How do I install the Duo Retention skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add hktitan/duo-retention in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

Is Duo Retention safe to use?

This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with Duo Retention?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is Duo Retention free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free. This skill is licensed under MIT.

Who published Duo Retention?

HKTITAN (@hktitan) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Duo Retention by hktitan — Agent Skill

Name: Duo Retention
Author: HKTITAN

Duo Retention

Duolingo-style retention engineering for any product — habit loops, streaks, leagues, churn diagnostics, day-N drop-off, and the discipline of building a "forever product." Use when the user asks how to keep users coming back, debug churn, design a streak system, time push notifications, run a leaderboard, or shift a product's metric from acquisition to retention. Source the Duolingo Handbook (Take the Long View) and blog data posts; translate every pattern to the user's actual product.

HKTITAN Updated Sep 17, 2026

File contents

Duolingo Retention — Map of Content

Duolingo's central business bet is that retention compounds and acquisition does not. The handbook frames the company as a "forever product": every decision is judged by long-term retention, not short-term revenue. This skill packages that bet into reusable patterns.

This skill is structured as a graph: scan the descriptions below, follow only the [[wikilinks]] you need. Don't read every node up front.

Foundations

[[references/forever-product]] — the operating premise: optimize for users who stick around for years, not quarters.
[[references/habit-loop]] — trigger → action → variable reward → investment, the spine of every retention move.
[[references/retention-vs-revenue]] — the explicit tradeoff Duolingo makes (and limits) between monetization and long-term return.

Behavioral mechanics

[[references/streak-mechanics]] — the daily-counter habit engine that became the company's icon.
[[references/streak-freeze]] — why protecting the streak is the retention move, not the gentle one.
[[references/loss-aversion]] — the asymmetry that makes streaks work: losing hurts more than winning feels good.
[[references/variable-reward]] — unpredictable payoffs (chests, league finishes) outperform predictable ones.
[[references/friction-as-stickiness]] — small required actions that build identity and habit.

Social and competitive layers

[[references/leagues]] — weekly time-boxed competition with promotion and demotion.
[[references/daily-quests]] — short-horizon goals that set up the long-horizon streak.

Diagnosing and fixing churn

[[references/churn-diagnostics]] — how to find the day where users drop and what each drop-off shape implies.
[[references/notification-discipline]] — the long-term cost of over-notifying, and how Duolingo decides cadence.

Sibling skills

[[../duo-gamification/SKILL]] — the play layer (XP, juicy feedback, hearts) that makes the retention loops survivable.
[[../duo-voice/SKILL]] — the copy layer that makes a push notification fire instead of fizzle.
[[../duo-experimentation/SKILL]] — every retention claim in this skill was originally an A/B test; here's how to run yours.
[[../duo-product/SKILL]] — the "forever product" mental model lives in the product skill too; the long-view bet starts there.

Sources

Duolingo Handbook (2025), Principle #1: Take the Long View
blog.duolingo.com — streak society, league design, push-notification science posts

---name: duo-retentiondescription: Duolingo-style retention engineering for any product — habit loops, streaks, leagues, churn diagnostics, day-N drop-off, and the discipline of building a "forever product." Use when the user asks how to keep users coming back, debug churn, design a streak system, time push notifications, run a leaderboard, or shift a product's metric from acquisition to retention. Source the Duolingo Handbook (Take the Long View) and blog data posts; translate every pattern to the user's actual product.license: MIT---# Duolingo Retention — Map of ContentDuolingo's central business bet is that retention compounds and acquisition does not. The handbook frames the company as a "forever product": every decision is judged by long-term retention, not short-term revenue. This skill packages that bet into reusable patterns.This skill is structured as a **graph**: scan the descriptions below, follow only the `[[wikilinks]]` you need. Don't read every node up front.## Foundations- [[references/forever-product]] — the operating premise: optimize for users who stick around for years, not quarters.- [[references/habit-loop]] — trigger → action → variable reward → investment, the spine of every retention move.- [[references/retention-vs-revenue]] — the explicit tradeoff Duolingo makes (and limits) between monetization and long-term return.## Behavioral mechanics- [[references/streak-mechanics]] — the daily-counter habit engine that became the company's icon.- [[references/streak-freeze]] — why protecting the streak is the retention move, not the gentle one.- [[references/loss-aversion]] — the asymmetry that makes streaks work: losing hurts more than winning feels good.- [[references/variable-reward]] — unpredictable payoffs (chests, league finishes) outperform predictable ones.- [[references/friction-as-stickiness]] — small required actions that build identity and habit.## Social and competitive layers- [[references/leagues]] — weekly time-boxed competition with promotion and demotion.- [[references/daily-quests]] — short-horizon goals that set up the long-horizon streak.## Diagnosing and fixing churn- [[references/churn-diagnostics]] — how to find the day where users drop and what each drop-off shape implies.- [[references/notification-discipline]] — the long-term cost of over-notifying, and how Duolingo decides cadence.## Sibling skills- [[../duo-gamification/SKILL]] — the play layer (XP, juicy feedback, hearts) that makes the retention loops survivable.- [[../duo-voice/SKILL]] — the copy layer that makes a push notification fire instead of fizzle.- [[../duo-experimentation/SKILL]] — every retention claim in this skill was originally an A/B test; here's how to run yours.- [[../duo-product/SKILL]] — the "forever product" mental model lives in the product skill too; the long-view bet starts there.## Sources- Duolingo Handbook (2025), Principle #1: *Take the Long View*- blog.duolingo.com — streak society, league design, push-notification science posts

Frequently asked questions