How do I install the Learn skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add mancerayder42/learn 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 Learn 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 Learn?

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 Learn free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free, and the skill stays under its author's original license.

ManceRayder42 (@mancerayder42) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Learn by mancerayder42 — Agent Skill

Name: Learn
Author: ManceRayder42

Learn

Use when the user shares a conclusion, note, or takeaway from something they're studying — a book, course, or article — and wants it captured into their personal learning archive. Trigger phrases include "what I learned today", "notes from the book", "conclusions from chapter X", plus the explicit `/learn` command. Also use when the user pastes raw notes/highlights from a book and asks to summarize them. Do NOT use for general reading recommendations, for ideas/brainstorms (that's a separate ideas-capture flow), or for daily reflective journaling with no book/material attached.

File contents

Learn — book & study notes archive

The user is building a personal knowledge repository of what they read and study, one file per book/material, living flat under <hub>/learning/. This skill's job is capturing what they actually say — never inventing content — and keeping the archive tidy enough that it compounds instead of rotting.

The standing rule applies here without exception: when synthesizing notes, do not include anything the user didn't write. No chapter summaries pulled from a book's general reputation, no filled-in gaps. If they haven't told you something, it isn't in the file.

Workflow

1. Identify the book/material

Read <hub>/learning/index.md (create it if missing — see below) to see what's already tracked.

If the user names the book/material explicitly, or there's exactly one book with status reading, use it — no need to ask.
If it's genuinely ambiguous (multiple books in progress, or nothing suggests which one), ask: "Which book/material — or a new one?" and list the known titles from the index. Never guess silently.
New title mentioned → treat as a new book (step 3 creates its file).

2. Append the note

Slug the title (the-lean-startup, atomic-habits, etc.) → <hub>/learning/<slug>.md.

Append under a ## Conclusions section, dated:

### YYYY-MM-DD
<exactly what the user wrote — their words, lightly cleaned up for readability, nothing added>

If the file doesn't have a ## Conclusions section yet, add it.

3. New book — create the file

No existing file for this title → create <hub>/learning/<slug>.md:

---
type: learning
title: <Book Title>
author: <Author, if known — omit the line if not>
status: reading
started: YYYY-MM-DD
updated: YYYY-MM-DD
tags: [learning]
---

# <Book Title>

## Conclusions

Ask for the author if the user didn't mention it and it's not obvious — don't guess a real book's author from memory either; if you're confident from common knowledge, it's still safer to state it as inferred rather than presented as something the user said (keep it out of anything framed as "their words").

4. Update the index

<hub>/learning/index.md is the at-a-glance list. Format:

---
type: learning
updated: YYYY-MM-DD
tags: [learning, index]
---

# Learning Archive

| Title | Author | Status | Last updated |
|---|---|---|---|
| [The Lean Startup](the-lean-startup.md) | Eric Ries | reading | 2026-08-20 |

On every touch (new book, new conclusion, status change) update that book's row and bump updated in both the row and the index frontmatter.

When the user says they finished a book, flip status to finished in both the book file's frontmatter and the index row.

5. Summarize mode

When the user pastes raw notes or highlights and asks for a synthesized summary (not just a one-line conclusion), write a ## Summary — YYYY-MM-DD section synthesizing only the pasted material — organize and tighten it, don't add outside context about the book. Save it to the book's file the same way as a conclusion.

What NOT to do

Don't fabricate chapter summaries, plot points, or "what this book is about" from training knowledge — only from what the user gives you.
Don't create subfolders under learning/ — keep it flat.
Don't silently pick a book when more than one is ambiguous — ask.

---name: learndescription: Use when the user shares a conclusion, note, or takeaway from something they're studying — a book, course, or article — and wants it captured into their personal learning archive. Trigger phrases include "what I learned today", "notes from the book", "conclusions from chapter X", plus the explicit `/learn` command. Also use when the user pastes raw notes/highlights from a book and asks to summarize them. Do NOT use for general reading recommendations, for ideas/brainstorms (that's a separate ideas-capture flow), or for daily reflective journaling with no book/material attached.---# Learn — book & study notes archiveThe user is building a personal knowledge repository of what they read and study, one file per book/material, living flat under `<hub>/learning/`. This skill's job is capturing what they actually say — never inventing content — and keeping the archive tidy enough that it compounds instead of rotting.The standing rule applies here without exception: **when synthesizing notes, do not include anything the user didn't write.** No chapter summaries pulled from a book's general reputation, no filled-in gaps. If they haven't told you something, it isn't in the file.## Workflow### 1. Identify the book/materialRead `<hub>/learning/index.md` (create it if missing — see below) to see what's already tracked.- If the user names the book/material explicitly, or there's exactly one book with status `reading`, use it — no need to ask.- If it's genuinely ambiguous (multiple books in progress, or nothing suggests which one), ask: **"Which book/material — or a new one?"** and list the known titles from the index. Never guess silently.- New title mentioned → treat as a new book (step 3 creates its file).### 2. Append the noteSlug the title (`the-lean-startup`, `atomic-habits`, etc.) → `<hub>/learning/<slug>.md`.Append under a `## Conclusions` section, dated:```markdown### YYYY-MM-DD<exactly what the user wrote — their words, lightly cleaned up for readability, nothing added>```If the file doesn't have a `## Conclusions` section yet, add it.### 3. New book — create the fileNo existing file for this title → create `<hub>/learning/<slug>.md`:```markdown---type: learningtitle: <Book Title>author: <Author, if known — omit the line if not>status: readingstarted: YYYY-MM-DDupdated: YYYY-MM-DDtags: [learning]---# <Book Title>## Conclusions```Ask for the author if the user didn't mention it and it's not obvious — don't guess a real book's author from memory either; if you're confident from common knowledge, it's still safer to state it as inferred rather than presented as something the user said (keep it out of anything framed as "their words").### 4. Update the index`<hub>/learning/index.md` is the at-a-glance list. Format:```markdown---type: learningupdated: YYYY-MM-DDtags: [learning, index]---# Learning Archive| Title | Author | Status | Last updated ||---|---|---|---|| [The Lean Startup](the-lean-startup.md) | Eric Ries | reading | 2026-08-20 |```On every touch (new book, new conclusion, status change) update that book's row and bump `updated` in both the row and the index frontmatter.When the user says they finished a book, flip `status` to `finished` in both the book file's frontmatter and the index row.### 5. Summarize modeWhen the user pastes raw notes or highlights and asks for a synthesized summary (not just a one-line conclusion), write a `## Summary — YYYY-MM-DD` section synthesizing **only the pasted material** — organize and tighten it, don't add outside context about the book. Save it to the book's file the same way as a conclusion.## What NOT to do- Don't fabricate chapter summaries, plot points, or "what this book is about" from training knowledge — only from what the user gives you.- Don't create subfolders under `learning/` — keep it flat.- Don't silently pick a book when more than one is ambiguous — ask.

Frequently asked questions