Guide · Agent skill
How to use the Learn agent skill: distill a SKILL.md from any source
Updated · written with AI from the project's own documentation and checked against our catalogue data
The Learn skill, published by nanocoai/nanoclaw under the MIT licence, lets an agent build a new reusable skill from a source you give it: a project folder, a web page, pasted notes, or the work you just finished together. This guide is for developers and maintainers who want to capture a repeated workflow or refine an existing skill. By the end you will know how to install the skill, which phrases trigger it, and what to review before you rely on the file it writes.
Learn: Distill Skillsnanocoai/nanoclaw · MIT Download the skill Quick start
- 1Download the ZIP. Get the learn skill ZIP from this page and unzip it. It contains SKILL.md.
- 2Place the folder. Copy the learn folder into ~/.claude/skills/ for personal use or into your project's .claude/skills/ folder.
- 3Or upload in the Claude apps. In the Claude apps, open Settings → Capabilities → Skills and upload the skill.
- 4Choose a source. Decide whether the source is a folder path, a URL, pasted notes, or the work done in this conversation.
- 5Invoke the skill. Type /learn with your source, or use a plain phrase such as 'turn this into a skill'.
- 6Review the output. Read the generated .claude/skills/<name>/SKILL.md, checking commands, paths and any instructions taken from the source.
- 7Invoke your new skill. Use /<name> to run the skill that was just created or updated.
What is an agent skill and what does Learn make the agent do?
An agent skill is a folder containing a SKILL.md file. The file tells the agent how to handle a particular task, and the agent reads its description to decide when the skill is relevant. The Learn skill is a skill that writes other skills.
When you ask it to learn from something, the agent reads a project folder, fetches a web page, uses your pasted notes, or uses the steps you just completed. It then writes a new .claude/skills/<name>/SKILL.md that teaches the agent that procedure next time. It can also update an existing skill with new lessons instead of rewriting it from scratch.
- Creates a new skill from a directory, URL, pasted text or the current conversation
- Refines an existing skill by weaving in new learnings and correcting stale commands or paths
- Does not search for or install community skills from a registry
Install the Learn skill in Claude Code or the Claude apps
Download the ZIP for the learn skill from this page and unzip it. The package contains a single file, SKILL.md. Then place the skill folder in one of two locations, depending on how you want to use it.
For a personal setup available across your projects, put the folder in your home directory under ~/.claude/skills/. For a single project, put it in that project's .claude/skills/ folder. In the Claude apps, you can instead upload the skill under Settings → Capabilities → Skills.
- Personal: ~/.claude/skills/learn/ (contains SKILL.md)
- Project only: <your-project>/.claude/skills/learn/ (contains SKILL.md)
- Claude apps: Settings → Capabilities → Skills, then upload the skill
Trigger the skill with natural requests
You can invoke the skill with the slash command or with a plain sentence. The skill's description lists these trigger phrases, so the agent will also recognise them when you say them naturally.
Name the source clearly. A path, a URL, or a phrase such as 'what we just did' tells the agent where to read from. If you want to refine a skill, name it, for example 'update the wow-on-steam-deck skill'.
- /learn <path> to build a skill for working with a project folder
- /learn <url> to build a usage skill from docs or an API page
- /learn what we just did to capture the current conversation's workflow
- learn this, turn this into a skill, capture this workflow
- make a skill from <source> or improve/update the <name> skill
/learn what we just didWalk through an example from start to finish
Suppose you have just finished a multi-step environment setup with the agent and hit several errors along the way. Ask the agent to learn from the session. It re-reads the commands, the decisions and the gotchas, keeps the parts that generalise, and writes a file under .claude/skills/ named after the topic, such as <topic>-setup/SKILL.md.
The skill's own guidance says the most valuable content is the gotchas rather than the happy path. A good result contains the trigger, the ordered steps with file paths and commands, and the problems you hit with their fixes. When the skill is done, the agent reports the new name and how to invoke it.
- Source: the work done in the current conversation
- Output: .claude/skills/<topic>-setup/SKILL.md
- Invoke next time with /<topic>-setup
Review the generated file and understand the safety limits
The Learn skill is instruction-only. It works with the agent's built-in file reading, searching, web fetching and writing tools, and it runs no scripts. It does use the network, because it can fetch URLs when you give it one.
Treat the output as something to review. Web pages and pasted text can shape the instructions the agent saves, and the agent will later follow what is written there. Read the generated SKILL.md before relying on it, especially if the source was not one you trust.
- Runs scripts: no
- Uses network: yes, for URL sources
- Requires: nothing listed
- Review SKILL.md before use when the source is untrusted
Tips for better skills
Keep each skill focused on one capability. If the source covers several separate tasks, ask for several skills rather than one large one. When refining, point the agent at the existing skill so it edits in place instead of creating a near-duplicate.
The skill's authoring guidance also favours instruction-only skills that ship no code where prose and existing tools are enough, and it asks for a REMOVE.md when a change leaves anything behind. Check the generated file against those expectations.
- Name the existing skill when you want a refinement, so it is updated rather than duplicated
- Keep one capability per skill
- Make sure the resulting description contains the phrases you would really say
- Re-run the skill on the same skill later to add new lessons
What people use it for
- Capturing a repeated project setup so the agent can repeat the same steps later
- Writing a usage skill from an API or documentation page
- Turning a messy troubleshooting session into a checklist with the gotchas recorded
- Refining an existing skill with new lessons without rewriting it
Frequently asked questions
How do I install the learn agent skill?
Download the ZIP from this page and unzip it. Place the learn folder in ~/.claude/skills/ for personal use or in your project's .claude/skills/ folder. In the Claude apps, you can upload it under Settings → Capabilities → Skills.
What does the learn skill require?
The listed requirements are nothing beyond the agent's built-in tools. The skill uses Read, Grep, Glob, WebFetch and Write, and it runs no scripts. It does use the network when you give it a URL.
Is the learn skill free?
It is published under the MIT licence, as stated on this page. This page does not list any price for it.
Can the learn skill install skills from a registry?
No. Its description says it only creates or refines a skill from a source and does not install existing skills from a registry.
What is the difference between learn and other ways of creating skills?
Learn builds a SKILL.md from a source you specify, such as a folder, URL, notes or the current conversation. It also refines an existing skill in place. This page does not compare it with other tools, so check the alternatives yourself if that matters to you.
Why did the learn skill write something I don't want to keep?
Generated instructions come from the source, and web pages or pasted text can shape what gets saved and later followed. Review the SKILL.md and edit or delete it before relying on it. Re-running the skill on the same topic can also refine it.
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Our verdict
Use the Learn skill if you want to capture a repeated setup or troubleshooting session as a reusable checklist, or if you maintain a skill library and want new skills written to a consistent guideline. Pick something else if you want to find and install existing community skills, because this skill only creates or refines skills. Always review the generated SKILL.md, particularly when the source is a web page or text you do not fully trust.
Download the skill