home / skills / ratacat / claude-skills / heal-skill

heal-skill skill

/skills/heal-skill

This skill fixes incorrect SKILL.md files and outdated API references to keep skills accurate and up-to-date for reliable automation.

npx playbooks add skill ratacat/claude-skills --skill heal-skill

Review the files below or copy the command above to add this skill to your agents.

Files (1)
SKILL.md
3.9 KB
---
name: heal-skill
description: Fix incorrect SKILL.md files when a skill has wrong instructions or outdated API references
---

## Arguments
[object Object]

## Allowed tools
- Read
- Edit
- Bash(ls:*)
- Bash(git:*)

<objective>
Update a skill's SKILL.md and related files based on corrections discovered during execution.

Analyze the conversation to detect which skill is running, reflect on what went wrong, propose specific fixes, get user approval, then apply changes with optional commit.
</objective>

<context>
Skill detection: !`ls -1 ./skills/*/SKILL.md | head -5`
</context>

<quick_start>
<workflow>
1. **Detect skill** from conversation context (invocation messages, recent SKILL.md references)
2. **Reflect** on what went wrong and how you discovered the fix
3. **Present** proposed changes with before/after diffs
4. **Get approval** before making any edits
5. **Apply** changes and optionally commit
</workflow>
</quick_start>

<process>
<step_1 name="detect_skill">
Identify the skill from conversation context:

- Look for skill invocation messages
- Check which SKILL.md was recently referenced
- Examine current task context

Set: `SKILL_NAME=[skill-name]` and `SKILL_DIR=./skills/$SKILL_NAME`

If unclear, ask the user.
</step_1>

<step_2 name="reflection_and_analysis">
Focus on $ARGUMENTS if provided, otherwise analyze broader context.

Determine:
- **What was wrong**: Quote specific sections from SKILL.md that are incorrect
- **Discovery method**: Context7, error messages, trial and error, documentation lookup
- **Root cause**: Outdated API, incorrect parameters, wrong endpoint, missing context
- **Scope of impact**: Single section or multiple? Related files affected?
- **Proposed fix**: Which files, which sections, before/after for each
</step_2>

<step_3 name="scan_affected_files">
```bash
ls -la $SKILL_DIR/
ls -la $SKILL_DIR/references/ 2>/dev/null
ls -la $SKILL_DIR/scripts/ 2>/dev/null
```
</step_3>

<step_4 name="present_proposed_changes">
Present changes in this format:

```
**Skill being healed:** [skill-name]
**Issue discovered:** [1-2 sentence summary]
**Root cause:** [brief explanation]

**Files to be modified:**
- [ ] SKILL.md
- [ ] references/[file].md
- [ ] scripts/[file].py

**Proposed changes:**

### Change 1: SKILL.md - [Section name]
**Location:** Line [X] in SKILL.md

**Current (incorrect):**
```
[exact text from current file]
```

**Corrected:**
```
[new text]
```

**Reason:** [why this fixes the issue]

[repeat for each change across all files]

**Impact assessment:**
- Affects: [authentication/API endpoints/parameters/examples/etc.]

**Verification:**
These changes will prevent: [specific error that prompted this]
```
</step_4>

<step_5 name="request_approval">
```
Should I apply these changes?

1. Yes, apply and commit all changes
2. Apply but don't commit (let me review first)
3. Revise the changes (I'll provide feedback)
4. Cancel (don't make changes)

Choose (1-4):
```

**Wait for user response. Do not proceed without approval.**
</step_5>

<step_6 name="apply_changes">
Only after approval (option 1 or 2):

1. Use Edit tool for each correction across all files
2. Read back modified sections to verify
3. If option 1, commit with structured message showing what was healed
4. Confirm completion with file list
</step_6>
</process>

<success_criteria>
- Skill correctly detected from conversation context
- All incorrect sections identified with before/after
- User approved changes before application
- All edits applied across SKILL.md and related files
- Changes verified by reading back
- Commit created if user chose option 1
- Completion confirmed with file list
</success_criteria>

<verification>
Before completing:

- Read back each modified section to confirm changes applied
- Ensure cross-file consistency (SKILL.md examples match references/)
- Verify git commit created if option 1 was selected
- Check no unintended files were modified
</verification>

Overview

This skill automates detecting and repairing incorrect instruction files and related assets for a Claude skill. It analyzes conversation context and execution errors, proposes precise edits, and applies approved fixes with optional commits. The goal is to restore accurate instructions, API references, and examples so the skill runs reliably.

How this skill works

The skill inspects recent invocation context and file listings to identify which skill is active and where the instruction or reference files live. It analyzes errors and mismatches to pinpoint incorrect text, outdated API usage, or broken examples, then generates explicit before/after diffs for each affected file. After user approval it applies edits, verifies changes by reading back modified sections, and can commit the updates with a structured message.

When to use it

  • When a skill returns errors due to wrong instructions or parameters
  • If examples or API endpoints in the skill files no longer match current APIs
  • When runtime logs or conversation context indicate the skill name but behavior is inconsistent
  • During maintenance to align documentation and code after upstream API changes
  • Before releasing a new version to ensure docs and code are synchronized

Best practices

  • Run the detection step early to confirm which skill is affected before making edits
  • Provide logs, error messages, or the exact interaction that failed to speed diagnosis
  • Keep proposed edits minimal and scoped to the root cause to reduce regressions
  • Present clear before/after diffs and a concise reason for each change to get fast approval
  • Verify edits by reading back modified sections and testing a representative invocation

Example use cases

  • Fixing outdated API endpoints and parameters used in the skill’s instructions and examples
  • Correcting wrong or misleading instruction text that causes incorrect tool usage
  • Aligning example code snippets with the actual helper scripts or libraries present
  • Replacing deprecated authentication methods with current recommended flows
  • Committing and documenting the applied fix after user approval for auditability

FAQ

How do you detect which skill needs repair?

I examine the conversation context, referenced instruction files, and a quick file listing to identify the active skill directory and its instruction document.

Will you make changes without my permission?

No. I always present proposed changes and wait for your explicit approval choice before applying or committing edits.

Can I review but block commits?

Yes. You can choose to apply edits without committing so you can run tests or review changes before creating a commit.