Guide · Agent skill
How to use the Functional-Area Resolver agent skill
Updated · written with AI from the project's own documentation and checked against our catalogue data
The functional-area-resolver skill is an agent skill that rewrites a long routing file, such as RESOLVER.md or AGENTS.md, into a smaller set of grouped entries. This guide is for people who have never used agent skills and want to install this one, ask for it in plain language, and check the result before trusting it. By the end you will know what the skill changes, how to install it, what it needs, and what to review before accepting its edits.
Functional-Area Resolvergarrytan/gbrain · MIT Download the skill Quick start
- 1Download the ZIP. Get the skill ZIP from the page where you found this guide.
- 2Unzip into a skills folder. Extract it into ~/.claude/skills/ for personal use, or into your project's .claude/skills/ folder for one project.
- 3Or upload it in the Claude apps. In the Claude apps, go to Settings, then Capabilities, then Skills, and upload the ZIP.
- 4Ask in plain language. Request something like 'compress my resolver' or 'AGENTS.md too large' and name your routing file.
- 5Review the rewritten file. Check that every skill still appears under an area that matches the requests you make, and keep a backup of the original.
- 6Test a few requests. Try typical requests and confirm the agent opens the correct sub-skill through the area entry.
What the skill makes the agent do
An agent setup often has a routing file that tells the agent which skill to open for each kind of request. When every skill gets its own row, the file can grow large enough to use a lot of the agent's context space, which is then unavailable for real work. The source describes this happening at around 200 or more skills.
This skill replaces many rows with one entry per functional area. Each entry names the area, describes the kinds of requests it covers, points to a dispatcher skill, and lists the sub-skills that dispatcher can hand off to in a '(dispatcher for: ...)' clause. The agent picks the area first, then opens that area's skill to find the specific sub-skill.
- It edits local routing files rather than calling outside services.
- The skill edits files directly, so review the rewritten routing file before relying on it.
- The source reports that the grouped layout scored better than the long row-per-skill list in its own tests, but those tests used specific models and fixtures and are not a guarantee for your setup.
Install the functional-area-resolver skill
Download the skill ZIP from the page where you found this guide. Unzip it into your personal skills folder at ~/.claude/skills/, or into a project's .claude/skills/ folder if you want the skill available only in that project. The skill's main file is SKILL.md.
If you use the Claude apps instead, you can upload the ZIP under Settings, then Capabilities, then Skills.
- Personal install: ~/.claude/skills/
- Project install: the .claude/skills/ folder inside your project
- Claude apps: Settings → Capabilities → Skills
Trigger the skill with natural requests
You do not need to type a command. Ask in plain language, and the agent should match your request to the skill's trigger phrases. The source lists phrases such as 'compress agents.md', 'compress my resolver', 'resolver too big', 'agents.md too large' and 'reduce context budget'.
Name the file you mean when you can. If your routing file is called RESOLVER.md, say so; if it is AGENTS.md, say that instead.
- 'Compress my resolver'
- 'agents.md too large, can you slim it down?'
- 'Resolver.md too big, shrink the routing table'
- 'Reduce context budget used by my routing file'
See what a rewritten entry looks like
The source shows a before-and-after example. Before, a 270-row list gave each skill its own line. After, a single area entry groups related skills and lists the sub-skills it can dispatch to. Your own result will depend on your skills and your routing file.
The dispatcher clause is the important part. It lets the agent see which specific sub-skills sit behind an area, so the area entry is not a dead end.
- **Brain & knowledge**: create/enrich/search/export brain pages, filing, citations, publishing, book analysis, strategic reading, concept synthesis, archive mining -> `brain-ops` (dispatcher for: enrich, query, brain-pdf, brain-publish, brain-export, brain-librarian, citation-fixer, book-mirror, strategic-reading, concept-synthesis, archive-crawler, ...)Review the result before you rely on it
Because the skill writes changes into your routing file, check the new file before you depend on it. A poorly grouped area could send requests to the wrong skill. Compare the new entries with your old rows and confirm each sub-skill still appears under an area that makes sense.
Keep a copy of the original routing file so you can restore it if the grouping looks wrong.
- Confirm every skill you use still appears in some area entry.
- Check that each area's description matches the requests you actually make.
- Test a few typical requests and confirm the agent opens the right sub-skill.
Check requirements and safety notes
The skill needs an agent runtime with exec, read, write and edit tools, and a RESOLVER.md or AGENTS.md routing file in the project. The source says Node.js is mentioned only in its evaluation instructions and is not needed to run the skill itself.
According to the source, the skill runs no scripts and uses no network access. It works on local files only. Its main risk is that it edits your routing file directly, so the review step above matters.
- Runs scripts: no
- Uses network: no
- Requires: exec, read, write and edit tools, plus a RESOLVER.md or AGENTS.md file
- Node.js: needed only for the source's evaluation harness, not for the skill
What people use it for
- Shrinking an AGENTS.md file that has grown to hundreds of skill rows so more of the context window is free for work.
- Grouping a RESOLVER.md routing table into functional areas such as brain and knowledge, email, or publishing.
- Preparing a large agent setup for a project by reducing the routing file before adding more skills.
- Checking how a grouped routing file routes sample requests before using it in production.
Frequently asked questions
Is the functional-area-resolver skill free?
The source page lists the licence as MIT, which is a permissive open-source licence. The source does not mention any price for the skill itself. Check the licence file in the original repository for the full terms.
How do I install functional-area-resolver?
Download the ZIP from the page, then unzip it into ~/.claude/skills/ for personal use or into a project's .claude/skills/ folder. You can also upload the ZIP in the Claude apps under Settings, then Capabilities, then Skills.
What does the functional-area-resolver skill require?
It needs an agent runtime with exec, read, write and edit tools and a RESOLVER.md or AGENTS.md routing file in your project. Node.js is mentioned only in the evaluation instructions and is not needed to run the skill.
Does the skill send my files to the internet?
According to the source, the skill runs no scripts and uses no network access. It edits local routing files, so the main thing to check is the changes it makes to those files.
Should I use this skill if I only have a few skills?
Probably not. The source says it is aimed at setups with around 200 or more skills, and that a short routing file gains little from compression while adding complexity.
What are the alternatives to this skill?
The source does not name alternatives. You can always shorten a routing file by hand, grouping related skills under shared entries yourself, which is what this skill automates.
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Our verdict
This skill suits developers whose AGENTS.md or RESOLVER.md has grown large, usually with around 200 or more installed skills, and who will carefully review the rewritten file. If you have only a handful of skills, or you do not want a tool editing your routing file directly, keep your routing file as it is or edit it by hand.
Download the skill