Guide · Agent skill
How to use the First Reader Beta Panel agent skill
Updated · written with AI from the project's own documentation and checked against our catalogue data
First Reader is an agent skill that makes your AI agent act as a few simulated beta readers. They meet your draft one passage at a time, without seeing what comes next, and report where their interest rose, fell or ran out. This guide explains what the skill does, how to install it, how to ask for a read, and what it can and cannot tell you, so you can use it before you publish.
First Reader Beta PanelShubhamsaboo/awesome-llm-apps · Apache-2.0 Download the skill Quick start
- 1Install the skill. Download the first-reader ZIP and unzip it into ~/.claude/skills/ or a project's .claude/skills/ folder, or upload it under Settings, Capabilities, Skills in the Claude apps.
- 2Check Python 3. Confirm python3 runs on your machine. The skill uses only the standard library, so there is nothing else to install.
- 3Name your draft and audience. Tell the agent which file is the draft and who it is for. The agent asks one question only if the audience cannot be inferred.
- 4Ask for a read. Use a plain request such as be my first reader for this draft. The agent replies with one line and works through the readers.
- 5Read the summary and page. Check the short summary, then open the page to see reader comments beside each passage and the skimmer's verdict.
- 6Ask follow-up questions. Use the readers to dig in, for example ask everyone whether they noticed the retention example. Answers come from each reader's own log.
- 7Edit and run again. Revise the draft in your own editor, then say again. Readers come back fresh, and the page compares this run with the last one.
What is an agent skill, and what does first-reader make the agent do?
An agent skill is a folder of instructions and scripts that an AI agent loads when a request matches it. first-reader is a skill for reading drafts: it runs a beta-reading session instead of a line-by-line audit.
The readers never see the whole text at once. Each one gets the draft in passages, keeps a log of what they felt, where they lost interest or quit, and what they remembered later. The skill also includes a quick skim check, a recall test run the next day, and a trust check on the writer the text implies.
- Skim gate: a skeptical scanner decides whether they would open the piece at all.
- Timed read: readers move through the draft with no lookahead and produce an attention transcript with quit points.
- Recall test: readers are asked what they still remember later.
- Trust ledger: a record of the kind of author the text suggests.
Install the first-reader skill
Download the ZIP of the first-reader folder from the directory page. Unzip it into your personal skills folder, ~/.claude/skills/, or into a project's .claude/skills/ folder if you want the skill only in that project.
If you use the Claude apps instead, open Settings, go to Capabilities, then Skills, and upload the skill there.
The source repository also lists an install command using the skills CLI, which installs the folder for compatible coding agents: npx skills add https://github.com/Shubhamsaboo/awesome-llm-apps/tree/main/agent_skills/first-reader
- Check that the folder is named first-reader and contains SKILL.md at its top level.
- Python 3 must be available. The scripts use only the standard library, so there are no packages to install.
npx skills add https://github.com/Shubhamsaboo/awesome-llm-apps/tree/main/agent_skills/first-readerWhat does first-reader need to run?
You need Python 3 and an agent that can spawn fresh subagents, one for each reader. Each reader must start with a clean context, because a reader who has already seen the draft is no longer a first reader.
The skill runs local scripts. Its compatibility note says it starts a loopback server on 127.0.0.1 during a read so reader subagents receive the draft one passage at a time. Nothing leaves the machine and there is no external network access.
- Python 3 (standard library only)
- An agent that can spawn fresh subagents for each reader
- Runs scripts: yes
- Uses network: no (loopback only during a read)
How do I trigger the skill with a natural request?
You do not need a special command. Ask in plain words, and name the draft. Phrases from the skill's trigger list include: beta read, beta readers, test readers, first reader, reader review, and whether a piece holds attention or will actually get read.
For a finished post, you might say: Be my first reader for this draft. For a fast check, say: Quick read this, would a busy skimmer open it? To see whether the ending lands, ask what readers will remember tomorrow.
The agent replies with one line, works in the background, and returns a short summary plus a page. Follow-up questions go to the readers, for example: ask the skimmer what would have made them open it.
- Full run: be my first reader, or review this
- Quick check: quick read, plus the draft
- Re-run after editing: again
- Ask readers: ask S what would have convinced her
What do you get back, and how should you read it?
The result is a few plain sentences, as a friend would give after reading. It says whether the skimmer opened the piece, where each reader leaned in or drifted, what they still had the next day, and one question back to you. It quotes the readers' notes by initial and your draft's own words.
The page shows the draft with reader comments beside each passage, the skimmer's verdict, and the lenses. The skill does not give numbered fixes or rewritten copy. The readers report what happened to them, and you decide what to change.
- Summary: a few sentences with quotes
- Page: reader comments beside each passage
- Verdict from the skimmer
- Re-runs show last run's attention strip above the new one
Where should I use it, and where should I not?
The skill is built for prose meant to be read in order: essays, articles, posts, memos, landing copy, cover letters and talk scripts. It also works on very short pieces, using one fresh reader and a two-second frame instead of the timed read.
Do not use it for code review, factual checking, copyediting or rewriting. For reference material such as API docs, FAQs or changelogs, the skill runs a skim-based lookup test, because skimming is how those are meant to be read. Treat the simulated readers as a model of reading, not as a substitute for real human testers.
- Good fit: posts, essays, memos, landing pages, announcements
- Limited fit: fiction and poetry, where only the transcript and recall parts apply
- Wrong tool: factual or code review, API references as a timed read
- Not a replacement for real human reactions
What people use it for
- Checking whether a long essay is still read by the middle section before publishing.
- Testing whether a busy skimmer would open a blog post based on its opening lines.
- Finding where a newsletter draft loses readers, then rechecking after edits.
- Seeing whether a landing page or product announcement leaves a clear memory the next day.
- Finding out why a draft still feels hollow after an anti-slop or humanizer pass.
Frequently asked questions
Is the first-reader agent skill free to use?
The source lists the licence as Apache-2.0 and does not state any price. The skill itself uses only Python 3 standard library scripts, so it has no additional packages to buy, but you still need an agent that can spawn subagents.
How do I install the first-reader skill?
Download the ZIP from the directory page and unzip it into ~/.claude/skills/, or into a project's .claude/skills/ folder. In the Claude apps you can instead upload it under Settings, Capabilities, Skills.
What do I need to run first-reader?
You need Python 3 and an agent able to spawn fresh subagents for each reader. The scripts use only the standard library and do not use the network beyond a loopback server on 127.0.0.1 during a read.
Does first-reader rewrite my draft?
No. The skill never rewrites text and gives no numbered fixes. It reports where the readers lost interest or quit and what they remembered, and you decide what to change.
Can simulated readers replace real beta readers?
No. The skill's own guidance describes the readers as a model of reading, not evidence of how people react. Use it to find where a draft breaks, then test with real people if the stakes are high.
Is first-reader good for fact-checking or code review?
No. The readers judge the experience of reading, not accuracy, so factual or code review is the wrong tool for this skill.
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Our verdict
Use first-reader if you write prose meant to be read in order and want to know where a draft loses readers before you publish. Skip it for factual checks, code, or reference docs where skimming is the goal, and do not treat the simulated readers as real human testers.
Download the skill