yao-meta-skill/reports/reference-synthesis.md

Reference Synthesis

Skill: yao-meta-skill

• Description: Create, refactor, evaluate, and package agent skills from workflows, prompts, transcripts, docs, or notes. Use for skill creation, reusable workflow packaging, skill improvement, evals, and team-ready distribution.
• Intent confidence: 100/100 (high)

Live GitHub Benchmarks

obra/superpowers

• URL: https://github.com/obra/superpowers
• Stars: 226125
• Borrow: Borrow the way it turns a messy workflow into a repeatable operating path.
• Borrow: Borrow the clear execution entrypoints and command structure.

affaan-m/ECC

• URL: https://github.com/affaan-m/ECC
• Stars: 214381
• Borrow: Borrow the way it turns a messy workflow into a repeatable operating path.
• Borrow: Borrow the clear execution entrypoints and command structure.

multica-ai/andrej-karpathy-skills

• URL: https://github.com/multica-ai/andrej-karpathy-skills
• Stars: 174264
• Borrow: Borrow explicit validation and quality gates that make iteration safer.
• Borrow: Borrow the way it separates explanation, examples, and reusable structure.

Curated World-Class Pattern Tracks

Official skill anatomy and context discipline

• Type: official
• Evidence mode: curated-pattern-track
• Why relevant: This track matches: metadata, references.
• Borrow: Borrow progressive disclosure: keep the entrypoint lean and move depth into references or scripts.
• Avoid: Do not let packaging or platform concerns swallow the core job boundary.

Human-in-the-loop verification

• Type: research
• Evidence mode: curated-pattern-track
• Why relevant: This track matches: review, govern.
• Borrow: Borrow a review checkpoint wherever trust matters more than raw speed.
• Avoid: Do not force every skill through heavyweight review when the risk is low.

Boundary-first design

• Type: principles
• Evidence mode: curated-pattern-track
• Why relevant: This track matches: route.
• Borrow: Borrow the discipline of defining what the skill should not own before growing the package.
• Avoid: Do not expand execution assets until route boundaries stay clean.

Borrow Now

• Borrow progressive disclosure: keep the entrypoint lean and move depth into references or scripts.
• Borrow a review checkpoint wherever trust matters more than raw speed.
• Borrow the discipline of defining what the skill should not own before growing the package.
• Borrow the way it turns a messy workflow into a repeatable operating path.
• Borrow the clear execution entrypoints and command structure.

Avoid Now

• Do not let packaging or platform concerns swallow the core job boundary.
• Do not force every skill through heavyweight review when the risk is low.
• Do not expand execution assets until route boundaries stay clean.
• Do not import process overhead that only exists for that project's scale.
• Do not copy repo-specific commands or environment assumptions verbatim.

Pattern Gate

• Summary: 5 accepted, 1 deferred using threshold 4/4.
• Acceptance threshold: 4/4
• Accepted patterns:
  • Official skill anatomy and context discipline: 4/4 (recurrence, generativity, distinctiveness, boundary)
  • Human-in-the-loop verification: 4/4 (recurrence, generativity, distinctiveness, boundary)
  • Boundary-first design: 4/4 (recurrence, generativity, distinctiveness, boundary)
  • obra/superpowers: 4/4 (recurrence, generativity, distinctiveness, boundary)
  • affaan-m/ECC: 4/4 (recurrence, generativity, distinctiveness, boundary)
• Deferred patterns:
  • multica-ai/andrej-karpathy-skills: missing generativity

Default Recommendation

• Summary: Start by borrowing this pattern: Borrow progressive disclosure: keep the entrypoint lean and move depth into references or scripts. Avoid this for the first pass: Do not let packaging or platform concerns swallow the core job boundary.
• Why: There is a real design conflict to resolve: The stated preference leans lightweight or speed-first, while the benchmark mix leans toward governance, review, or heavier evaluation structure.
• User decision required: True

Visibility Mode

• Mode: explicit
• Reasons: design_conflict
• User note: Surface the recommendation because intent is still settling or there is a real design conflict that needs a user call.
• Reviewer note: Keep the full benchmark and synthesis evidence visible for authors and reviewers.

Conflict Check

• lightweight_vs_governance: The stated preference leans lightweight or speed-first, while the benchmark mix leans toward governance, review, or heavier evaluation structure.

Quality Lift Thesis

• Use GitHub repositories for concrete package and workflow patterns.
• Use curated official or commercial tracks for entrypoint and operator ergonomics.
• Use research tracks to justify the smallest evaluation loop that still catches regressions.
• Use principle tracks to keep the package small, boundary-aware, and outcome-driven.

Decision Prompt

Use the recommendation by default. Only surface the underlying benchmark tradeoffs when intent is uncertain or a real design conflict needs a deliberate call.