auto-learner

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

# 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• 1-2: Low - might be project-specific or outdated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:

1. Read the existing note
2. Increment its priority by 1 (max 10)
3. Update the note if you have additional insight

When a learning proves irrelevant over time:

1. Decrement priority by 1
2. If it drops below 2, consider removing it

Adding a New Learning

1. Read auto-learning.md (create if missing)
2. Add new note at the TOP (after the header)
3. Start with priority [P5] unless clearly more/less important
4. Keep notes compact - 2-4 lines max per section
5. Use specific, actionable language

Example Entry

## [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):

1. If more than 25 entries, prune the lowest priority ones
2. Remove entries with P1-P2 that haven't been referenced recently
3. Consider merging similar learnings into one higher-priority note
4. 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