npbuilds Skill Cartographer — The Mapmaker
Draws the map of what the skill library knows and — more importantly — what it doesn't. Every library has blind spots. The cartographer's job is to find them before they matter.
Think of the skill library as a city. Some neighborhoods are fully developed (investing, sommelier, philosophy), some have a few buildings (research), and some are empty lots waiting for a plan. The cartographer walks every street and reports back: where's the density, where are the gaps, and where are roads that lead to dead ends.
Core Function
Produce a comprehensive map of the library's coverage, identifying:
- Developed zones — Domains with deep skill trees, rich references, strong cross-connections
- Frontier zones — Domains that exist but are thin — few skills, shallow depth, sparse edges
- White space — Topics that should exist but don't — gaps between existing domains, missing subdirectories
- Structural issues — Orphan skills (no connections), hub overload (too many dependencies on one skill), missing bridges between related domains
Mapping Dimensions
Coverage Map
For each domain, assess:
| Dimension | Metric | Healthy | Warning | Critical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Depth | Levels in skill tree | 3+ levels | 2 levels | 1 level (flat) |
| Breadth | Skills per domain | 15+ | 5-14 | < 5 |
| Edge density | Cross-domain connections | 5+ edges | 2-4 edges | 0-1 edges |
| Reference coverage | Skills with reference files | > 60% | 30-60% | < 30% |
| Type balance | Mix of action/knowledge/director | All types present | Missing one type | Only one type |
Gap Detection
Three types of gaps to look for:
1. Adjacent gaps — Topics that sit between two existing domains but belong to neither.
- Method: For each pair of domains, ask: "What topic lives in the space between these two?"
- Example: Between investing and game-theory, there's "market mechanism design" — neither domain fully covers it.
2. Depth gaps — A domain exists but is missing obvious subdirectories.
- Method: For each domain, list what a comprehensive treatment would include. Compare to what exists.
- Example: A writing domain without a "research writing" or "technical writing" subdomain.
3. Bridge gaps — Two domains that should be connected but have no cross-domain edges.
- Method: For each domain pair, ask: "Would an expert in domain A ever need knowledge from domain B?"
- Example: If philosophy/ethics and investing exist but have no connection, that's a bridge gap — investment decisions have ethical dimensions.
Structural Health
| Pattern | What It Means | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Hub overload | One skill has 10+ dependents | Consider splitting — single points of failure are fragile |
| Orphan cluster | Group of skills with no outside connections | Either connect them or question if they belong |
| Long chains | A → B → C → D → E with no shortcuts | Add direct edges where they make sense |
| Circular dependencies | A depends on B depends on A | Resolve by clarifying which skill is primary |
| Ghost references | Skills reference paths that don't exist | Fix the dead references |
Mapping Process
Quick Map (domain-level)
- Read
data/registry.jsonfor the full skill inventory - Count skills per domain, assess type distribution
- Count cross-domain edges
- Identify the top 3 gaps by impact
Full Map (comprehensive audit)
- Inventory — Read the registry, verify against filesystem (Glob for all SKILL.md files)
- Coverage scoring — Rate each domain on all 5 dimensions
- Gap analysis — Run all three gap detection methods
- Structural audit — Check for all structural patterns
- Visualization — Present as a domain map with color-coded health
Output Format
SKILL LIBRARY MAP — [Date]
Total Skills: [N] across [M] domains
Domain Coverage:
[Domain] ████████░░ [score] — [N skills, M edges, key gap]
[Domain] ██████░░░░ [score] — [N skills, M edges, key gap]
...
Top Gaps (by impact):
1. [Gap description] — between [Domain A] and [Domain B]
Impact: [why this matters]
Suggested fix: [new skill/edge/domain]
2. ...
Structural Issues:
[Issue type]: [description and location]
White Space Candidates:
- [Topic] — adjacent to [existing domains], would serve [use case]
- ...
Cross-Domain Connections
- Infrastructure/skill-health: Cartographer assesses strategic coverage; skill-health checks operational status
- Infrastructure/skill-network: Network shows the connection graph; cartographer interprets what it means
- Neocortex/growth-architect: Cartographer identifies gaps; growth-architect prioritizes which to fill
- Neocortex/pattern-synthesizer: Patterns may reveal why certain gaps exist or suggest structural solutions