self-improvement

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, no license.

Audit 0.4.1 · source sha 19e7381e0d3e · 20 Oct 2026Report an issue or request a re-scan

• Publisherpskoett GitHub userOwner of the repository this skill is read from
• Source folderpskoett/self-improving-agentThe exact folder we audited
• LicenceNot declaredAs the repository states it
• Commit pinned for this verdict19e7381e0d3eA new audit runs when the source changes
• Repository statusNot archivedLast push 10 days ago
• Sandboxed runNot runSkills are read, not executed; layer L4 is skipped

Its description: Captures and maintains learnings, errors, and corrections. Use when a command fails, the user corrects an assumption, a capability is missing, knowledge is outdated, or a better approach is found. Review relevant saved…

---
name: self-improving-agent
description: "Captures and maintains learnings, errors, and corrections. Use when a command fails, the user corrects an assumption, a capability is missing, knowledge is outdated, or a better approach is found. Review relevant saved guidance before major tasks, reuse, and promotion; revalidate it according to what could change and how quickly."
version: "4.0.2"
metadata:
---

# Self-Improvement Skill

Log learnings and errors to markdown files for continuous improvement. Agents can later process these into fixes, and important learnings get promoted to workspace memory. This version of the skill is built for OpenClaw only — for other agents, see the original multi-agent version at https://github.com/pskoett/pskoett-ai-skills.

Capture, review, reuse, promotion, and maintenance are self-contained here: no companion skill, service, plugin, memory backend, or OpenClaw core change is required. The optional hook only reminds and captures possible errors; it does not enforce this workflow or revalidate claims.

## First-Use Initialisation

Before logging anything, ensure the `.learnings/` directory and files exist in the project or workspace root. If any are missing, create them:

```bash
mkdir -p .learnings
[ -f .learnings/LEARNINGS.md ] || printf "# Learnings\n\nCorrections, insights, and knowledge gaps captured during development.\n\n**Categories**: correction | insight | knowledge_gap | best_practice\n\n---\n" > .learnings/LEARNINGS.md
[ -f .learnings/ERRORS.md ] || printf "# Errors\n\nCommand failures and integration errors.\n\n---\n" > .learnings/ERRORS.md
[ -f .learnings/FEATURE_REQUESTS.md ] || printf "# Feature Requests\n\nCapabilities requested by the user.\n\n---\n" > .learnings/FEATURE_REQUESTS.md
```

Never overwrite existing files. This is a no-op if `.learnings/` is already initialised.

Do not log secrets, tokens, private keys, environment variables, or full source/config files unless the user explicitly asks for that level of detail. Prefer short summaries or redacted excerpts over raw command output or full transcripts.

If you want automatic reminders and session-end error detection, enable the opt-in hook described in [Optional: Enable Hook](#optional-enable-hook).

## Quick Reference

| Situation | Action |
|-----------|--------|
| Command/operation fails | Log to `.learnings/ERRORS.md` |
| User corrects you | Log to `.learnings/LEARNINGS.md` with category `correction` |
| User wants missing feature | Log to `.learnings/FEATURE_REQUESTS.md` |
| API/external tool fails | Log to `.learnings/ERRORS.md` with integration details |
| Knowledge was outdated | Log to `.learnings/LEARNINGS.md` with category `knowledge_gap` |
| Found better approach | Log to `.learnings/LEARNINGS.md` with category `best_practice` |
| Simplify/Harden recurring patterns | Log/update `.learnings/LEARNINGS.md` with `Source: simplify-and-harden` and a stable `Pattern-Key` |
| Similar to existing entry | Search by `Pattern-Key`, confirm the same claim/scope; count only a new occurrence |
| Reusing or promoting saved knowledge | Review relevant/due claims using Maintenance below, including one-off/unpromoted entries |
| Source, decision, dependency, or task changes | Revalidate affected claims; do not expire them by age |
| Workflow improvements | Promote to `AGENTS.md` (workspace) |
| Tool gotchas | Promote to `TOOLS.md` (workspace) |
| Behavioral patterns | Promote to `SOUL.md` (workspace) |

## OpenClaw Setup

OpenClaw uses workspace-based prompt injection with automatic skill loading.

### Installation

**Via OpenClaw's built-in installer (recommended)** — installs into the
active OpenClaw workspace:
```bash
openclaw skills install @pskoett/self-improving-agent
```

**Via the ClawHub CLI** (`npm i -g clawhub`) — installs into `./skills`
under the current working directory, not the workspace:
```bash
clawhub install @pskoett/self-improving-agent
```

**Manual** (the skill lives in the repo's `self-improving-agent/` subfolder;
copy that folder, not the repo root):
```bash
git clone https://github.com/pskoett/self-improving-agent.git /tmp/self-improving-agent-repo
cp -r /tmp/self-improving-agent-repo/self-improving-agent ~/.openclaw/skills/self-improving-agent
```

Remade for openclaw from original repo : https://github.com/pskoett/pskoett-ai-skills - https://github.com/pskoett/pskoett-ai-skills/tree/main/skills/self-improvement

### Workspace Structure

OpenClaw injects these files into every session:

```
~/.openclaw/workspace/
├── AGENTS.md          # Multi-agent workflows, delegation patterns
├── SOUL.md            # Behavioral guidelines, personality, principles
├── TOOLS.md           # Tool capabilities, integration gotchas
├── MEMORY.md          # Long-term memory (main session only)
├── memory/            # Daily memory files
│   └── YYYY-MM-DD.md
└── .learnings/        # This skill's log files
    ├── LEARNINGS.md
    ├── ERRORS.md
    └── FEATURE_REQUESTS.md
```

### Create Learning Files

```bash
mkdir -p ~/.openclaw/workspace/.learnings
```

Then create the log files (or copy from `assets/`):
- `LEARNINGS.md` — corrections, knowledge gaps, best practices
- `ERRORS.md` — command failures, exceptions
- `FEATURE_REQUESTS.md` — user-requested capabilities

### Promotion Targets

When learnings prove broadly applicable, promote them to workspace files:

| Learning Type | Promote To | Example |
|---------------|------------|---------|
| Behavioral patterns | `SOUL.md` | "Be concise, avoid disclaimers" |
| Workflow improvements | `AGENTS.md` | "Spawn sub-agents for long tasks" |
| Tool gotchas | `TOOLS.md` | "Git push needs auth configured first" |

### Inter-Session Communication

OpenClaw provides tools to share learnings across sessions:

- **sessions_list** — View active/recent sessions
- **sessions_history** — Read another session's transcript  
- **sessions_send** — Send a learning to another session
- **sessions_spawn** — Spawn a sub-agent for background work

Us

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.

1. 2026-10-20
   ✓SAFE B 89 / 100

   first audit · source 19e7381e0d3e

Questions about self-improvement

• github.com/pskoett/self-improving-agent — the audited source at commit 19e7381e0d3e and every finding aboveObserved · 20 Oct 2026

Spotted something wrong? Report a correction · Methodology