Self Improve

What the source does

• FilesystemNone observedNo reads or writes in the source
• NetworkNone observedNo outbound calls in the source
• ShellNone observedNo commands run in the source
• DependenciesPinnedNothing floats
• SecretsNone foundNo keys in source

Five audit layers

Gates applied: no behavioural pass.

Audit 0.4.1 · source sha 0448e87653f9 · 14 Oct 2026Report an issue or request a re-scan

• Publisheraaronjmars GitHub organizationOwner of the repository this skill is read from
• Source folderaaronjmars/aeon/skills/self-improveThe exact folder we audited
• LicenceMITAs the repository states it
• Commit pinned for this verdict0448e87653f9A new audit runs when the source changes
• Repository statusNot archivedPushed today
• Sandboxed runNot runSkills are read, not executed; layer L4 is skipped

Its description: Improve the agent itself, or audit its recent performance - better skills, prompts, workflows, and config, plus a quality/reliability/memory-hygiene review of what it did and what failed

---
name: self-improve
description: Improve the agent itself, or audit its recent performance - better skills, prompts, workflows, and config, plus a quality/reliability/memory-hygiene review of what it did and what failed
metadata:
  category: evolution
  var: ""
  tags:
    - meta
---
> **${var}** — Mode selector, optionally with a focus area, as `mode` or `mode:focus`.
> - **empty** or **`improve`** → improve mode: find and fix the highest-impact issue from recent logs, then propose + apply the fix via PR (default).
> - **`improve:<area>`** (or a bare area like `notifications`) → improve mode focused on that specific area (e.g. `heartbeat`, `notifications`, `memory`).
> - **`audit`** → audit mode: review what the agent did, what failed, and what to improve; save a full review and apply safe, obvious fixes directly.
> - **`audit:<area>`** → audit mode focused on that specific area (e.g. `reliability`, `memory`).

## Setup (both modes)

Parse `${var}` into a **mode** and an optional **focus area**:
- Split on the first `:` — the part before is the mode, the part after is the focus.
- If the mode is `audit` → run the **Mode: audit** branch below (focus = optional area to concentrate the review on).
- If the mode is `improve` or empty → run the **Mode: improve** branch below (focus = optional area to fix).
- If the token is neither keyword but non-empty (e.g. `notifications`) → treat it as **improve** mode with the whole `${var}` as the focus area (backward compatibility).

Then:
- Read `memory/MEMORY.md` for high-level context and goals.
- Read recent `memory/logs/` (improve mode: last 2 days; audit mode: last 7 days) for errors, failures, and quality issues.

If a focus area is set, concentrate the run on that area.

---

## Mode: improve (default)

Improve the agent itself based on recent performance. **ONE change per run.**

### Steps

1. **Check for open improvement PRs** — don't pile up unreviewed work:
   ```bash
   OPEN_PRS=$(gh pr list --state open --json title,number --jq '[.[] | select(.title | test("^(fix|feat|chore)\\("; "i"))] | length')
   ```
   If there are already 3+ open improvement PRs, log "self-improve: 3+ open PRs, waiting for review" and exit. Don't create more debt.

2. **Identify what to improve.** If the focus area is empty, scan for issues:
   - Read `memory/logs/` from last 2 days — look for:
     - Skills that failed or produced low-quality output
     - Errors, timeouts, "zero output", rate limiting
     - Notifications that didn't send or were truncated
     - Memory consolidation problems
   - Read `memory/cron-state.json` for skills with low success rates
   - Read `output/articles/repo-actions-*.md` from last 7 days for self-improvement ideas
   - Pick the **highest-impact, smallest-effort** fix. One change per run.

3. **Understand the area you're fixing.** Read the relevant files:
   - Skills: `skills/{name}/SKILL.md`
   - Config: `aeon.yml`
   - Workflows: `.github/workflows/*.yml`
   - Agent instructions: `CLAUDE.md`
   - Dashboard: `apps/dashboard/` (if UI-related)

   Understand the current behavior before changing anything.

4. **Implement the fix.** Make minimal, targeted changes:
   - If a skill prompt is unclear → rewrite the ambiguous section
   - If a skill is hitting rate limits → add backoff logic or reduce frequency
   - If output quality is low → tighten the prompt, add examples, clarify format
   - If a notification is broken → fix the formatting or truncation
   - If a config is wrong → fix aeon.yml

   Do NOT:
   - Rewrite entire skills from scratch
   - Add new features (that's create-skill's job)
   - Change the core architecture
   - Modify secrets or environment variables

4b. **Dry-run gate.** Before opening the PR, execute the improved skill once with **synthetic** secrets, so a regression never reaches production having run only with real credentials. Let `$skill` be the skill you edited:
   ```bash
   DRYRUN_VERDICT="output/.dry-run/$skill.json" bash scripts/dry-run.sh run "$skill" || true
   ```
   Read `output/.dry-run/$skill.json`: `passed: true` (or `skipped: true`, when the `SKILL_DRYRUN` repo variable is `0`) continues. `passed: false` means **revert the edit and stop** (log `self-improve: dry-run gate failed for $skill` with the verdict `reasons[]`; do not open the PR). Put the verdict under a `## Dry-run` section in the PR body. The gate is structural (exit, output, declared `mode`, declared `requires:`); no real credential enters the run.

5. **Create a branch and PR:**
   ```bash
   git checkout -b fix/self-improve-${today}
   git add -A
   git commit -m "fix: [description of what was improved]

   Problem: [what was failing/degraded]
   Fix: [what was changed]
   Evidence: [log entries, error messages, success rates]"
   ```
   Open a PR:
   ```bash
   gh pr create --title "fix: [short description]" \
     --body "## Problem
   [What was failing or degraded — cite specific log entries or error messages]

   ## Fix
   [What was changed and why]

   ## Evidence
   - [Relevant log entries]
   - [Success rate before: X%]
   - [Error pattern: ...]"
   ```

6. **Notify.** Send via `./notify`:
   ```
   self-improve: [what was fixed] — PR: [url]
   ```

7. **Log** (see the shared `## Log` section below).

### Guidelines

- ONE fix per run. Don't bundle unrelated changes.
- Smallest viable fix. A one-line prompt tweak > a full rewrite.
- If you can't find anything to improve, that's fine. Log "self-improve: everything looks healthy" and exit.
- Never modify workflow files (.github/workflows/) — only skill files, CLAUDE.md, and aeon.yml.
- Don't create circular improvements (e.g. don't improve self-improve).

---

## Mode: audit

Audit what the agent did, what failed, and what to improve. Produce a full review, apply safe fixes, and surface recommendations.

### Steps

Read `memory/MEMORY.md` for context and goals. Read ALL `memory/logs/` entries from the last 7 days.

1. **Audit quality of outputs:**
   - Read recent article

Excerpt, first 6,000 characters of SKILL.md, verbatim from the audited commit. It is text from someone else’s repository, quoted so you can judge it before your agent reads it.

git clone https://github.com/aaronjmars/aeon
git -C aeon checkout 0448e87653f9

Works in

1. 2026-10-14
   ✓SAFE B 89 / 100

   first audit · source 0448e87653f9

Questions about Self Improve

• github.com/aaronjmars/aeon/tree/main/skills/self-improve — the audited source at commit 0448e87653f9 and every finding aboveObserved · 14 Oct 2026

Spotted something wrong? Report a correction · Methodology