Evolve

Evolve Skill - Instinct-to-Skill Promotion

Purpose

Transform proven instincts (confidence >= 0.7) into permanent, reusable skill files. This is the second stage of the Continuous Learning System.

Trigger

• User types /evolve
• Can also be suggested automatically when 3+ instincts reach confidence >= 0.7 in a tag group

Algorithm

1. Read instincts: Load ~/.claude/learnings/instincts.json
2. Filter candidates: Select instincts where confidence >= 0.7 AND evolved_to is null/missing
3. Check threshold: If fewer than 3 candidates total, show message and suggest using /learn more
4. Group by tags: Group candidates by ALL their tags (see Multi-Tag Grouping)
   • An instinct contributes to every tag group it belongs to
5. For each group with 3+ instincts: a. Generate skill name: {tag}-learned (e.g., parallelism-learned) b. Check if skill already exists at ~/.claude/skills/{tag}-learned/SKILL.md
   • If exists: merge new patterns into existing skill (see Skill File Merging below)
   • If not: create new skill directory and SKILL.md (Write tool) c. Generate skill file with YAML frontmatter and consolidated patterns d. Mark each source instinct: append "{tag}-learned" to "evolved_to" array e. Update metadata: increment total_evolved, set last_evolution date
6. Save: Write updated instincts.json
7. Display summary: Show evolution results

Generated Skill Format

---
name: {tag}-learned
description: Auto-evolved best practices for {tag}, learned from {N} confirmed patterns.
user-invocable: false
allowed-tools: Read
---

# {Tag} Best Practices (Learned)

Auto-generated by the Continuous Learning System on YYYY-MM-DD.
Source: {N} instincts with average confidence {avg}.

## Patterns

### 1. {instinct.pattern}
- **Confidence:** {instinct.confidence}
- **Evidence:** {instinct.evidence count} confirmations
- **First seen:** {instinct.created}

### 2. {instinct.pattern}
...

## Application

These patterns should be applied automatically when the orchestrator
detects relevant context matching the tags: {tags}.

Grouping Rules

• An instinct contributes to ALL tag groups it belongs to (not just primary)
• Minimum 3 instincts per group to trigger evolution
• Groups with fewer than 3 are skipped (instincts remain for future evolution)
• An instinct is excluded from a tag group only if that specific tag appears in its evolved_to array

Multi-Tag Grouping

An instinct contributes to ALL its tag groups (not just primary). Example: instinct with tags ["testing", "parallelism"] contributes to both groups. Mark evolved_to as array: "evolved_to": ["testing-learned", "parallelism-learned"]

When an instinct evolves via one tag group, it remains eligible for other tag groups until all its tags have been evolved or it is explicitly excluded.

Output Format - Success

EVOLUTION COMPLETE

Instincts processed: N (of M total candidates)
Skills created: K
Skills updated: J

Created Skills:
  - skills/parallelism-learned/SKILL.md (from 4 instincts)
  - skills/testing-learned/SKILL.md (from 3 instincts)

Remaining candidates: X instincts (need more confirmations or group members)

Tip: Continue using /learn to build more instincts. Next evolution check at 3+ per tag.

Output Format - Not Ready

EVOLUTION CHECK

High-confidence instincts (>= 0.7): N
Groups meeting threshold (3+): 0

Breakdown by tag:
  - parallelism: 2 instincts (need 1 more)
  - testing: 1 instinct (need 2 more)

Tip: Use /learn to capture more patterns. Instincts grow with repeated confirmation.

Skill File Merging

When appending to an existing evolved skill:

1. Read existing skill file
2. Find last numbered pattern (e.g., ### 5.)
3. Assign next number to new patterns (e.g., ### 6.)
4. Append before "## Application" section
5. Update "auto-generated" and "Last updated" timestamps
6. Increment "Sources" count

Edge Cases

• If instincts.json does not exist or is empty, report "No instincts found. Use /learn first."
• If a skill directory already exists but SKILL.md is missing, create it fresh
• If all high-confidence instincts are already evolved, report "All patterns already evolved."
• Maximum 10 patterns per evolved skill file; if more, split into Part 1, Part 2