MicroSim Index Generator Skill Updates Log

MicroSim Index Generator Skill Updates Log

2026-01-28 - Initial Feature Addition

Summary

Enhanced the microsim-utils meta-skill with improved index-generator functionality based on the mkdocs-material grid card format used in the intro-to-physics-course project.

Changes Made

1. Updated SKILL.md Routing Table

Added additional trigger phrases to the routing table:

• "update the microsim listings"
• "update the list of microsims"
• "create a grid view"
• "generate a listing"

File: skills/microsim-utils/SKILL.md

2. Enhanced index-generator.md Reference Guide

Comprehensive update to skills/microsim-utils/references/index-generator.md:

New Features:

• Added "Trigger Phrases" section with common user requests
• Enhanced workflow to add missing descriptions to MicroSim index.md files
• Updated screenshot capture to use ~/.local/bin/bk-capture-screenshot
• Added TODO.md logging for failed screenshot captures
• Improved grid card format documentation based on physics course example
• Added quality checklist for verification

Workflow Improvements:

• Step 3 now handles adding missing description: fields to index.md YAML frontmatter
• Step 5 includes verification of screenshot capture success
• Failed screenshots are logged to /docs/sims/TODO.md rather than stopping execution
• Better documentation of the exact card format (title/link, image, description order)

Format Clarification: The grid card format follows the physics course pattern:

-   **[Title](./name/index.md)**

    ![Title](./name/name.png)

    Description from index.md YAML frontmatter.

Reference Materials Used

• Example format from: https://github.com/dmccreary/intro-to-physics-course/blob/main/docs/sims/index.md
• Screenshot tool: ~/.local/bin/bk-capture-screenshot (symlink to scripts/bk-capture-screenshot)
• Existing MicroSim examples in this project (docs/sims/)

Files Modified

1. skills/microsim-utils/SKILL.md - Updated routing table with new trigger keywords
2. skills/microsim-utils/references/index-generator.md - Complete rewrite with enhanced workflow

Files Created

1. logs/generate-microsim-index-skill.md - This log file

Testing Notes

The skill should now be triggered when users say:

• "Update the microsim listings"
• "Update the list of microsims"
• "Create a grid view of all the microsims"
• "Generate a listing of all the microsims"
• "Update the MicroSim index page"
• "Regenerate the sims index"

Next Steps

• Test the skill on the current project's /docs/sims/ directory
• Verify grid cards render correctly with mkdocs serve
• Add any missing descriptions to existing MicroSims
• Capture missing screenshots for MicroSims without preview images