mturac Skill Scout
Use this skill before creating a new skill. The goal is to avoid duplicating existing community or marketplace work, while still vetting anything external before adoption.
Source: salvaged from stale community PR #1232 by redminwang.
When to Use
- The user says "create a skill", "build a skill", "make a skill", or "new skill".
- The user asks "is there a skill for X?" or "does a skill exist that does Y?"
- The user describes a workflow and you are about to suggest creating a new skill.
- The user wants to fork or extend an existing skill.
If the user explicitly says to skip search or create from scratch, acknowledge that and proceed with the requested creation workflow.
How It Works
Step 1 - Capture Intent
Extract:
- The task the skill should perform.
- The trigger conditions for using it.
- The domain, tools, frameworks, or data sources involved.
- Three to five search keywords plus useful synonyms.
Step 2 - Search Local Sources
Search installed and marketplace skill names first. Local sources are preferred because they are already part of the user's environment.
find ~/.codex/skills -maxdepth 2 -name SKILL.md 2>/dev/null | grep -iE "keyword|synonym"
find ~/.codex/plugins/marketplaces -path '*/skills/*/SKILL.md' 2>/dev/null | grep -iE "keyword|synonym"
Then search frontmatter descriptions:
grep -RilE "keyword|synonym" ~/.codex/skills ~/.codex/plugins/marketplaces 2>/dev/null
Step 3 - Search Remote Sources
Use available GitHub and web search tools. Prefer concise queries:
gh search repos "openai codex skill keyword" --limit 10 --sort stars
gh search code "name: keyword" --filename SKILL.md --limit 10
For web search, use at most three targeted queries such as:
"openai codex skill" keyword
"SKILL.md" keyword
"Everything OpenAI Codex" keyword
Step 4 - Vet External Matches
Before recommending any external skill for adoption or forking:
- Read the
SKILL.mdfrontmatter and instructions. - Look for unexpected shell commands, file writes, network calls, credential handling, or package installs.
- Check whether the repository appears maintained.
- Prefer copying into a fresh local branch and reviewing the diff over editing marketplace originals.
Step 5 - Rank Results
Rank candidates by:
- Exact keyword match in the skill name.
- Keyword or synonym match in description.
- Local installed or marketplace source.
- Maintained GitHub source with recent activity.
- Web-only mention.
Cap the final list at 10 results.
Step 6 - Present Decision Options
Give the user a short table:
| Option | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Use existing | Invoke or install a matching skill as-is. |
| Fork or extend | Copy the closest skill and modify it. |
| Create fresh | Build a new skill after confirming no close match exists. |
Only create a new skill after the user chooses that path or after the search finds no close match.
Examples
Result Table
| # | Skill | Source | Why it matches | Gap |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | article-writing | Local ecc | Drafts articles and guides | Not focused on release notes |
| 2 | content-engine | Local ecc | Multi-format content workflow | Heavier than needed |
| 3 | blog-writer | GitHub | Blog writing skill with recent commits | Needs security review |
User-Facing Summary
I found two close local matches and one external candidate. The closest fit is
`article-writing`; it covers drafting and revision, but it does not include the
release-note checklist you asked for. I can either use it as-is, fork it into a
release-note variant, or create a fresh skill.
Anti-Patterns
- Do not jump directly to new skill creation when a search is reasonable.
- Do not install external skills without reading them first.
- Do not present a long unranked list of weak matches.
- Do not treat web-only mentions as trusted sources.
- Do not edit installed marketplace originals in place.
Related
search-first- General search-before-building workflow.skill-stocktake- Audit installed skills for health, duplicates, and gaps.agent-sort- Categorize and organize existing agents and skills.