Auto-Learner Skill
Learn from mistakes by maintaining a persistent knowledge base of lessons learned.
When to Add a Learning
Add a note to auto-learning.md when:
- •A tool call fails due to incorrect parameters or wrong assumptions
- •You make an incorrect assumption about the codebase
- •The user corrects you on something
- •You discover a pattern that would have prevented an earlier mistake
- •A retry was needed because of an oversight
- •You realize you should have done something differently
The auto-learning.md File
Located at project root. Create it if it doesn't exist.
File Format
markdown
# Auto-Learning Notes Lessons learned from past mistakes. Priority scores (1-10) reflect importance. --- ## [P8] Short descriptive title **Context:** Brief context of when this happened **Mistake:** What went wrong **Learning:** What to do instead **Tags:** #tool-call #assumption #oversight (pick relevant tags) --- ## [P5] Another learning title ...
Priority Scoring (1-10)
- •9-10: Critical - caused significant issues, applies frequently
- •7-8: Important - common mistake, high value to remember
- •5-6: Moderate - useful but less frequent
- •3-4: Minor - edge case or rare situation
- •1-2: Low - might be project-specific or outdated
Updating Priorities
When you encounter a situation where a past learning was valuable:
- •Read the existing note
- •Increment its priority by 1 (max 10)
- •Update the note if you have additional insight
When a learning proves irrelevant over time:
- •Decrement priority by 1
- •If it drops below 2, consider removing it
Adding a New Learning
- •Read
auto-learning.md(create if missing) - •Add new note at the TOP (after the header)
- •Start with priority [P5] unless clearly more/less important
- •Keep notes compact - 2-4 lines max per section
- •Use specific, actionable language
Example Entry
markdown
## [P7] Always read files before editing **Context:** Tried to edit a file without reading it first **Mistake:** Edit tool failed because I hadn't read the file in this session **Learning:** Always use Read tool before Edit tool on any file, even if it seems obvious **Tags:** #tool-call #edit
Size Management
Check file size periodically (every 3-5 learnings added):
- •If more than 25 entries, prune the lowest priority ones
- •Remove entries with P1-P2 that haven't been referenced recently
- •Consider merging similar learnings into one higher-priority note
- •Target: Keep 15-20 high-value learnings
When Starting a Session
When working on this project, briefly review auto-learning.md to refresh on past lessons. Pay attention to P7+ entries.
Important
- •Be honest about mistakes - this is for self-improvement
- •Keep learnings actionable and specific
- •Don't add learnings for one-off user preferences (those go in CLAUDE.md)
- •Focus on patterns that will recur