/skill-optimizer

name: skill-optimizer
description: SkillOpt-flavored offline training loop for any SKILL.md. Treats accumulated learn-rule corrections as training trajectories, proposes bounded patches via an optimizer LLM, gates each candidate against a held-out validation set built from the user's own past corrections, and ships only candidates that demonstrably improve the score. Inspired by Microsoft SkillOpt's ReflACT pipeline (rollout → reflect → aggregate → select → update → evaluate) adapted to pro-workflow's SQLite store. Use when a skill has accumulated 8+ learn-rule rows and the user wants the skill itself to get better, not just longer.
user-invocable: true

Skill Optimizer

Train an existing SKILL.md the way a deep-learning optimizer trains weights: via rollouts, gradient-like reflections, validation-gated acceptance. No model retraining; only the skill markdown changes.

When to use

Use this skill when:

• A pro-workflow skill has accumulated 8+ learn-rule rows for it
• The user reports the skill is "getting bloated" or "rules keep being repeated"
• The user wants offline, budget-capped improvement over multiple sessions

Do not use when:

• Skill has fewer than 8 trajectories (nothing to learn from)
• The user wants real-time edits (this is offline, single-shot)
• No key has been explicitly configured for the selected provider

Architecture (mirrors SkillOpt's six-stage loop)

rollout      pull recent learnings from SQLite (existing learn-rule rows)
reflect      optimizer LLM analyzes a minibatch, proposes add/delete/replace patches
aggregate    vote-merge patches across minibatches
select       clip by LR budget (default: 3 adds, 2 deletes, 3 replaces per step)
update       apply selected patches to a candidate skill content
evaluate     evaluator LLM scores candidate against held-out validation items
gate         accept candidate only if weighted score >= current + acceptThreshold
slow update  at epoch boundary, consolidate accepted edits into a coherent rewrite

Failed candidates are stored in a rejection buffer and fed back to the next reflect step so the optimizer doesn't propose the same patch twice.

Run it

In a plugin session, use the `providers` MCP server's `run_provider_task` tool with `task: "optimizer"` and `args: ["--slug", "<slug>", "--budget-usd", "0.50"]`. Keys come from the plugin configuration dialog. Standalone CLI installations use explicit `PRO_WORKFLOW_*_API_KEY` variables. See [provider configuration](../../references/provider-configuration.md); never request keys in chat or retrieve existing machine credentials.

/skill-optimize <slug> [options]

Options (all optional; sensible defaults shown):

| Flag | Default | Notes | |---|---|---| | `--epochs N` | 3 | Outer loop count | | `--batch-size N` | 8 | Trajectories per minibatch | | `--minibatches N` | 2 | Minibatches per epoch | | `--holdout N` | 6 | Validation items reserved (max ~25% of trajectories) | | `--budget-usd X` | 0.50 | Hard cap; loop aborts when spent | | `--optimizer-model M` | `claude-sonnet-5` | Reflect + slow-update model | | `--evaluator-model M` | `claude-haiku-4-5` | Gate model (cheaper) | | `--max-adds N` | 3 | LR budget per step | | `--max-deletes N` | 2 | | | `--max-replaces N` | 3 | | | `--accept-threshold X` | 0.0 | Minimum score delta to accept candidate | | `--max-skill-tokens N` | 2000 | Hard cap on candidate length | | `--slow-every N` | 2 | Epochs between consolidation passes | | `--json` | off | Machine-readable output |

Kill switch: `touch ~/.pro-workflow/STOP` aborts the loop between steps.

Output

• Candidate accepted → SKILL.md overwritten, hash stamp appended in HTML comment
• Run details persist in `optimization_runs`, `optimization_candidates`, `optimization_patches`, `optimization_rejections`
• Validation set persists in `optimization_validation` (reusable across runs)

Inspect after:

sqlite3 ~/.pro-workflow/data.db "SELECT id, skill_slug, initial_score, best_score, accepted_steps, rejected_steps, spent_usd FROM optimization_runs ORDER BY id DESC LIMIT 5"

Rules

• Validation set is frozen at run start. Never re-derive from new corrections mid-run.
• One candidate per step. No parallel branches.
• Slow-update output is itself a candidate; it must pass the gate to replace the best.
• The optimizer LLM and evaluator LLM may be different models. Mixing a strong optimizer with a cheap evaluator is the SkillOpt-recommended config.
• If `spent_usd >= budget_usd` at any step boundary, the loop ends with `stopped_reason="budget exhausted"`.
• Patches whose anchor is no longer present in the skill (because a prior patch in the same step removed it) are recorded as rejected with reason `anchor_missing`.

Provenance

Inspired by Microsoft SkillOpt (arXiv:2605.23904). The six-stage rollout/reflect/aggregate/select/update/evaluate pipeline, LR budget, rejection buffer, and slow / meta update mechanics are adapted to pro-workflow's existing SQLite + learn-rule data plane. No SkillOpt code is reused. "ReflACT" is not a SkillOpt term and is not used here; the loop is referred to by stage names only.