Patterns and anti-patterns
   - Checklists and quick references

3. **Define use cases**
   - Who will use this skill?
   - What tasks will they perform?
   - What questions will they ask?

4. **Ask user to confirm** the identified categories and use cases before proceeding

---

### Phase 2: Planning

**STOP! Before proceeding, you MUST:**
1. Read `references/extraction-patterns.md` completely
2. Read `references/file-templates.md` completely
3. Only then proceed with the steps below

**Phase 2 Steps:**

1. **Design file structure with required files per category**

   Each category MUST contain these 3 basic files:
   - `knowledge.md` - Core concepts, definitions, and foundational understanding
   - `rules.md` - Specific guidelines, do's and don'ts
   - `examples.md` - Good/bad code examples, before/after comparisons

   Additional files as needed:
   - `patterns.md` - Reusable solutions
   - `smells.md` - Anti-patterns and what to avoid
   - `checklist.md` - Quick reference checklists

   ```
   skill-name/
   ├── SKILL.md
   ├── progress.md
   ├── guidelines.md
   ├── workflows/           # NEW: Step-by-step processes
   │   ├── [task-1].md
   │   └── [task-2].md
   └── references/
       ├── category-1/
       │   ├── knowledge.md    # REQUIRED
       │   ├── rules.md        # REQUIRED
       │   ├── examples.md     # REQUIRED
       │   ├── patterns.md     # Optional
       │   └── checklist.md    # Optional
       └── category-2/
           ├── knowledge.md    # REQUIRED
           ├── rules.md        # REQUIRED
           ├── examples.md     # REQUIRED
           └── smells.md       # Optional
   ```

2. **Create progress.md**
   - List ALL files to create (required + optional)
   - Group by phase/priority
   - Track completion status

3. **Plan extraction tasks**
   - One task per knowledge file
   - Define input (book section with line ranges) and output (file path)
   - Identify dependencies between tasks

4. **Ask user to confirm** the file structure and extraction plan before proceeding

---

### Phase 3: Extraction

**STOP! Before proceeding, you MUST:**
1. Have completed Phase 1 and Phase 2
2. Have user confirmation on the plan
3. Only then proceed with extraction

**CRITICAL: You MUST use subagents (Task tool) for extraction. One subagent per topic - each subagent creates ALL files for that topic.**

#### Main Agent Instructions for Phase 3

**YOU MUST follow these steps:**

1. **One subagent per topic** - Each subagent reads a book section ONCE and creates all files for that topic (knowledge.md, rules.md, examples.md, plus any optional files)
2. **Prepare the subagent prompt** by filling in the template below with specific values
3. **Calculate line ranges** from your Phase 1 analysis (TOC with line numbers)
4. **Create the complete prompt** - do NOT leave placeholders unfilled
5. **Launch subagents in parallel** for different topics
6. **Update progress.md** after all subagents complete

#### Subagent Prompt Template

**IMPORTANT: Copy this template and replace ALL bracketed placeholders with actual values before launching subagent.**

```markdown
## Task: Extract [TOPIC] Knowledge Base

You are extracting knowledge from a book section to create a complete topic reference.

### Prerequisites - Read These Files First:
1. `skills/skill-from-book/references/file-templates.md` - Templates for all file types
2. `skills/skill-from-book/references/extraction-patterns.md` - Extraction rules

### Source Material:
- **Book**: [BOOK_PATH]
- **Section**: [CHAPTER/SECTION_NAME]
- **Line range**: Read with offset=[START_LINE], limit=[LINE_COUNT]

### Output Directory: [OUTPUT_TOPIC_PATH]

### Files to Create (in this order):

#### 1. knowledge.md (REQUIRED)
Core concepts, definitions, and foundational understanding.
- Extract: definitions, terminology, key concepts, how things relate
- Use the "Knowledge File" template

#### 2. rules.md (REQUIRED)
Specific guidelines, do's and don'ts.
- Extract: explicit rules, guidelines, best practices, exceptions
- Use the "Rules File" template

#### 3. examples.md (REQUIRED)
Good/bad code examples, before/after comparisons.
- Extract: all code samples, refactoring examples, comparisons
- Use the "Examples File" template

#### 4. [OPTIONAL_FILES - list any additional files needed]
[e.g., patterns.md, smells.md, checklist.md - specify what each should contain]

### Your Instructions:
1. Read the two prerequisite files FIRST to understand templates and extraction rules
2. Read the book section ONCE using: offset=[START_LINE], limit=[LINE_COUNT]
3. From that single read, extract content for ALL files listed above
4. For each file:
   - Transform content (prose → bullets, extract rules, include examples)
   - Format using the appropriate template from file-templates.md
   - Keep each file under 200 lines
   - Write to [OUTPUT_TOPIC_PATH]/[filename].md
5. Create files in order: knowledge.md → rules.md → examples.md → optional files

### Content Guidance:
[SPECIFIC_GUIDANCE - what to focus on, what to skip]

### Language Conversion (if applicable):
- Source: [SOURCE_LANG or "N/A"]
- Target: [TARGET_LANG or "N/A"]
- Convert ALL code examples to target language
```

#### Example: Filled Subagent Prompt

```markdown
## Task: Extract Functions Knowledge Base

You are extracting knowledge from a book section to create a complete topic reference.

### Prerequisites - Read These Files First:
1. `skills/skill-from-book/references/file-templates.md` - Templates for all file types
2. `skills/skill-from-book/references/extraction-patterns.md` - Extraction rules

### Source Material:
- **Book**: /path/to/clean-code.md
- **Section**: Chapter 3 - Functions
- **Line range**: Read with offset=450, limit=380

### Output Directory: skills/clean-code/references/functions

### Files to Create (in this order):

#### 1. knowledge.md (REQUIRED)
Core concepts, definitions, and foundational understanding.
- Extract: what makes a function clean, key terminology (side effects, arguments, abstraction levels), how functions relate to other concepts
- Use the "Knowledge File" template

#### 2. rules.md (REQUIRED)
Specific guidelines, do's and don'ts.
- Extract: size rules, argument limits, naming conventions, single responsibility, do one thing principle
- Use the "Rules File" template

#### 3. examples.md (REQUIRED)
Good/bad code examples, before/after comparisons.
- Extract: all code samples showing good vs bad functions, refactoring walkthroughs
- Use the "Examples File" template

#### 4. checklist.md (OPTIONAL)
Quick reference for reviewing functions.
- Create a checklist from the rule