Guide · Agent skill
How to use the Writing Fragments Explorer agent skill
Updated · written with AI from the project's own documentation and checked against our catalogue data
The writing-fragments skill turns an agent into a brainstorming partner that interviews you about whatever you want to write and saves every useful piece of text as a separate fragment in one markdown file. It is built for the stage before you have an outline or structure, when you have plenty of ideas and need raw material collected. By the end of this guide you will know what the skill does, how to install it, how to trigger it, and where it fits and where it does not.
Writing Fragments Explorermattpocock/skills · MIT Download the skill Quick start
- 1Download the ZIP. Get the writing-fragments ZIP from this page. It contains agents/openai.yaml and SKILL.md.
- 2Unzip into a skills folder. Extract it into ~/.claude/skills/ for all projects, or into a project's .claude/skills/ folder for one project.
- 3Or upload in the Claude apps. In the Claude apps, go to Settings → Capabilities → Skills and upload the ZIP.
- 4Name the skill in your request. Ask for the writing-fragments skill and describe what you want to brainstorm, since the skill is not loaded automatically.
- 5Give a save path. Provide a file path, or answer the agent's one-time question about where to save the markdown file.
- 6Talk through your ideas. Speak freely. The agent appends each useful piece as a fragment and may suggest a leading word for recurring ideas.
- 7Review and refine. Open the file, then ask the agent to cut, merge or rewrite fragments as needed.
What the writing-fragments skill makes the agent do
An agent skill is a set of instructions that an AI agent loads when it is relevant to a task. This one covers the explore stage of writing. The agent runs a free-form interview with you, and as sentences, quotes, anecdotes or half-formed ideas come up from either side of the conversation, it appends them to a single markdown file as separate fragments.
The skill deliberately avoids outlines, phases and article structure. A fragment only needs to be readable by you, the author. It does not have to define its terms or make sense to a cold reader.
- Each fragment is separated from the next by a horizontal rule.
- The file starts with a single H1 working title, with no metadata, table of contents or date.
- The agent tries to coin a memorable 'leading word' for any recurring idea, which can later anchor a full piece.
- You can say things like 'cut the last one', 'rewrite that one sharper' or 'merge those two' at any time.
Install the writing-fragments skill
Download the ZIP for the skill from this page. It contains the files agents/openai.yaml and SKILL.md. Then choose one of two routes.
For Claude Code, unzip the download into ~/.claude/skills/ to make it available across your projects, or into a project's .claude/skills/ folder to limit it to that project.
For the Claude apps, upload the ZIP under Settings → Capabilities → Skills.
- Personal install: ~/.claude/skills/
- Project install: .claude/skills/ inside your project folder
- Claude apps: Settings → Capabilities → Skills, then upload the ZIP
Trigger the skill with natural requests
The skill's SKILL.md sets disable-model-invocation to true, so the agent does not load it on its own. Name the skill or ask for the kind of session it runs so the agent knows to use it.
If you do not give a file path, the agent will ask once where to save the document and remember your answer for the rest of the session. It also starts capturing fragments from your very first message, including your initial prompt.
- Start with the skill's name in the request, for example: use the writing-fragments skill, I want to brainstorm a talk on remote teams.
- Give a path if you already have one, so the agent does not need to ask.
- Tell it to start from the beginning if you want your opening message captured as a fragment.
Example session
Suppose you want to write an essay and have a loose idea about how onboarding feels like a first date. Tell the agent what you have in mind. It will interview you, ask follow-up questions, and append each useful line to the file as a fragment.
When a recurring idea appears, the agent pushes to coin a leading word for it. You can accept, reject or ask for a different word. The file grows over time, and you can open it at any point to read, reorder or delete fragments.
- Ask it to cut weak fragments or merge two that belong together.
- Edit the file yourself between turns. The agent re-reads it before each write and keeps your changes.
What the skill needs and what it does on your machine
The source lists no requirements. The skill does not run scripts and does not use the network. Its output is a markdown file that the agent writes to a path you choose or are asked for.
Because everything you say is written into that file on disk, do not use it for sensitive or confidential brainstorming unless you are comfortable with that text being stored in a plain file.
- Requires: nothing listed
- Runs scripts: no
- Uses network: no
- Files included: agents/openai.yaml and SKILL.md
Tips for getting good fragments
The most valuable fragment is a leading word, so when the conversation circles one idea, lean into it and ask for a name. Keep the session loose: the skill is designed to widen what you could write, not to narrow it.
When you are ready to commit to structure, use a different skill. This one stops at collecting material.
- Talk freely; sentences do not need to be polished.
- Add quotes and overheard lines, since they often become good material.
- Review the file periodically and delete what you do not want.
What people use it for
- Collecting raw notes for a talk before deciding its structure.
- Mining your own noticings and anecdotes for an essay or book.
- Keeping a running notes file while an agent interviews you about a topic.
- Finding a leading word that could name a recurring idea in a longer piece.
Frequently asked questions
How do I install the writing-fragments skill?
Download the ZIP from this page and unzip it into ~/.claude/skills/ for all projects, or into a project's .claude/skills/ folder. In the Claude apps, you can instead upload the ZIP under Settings → Capabilities → Skills.
Is the writing-fragments skill free?
The source is licensed under MIT, and the skill is listed from the mattpocock/skills repository. The source does not describe pricing, so check the licence terms on the repository for details.
Does the writing-fragments skill need any requirements?
The source lists no requirements. It does not run scripts and does not use the network.
Why won't the agent use the skill automatically?
The SKILL.md file sets disable-model-invocation to true, so you need to name the skill or ask for the session it runs in your request.
Where does the skill save my notes?
It appends fragments to a single markdown file. If you do not give a path, the agent asks once where to save it and remembers that for the session.
Can I use it to get an outline or finished draft?
No. The skill explicitly refuses to impose outlines, phases or article structure. It is meant for collecting material before you commit to structure.
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Our verdict
Use this skill if you have lots of ideas but no structure yet and want an agent to interview you and keep a clean notes file. Pick something else if you need an outline or draft right away, want to edit an existing document, or are brainstorming material you would not want stored in a plain file on disk.
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