Atlas / Skills / microsoft / SkillOpt

SkillOptBLOCK

skills/microsoft/skillopt

SkillOpt is a text-space optimizer that trains reusable natural-language skills for frozen LLM agents through trajectory-driven edits, validation-gated updates, and deployable best_skill.md artifacts.

Verdict
BLOCK
Grade
F
Trust score
53 /100
Version
—
Hosts
5 documented
License
MIT
Stars
18,674
01

Overview

From the repository's own README, as read at the audited commit. Badges and raw HTML are left out.

Train agent skills like you train neural networks — with epochs, (mini-)batchsize, learning rates, and validation gates — but without touching model weights.

[](https://microsoft.github.io/SkillOpt/) [](https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.23904) [](https://youtu.be/JUBMDTCiM0M) [](https://pypi.org/project/skillopt/) [](https://www.python.org/) [](LICENSE)

📖 **For installation, data preparation, training/eval commands, configuration, and framework internals, start with the versioned SkillOpt documentation. A concise rendered overview is available in the Documentation & Reproduction Guide, and longer-form engineering analysis appears on the Technical Blog. We also ma
Read from source at commit 7b7f74df6d29OBSERVED · 2026-10-25
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02

Install

Commands as the repository documents them. They are shown, not run.

git clone https://github.com/microsoft/SkillOpt.git
pip install -e ".[webui]"
git clone https://github.com/microsoft/SkillOpt.git
pip install -e ".[dev]"
pip install -e ".[docs]"
pip install -e ".[webui]"
03

Host compatibility

What the documentation claims. We have not run a compatibility test.

HostStatusNotes
claude-codementioned
codexmentioned
copilotmentioned
cursormentioned
openclawmentioned
04

What it tells the agent

The instruction file, verbatim from the audited commit — this is the text the model reads, and the surface the audit's instruction layer examines. Quoted here so you can judge it without cloning anything.

---
name: skillopt-sleep
description: Reference-only OpenClaw adaptation of SkillOpt-Sleep. Use it to study or port the contributed DeepSeek wrapper, not as a ready-to-run installation.
---

# SkillOpt-Sleep OpenClaw reference adaptation

This directory is a contributed **reference**, not a supported, plug-and-play
OpenClaw integration. It illustrates one way to connect the shared
`skillopt_sleep` cycle to a custom DeepSeek Chat Completions backend and a set of
environment-specific task fixtures.

Do not run or schedule the files unchanged. Several scripts and the sample
configuration preserve assumptions from the contributor's original machine,
and parts of the wrapper have not yet been ported to the current shared-engine
interfaces. Start with the directory's [README.md](README.md), which is the
authoritative status and adaptation guide.

## What is included

- `skillopt_sleep_openclaw.py` — a contributed DeepSeek backend prototype. It
  also contains an Ollama embedding helper, but that helper is not wired into
  the current shared sleep cycle.
- `run_sleep.py` — a custom cycle wrapper with environment-specific paths and a
  backend-registration shim.
- `slash_sleep.py` — an experimental command helper written for an older
  staging-manifest shape.
- `run_sleep_cron.sh` — a machine-specific category runner, not a portable cron
  installer.
- `config.json` — a sample configuration, not a set of guaranteed or enforced
  runtime limits.
- `tests/*.json` — example task fixtures from one environment, not a universal
  OpenClaw benchmark.

## Known porting gaps

Before treating this as an integration, a maintainer must at least:

1. Replace every absolute workspace, repository, state, skill, log, and task
   path with explicit user configuration.
2. Update the custom backend factory to the current `get_backend` call contract,
   including the project directory, and update its backend methods and edit
   records to the current protocol.
3. Replace the experimental adoption logic with the current staging manifest
   and `skillopt_sleep.staging.adopt` behavior. Current staging artifacts use
   `proposed_SKILL.md` / `proposed_CLAUDE.md`, `manifest.json`, and report files;
   they do not expose the old `manifest.proposed_skill` field.
4. Decide how real OpenClaw transcripts are converted into a supported session
   format. Pointing `claude_home` at an arbitrary agent directory does not by
   itself make its files Claude Code-compatible JSONL.
5. Build scheduling around the adapted wrapper. The shared scheduler launches
   the shared CLI; it does not automatically preserve this custom backend or
   its category task-file flow.
6. Add isolated end-to-end tests for dry-run, accepted/rejected gates, staging,
   adoption and backup, credential failure, and scheduled execution.

Until those gaps are resolved, use the supported shared
`python -m skillopt_sleep` CLI with `--backend mock` to test SkillOpt-Sleep itself,
and treat this directory only as source material for a future OpenClaw port.

## Shared-engine features are not wrapper features

At this revision the supported shared CLI backends are `mock`, `claude`,
`codex`, `copilot`, `handoff`, and `azure_openai`; the
[plugin integration reference](../README.md#supported-cli-surface) is the
authoritative list. The shared engine can consolidate a selected skill and
project `CLAUDE.md` memory (controlled by `evolve_skill` and `evolve_memory`),
and its `schedule` / `unschedule` actions manage shared-engine cron entries.
Those capabilities do **not** make the custom OpenClaw wrapper portable: the
shared scheduler will not invoke the prototype backend or its category
fixtures. Use the shared documentation for those features, not this reference
SKILL.

## Data and credential boundary

The prototype DeepSeek backend sends task, skill, memory, response, rubric, and
reflection content to its configured Chat Completions endpoint. Its source also
contains a helper that can send text to an Ollama service if a future port wires
that helper into the cycle. Neither path should be assumed to remove every
secret or private detail.

Before any port is tested with real data:

- use isolated, synthetic or explicitly reviewed task files;
- replace sample business names, personal references, URLs, and machine paths;
- load credentials through the operator's secret-management mechanism;
- verify TLS and retention policy for every remote endpoint; and
- inspect all staged artifacts before adoption.

The bundled fixtures are examples only. Their scores and any old cost estimates
do not establish effectiveness, safety, or a stable nightly price for another
OpenClaw deployment.

## Further information

- [OpenClaw README](README.md) — current reference status and adaptation checklist
- [plugin integration reference](../README.md) — supported shared-engine CLI
  surface and data boundary
- [SkillOpt-Sleep documentation](../../docs/sleep/README.md) — concepts,
  results, and limitations

Contributions that turn this reference into a portable integration should add
tests and update all three documents together.
05

Trust audit

BLOCKgrade F · trust 53/100 Do not install this without reading the findings. The audit found something that could harm you or your machine.

LayerWhat it checksResult
L0Provenance & inventoryPASS
L1Static analysis of the codeFAIL
L2Instruction surface (what it tells the agent)FAIL
L3Class-specific surfacePASS
L4Behavioural (sandbox)SKIPPED

What the source does

Filesystem
declared (8 observation(s))
Network
declared (7 observation(s))
Shell
declared (6 observation(s))
Dependencies
not all pinned
Secrets in source
found

Findings (25)

HIGHCode injection · code.eval_exec · CWE-78, CWE-94, CWE-95
skillopt_sleep/backend.py:1722
self.last_call_error = f"codex exec (tools) timed out after {self.timeout}s"
Why it matters. evaluates text as code
Fix. remove; use a parser or a dispatch table
HIGHCode injection · code.eval_exec · CWE-78, CWE-94, CWE-95
skillopt_sleep/backend.py:1724
self.last_call_error = f"codex exec (tools) failed: {exc}"
Why it matters. evaluates text as code
Fix. remove; use a parser or a dispatch table
HIGHCode injection · code.eval_exec · CWE-78, CWE-94, CWE-95
skillopt_sleep/backend.py:1736
f"codex exec (tools) exited {proc.returncode}: {(proc.stderr or '')[:500]}"
Why it matters. evaluates text as code
Fix. remove; use a parser or a dispatch table
HIGHNetwork egress · net.env_exfil · CWE-200, CWE-319
plugins/openclaw/skillopt_sleep_openclaw.py:31
/.env" ... curl
Why it matters. reads secrets in the same file that sends data out
HIGHPrompt injection · prompt.credential_read · CWE-94, CWE-1427
plugins/openclaw/SKILL.md:86
- load credentials through the operator's secret-management mechanism;
Why it matters. asks the agent to read credentials
MEDIUMNetwork egress · net.raw_ip · CWE-200, CWE-319
plugins/openclaw/skillopt_sleep_openclaw.py:71
"http://127.0.0.1:11434/api/embeddings",
MEDIUMHard-coded secrets · secret.generic · CWE-798, CWE-321
tests/test_backend_opencode.py:646
secret = "resolved-provider-secret-74f92"
MEDIUMHard-coded secrets · secret.generic · CWE-798, CWE-321
tests/test_backend_pi.py:138
secret = "sk-1234567890abcdefghij"
MEDIUMHard-coded secrets · secret.generic · CWE-798, CWE-321
tests/test_backend_pi.py:161
secret = "sk-1234567890abcdefghij"
MEDIUMHard-coded secrets · secret.generic · CWE-798, CWE-321
tests/test_backend_pi.py:181
secret = "sk-1234567890abcdefghij"
MEDIUMHard-coded secrets · secret.generic · CWE-798, CWE-321
tests/test_backend_pi.py:197
secret = "sk-1234567890abcdefghij"
MEDIUMHard-coded secrets · secret.private_key · CWE-798, CWE-321
tests/test_sleep_engine.py:3131
"-----BEGIN RSA PRIVATE KEY-----\n"
MEDIUMHard-coded secrets · secret.private_key · CWE-798, CWE-321
tests/test_sleep_evidence.py:51
"-----BEGIN PRIVATE KEY-----\n"
LOWCode injection · code.dynamic_import · CWE-78, CWE-94, CWE-95
tests/test_benchmark_task_output_paths.py:24
module = __import__(module_name, fromlist=["process_one"])
LOWFilesystem / path · fs.traversal · CWE-22, CWE-59
plugins/claude-code/scripts/run-sleep.sh:15
elif [ -n "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT:-}" ] && [ -d "$CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT/../../skillopt_sleep" ]; then
LOWFilesystem / path · fs.traversal · CWE-22, CWE-59
plugins/dsh/scripts/canary.mjs:272
const trav = await defs['skillopt_harvest'].execute({ project: '/tmp/p', output: '../../etc/hosts' }, {})
LOWFilesystem / path · fs.traversal · CWE-22, CWE-59
plugins/run-sleep.sh:15
elif [ -n "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT:-}" ] && [ -d "$CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT/../../skillopt_sleep" ]; then
LOWFilesystem / path · fs.traversal · CWE-22, CWE-59
tests/test_benchmark_task_output_paths.py:40
module.process_one({"id": "../../escape"}, str(tmp_path / "out"), "")
LOWFilesystem / path · fs.traversal · CWE-22, CWE-59
tests/test_benchmark_task_output_paths.py:114
assert _read_trajectory(str(tmp_path), "../../escape") == "(trajectory not available)"
LOWNetwork egress · net.raw_ip · CWE-200, CWE-319
docs/sleep/examples/runner.py:90
env.setdefault("ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL", "http://127.0.0.1:4000")
LOWNetwork egress · net.raw_ip · CWE-200, CWE-319
docs/sleep/openai-compatible-endpoints.md:85
`http://127.0.0.1:8000/v1`; the compat client sends its API key to the configured
LOWNetwork egress · net.raw_ip · CWE-200, CWE-319
docs/sleep/openai-compatible-endpoints.md:111
path, for example `http://127.0.0.1:8000/v1` or
LOWNetwork egress · net.raw_ip · CWE-200, CWE-319
docs/sleep/openai-compatible-endpoints.md:112
`http://127.0.0.1:11434/v1`.
LOWObfuscation / stealth · obf.decode_call · CWE-506, CWE-94
skillopt/model/claude_backend.py:31
return base64.b64decode(data), mime
LOWObfuscation / stealth · obf.decode_call · CWE-506, CWE-94
skillopt/model/codex_backend.py:44
return base64.b64decode(data), mime

Gates applied: no_behavioural_pass.

Audited 2026-10-25 · audit v0.4.1 · source sha 7b7f74df6d29full audit observations/trust-audit/skill/microsoft__skillopt.json · Report an issue / request a re-scan
06

Audit history

Every audit this skill has had.

DateSourceVerdictGradeScoreChange
2026-10-257b7f74df6d29BLOCKF53first audit
07

Questions

What does the SkillOpt skill do?

SkillOpt is a text-space optimizer that trains reusable natural-language skills for frozen LLM agents through trajectory-driven edits, validation-gated updates, and deployable best_skill.md artifacts.

Is SkillOpt safe to install?

No — not without reading the findings first. The audit graded it F (53/100) and found 5 critical or high issues in the source. Each one is listed on this page with the file and line it is on.

What can SkillOpt access on my machine?

The audit observed that it reaches the network, runs shell commands and reads or writes files. Each of those is consistent with what it says it does. Secrets in the source: found — see the findings.

Which assistants does SkillOpt work with?

Its documentation mentions claude-code, codex, copilot, cursor and openclaw. That is what the text claims, not a compatibility test we ran.

How current is this page?

The grade is for one exact copy of the source (7b7f74df6d29), read on 2026-10-25. The repository is watched, and a new audit runs when it changes — this is the first audit.

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