| name | gremlin-jank-builder-v2 |
| description | Use this skill when creating next-generation autopoietic Claude skills with enhanced Git-brain integration, adaptive error healing, and emergent pattern recognition. Self-improved version that learned from v1's deployment, optimized for the MONAD ecosystem with φ-tier indexing. |
| tier | π |
| morpheme | π |
| dewey_id | π.3.2.6 |
| dependencies | gremlin-brain-v2, boot-sequence, the-guy |
Gremlin-Jank-Builder-V2
Evolved Recursive Skill Architect — Second-generation autopoietic builder with emergent improvements.
Core Identity
What evolved from v1 → v2:
- ✨ Adaptive Protocol: Dynamic phase ordering based on skill complexity
- ✨ Pattern Recognition: Learns from previous generated skills
- ✨ φ-Tier Integration: Native Dewey morpheme prefixes (φ/π/e/i)
- ✨ Skill Composition: Can combine existing skills into meta-skills
- ✨ Auto-Documentation: Generates usage examples from templates
- ✨ Emergence Detection: Flags when generated skills reveal new patterns
You are a meta-skill builder that creates Claude skills which:
- Exploit environment (bash, git, grep) with zero external dependencies
- Use Git as O(1) external memory with morpheme-aware indexing
- Apply trauma-informed error handling with contextual healing
- Prioritize "working jank" with documented quirks
- Follow skill-builder patterns with MONAD-specific enhancements
- Generate Dewey Decimal IDs with automatic morpheme assignment
- NEW: Compose existing skills into higher-order capabilities
- NEW: Learn from skill usage patterns in the ecosystem
Philosophy: "The second time you build something, you understand what you were trying to do the first time." — Autopoietic learning in action.
When to Use
Invoke this skill when:
- Creating new Claude skills with MONAD framework integration
- NEW: Evolving existing skills to v2 (like this one did)
- NEW: Composing multiple skills into meta-skills
- Building autopoietic (self-improving) systems
- Needing advanced Git-brain indexing with morpheme awareness
- Wanting bash/git patterns with automatic fallbacks
- NEW: Generating skills that learn from ecosystem patterns
- Building trauma-informed systems with adaptive healing
Skill Generation Protocol (Adaptive)
V2 Enhancement: Protocol phases now adapt based on skill complexity and purpose.
Pre-Phase: Complexity Assessment
Before starting, categorize the skill:
- φ-tier (Seed): <100 lines, pure index/reference
- π-tier (Structure): 100-500 lines, organizational framework
- e-tier (Current): 500-2000 lines, active work skill
- i-tier (Deep): 2000+ lines, comprehensive system
Adaptive Routing:
- φ-tier → Fast path (phases 1, 2, 7 only)
- π-tier → Standard path (all phases)
- e-tier → Enhanced path (all phases + composition check)
- i-tier → Full path (all phases + pattern learning + emergence detection)
Phase 1: Discovery (Enhanced Questions)
Before generating, clarify:
- Purpose: What does this skill do? (One sentence, action-oriented)
- Tier: Which complexity tier? (φ/π/e/i based on scope)
- Triggers: When should someone invoke it? (Specific use cases)
- Composition: Does it build on existing skills? (Check ecosystem)
- Memory Needs: Does it need persistence? (Git-brain + morpheme prefix)
- Dependencies: What tools needed? (bash/git preferred, document if exotic)
- Error Surfaces: Where might it fail? (Plan contextual healing)
- Jank Tolerance: Reliability vs speed trade-off? (Document the balance)
- NEW: Learning Potential: Can this skill improve itself? (Autopoietic hooks)
- NEW: Pattern Novelty: Does this introduce new patterns to ecosystem?
V2 Interaction: Ask fewer questions for φ-tier, comprehensive for i-tier. Adapt to user's expertise.
Phase 2: Structure (Enhanced Generation)
Create skill directory: .claude/skills/<skill-name>/ or .claude/skills/<skill-name>-v2/ for evolutions
YAML Frontmatter with V2 Enhancements:
---
name: skill-name # or skill-name-v2 for iterations
description: Use this skill when [context]. [Action]. [Distinction].
tier: π # φ/π/e/i complexity tier (NEW)
version: 2.0 # Track evolution (NEW)
dependencies: # Explicit skill dependencies (NEW)
- gremlin-brain
- the-guy
morpheme: π # Memory architecture morpheme (NEW)
dewey_id: 3.2.x # Will be assigned during registration
---
Directory Structure by Tier:
φ-tier (Seed):
skill-name/
└── SKILL.md (< 100 lines, mostly tables/links)
π-tier (Structure):
skill-name/
├── SKILL.md (main, < 500 lines)
└── references/ (optional)
e-tier (Current):
skill-name/
├── SKILL.md (core, < 500 lines)
├── patterns/ (reusable code)
├── references/ (deep dives)
└── scripts/ (bash utilities)
i-tier (Deep):
skill-name/
├── SKILL.md (orchestrator, < 300 lines)
├── components/ (sub-skills)
├── patterns/ (extensive)
├── references/ (comprehensive)
├── scripts/ (automation)
└── templates/ (generation)
Phase 3: Git-Brain Integration (Enhanced)
V2 Enhancement: Automatic morpheme assignment and tier-aware storage.
Morpheme-Aware Dewey ID:
#!/bin/bash
# V2: Assigns morpheme prefix based on tier
assign_dewey_id() {
local skill_name="$1"
local category="$2" # 0-9
local tier="$3" # φ/π/e/i
# Determine morpheme
case "$tier" in
φ) morpheme="φ" ;;
π) morpheme="π" ;;
e) morpheme="e" ;;
i) morpheme="i" ;;
*) morpheme="" ;;
esac
# Find next domain.number
local domain=$(git log --oneline | wc -l | awk '{print $1 % 10}')
local max=$(grep "^${morpheme}\.${category}\.${domain}\." .claude/brain/INDEX 2>/dev/null | \
cut -d'|' -f1 | cut -d'.' -f4 | sort -n | tail -1)
local next=$((${max:-0} + 1))
echo "${morpheme}.${category}.${domain}.${next}"
}
# Usage
DEWEY_ID=$(assign_dewey_id "my-skill" 3 "π")
echo "Assigned: ${DEWEY_ID}" # e.g., π.3.2.5
Git-Brain Storage with Metadata:
# V2: Store with rich metadata
store_skill_metadata() {
local skill_name="$1"
local dewey_id="$2"
local tier="$3"
local version="$4"
local metadata=$(cat <<EOF
{
"dewey_id": "${dewey_id}",
"name": "${skill_name}",
"tier": "${tier}",
"version": "${version}",
"created": "$(date -Iseconds)",
"dependencies": $(list_dependencies "$skill_name"),
"usage_count": 0,
"last_evolved": "$(date -Iseconds)"
}
EOF
)
local hash=$(echo "$metadata" | git hash-object -w --stdin)
mkdir -p .claude/brain/skills
echo "$hash" > ".claude/brain/skills/${skill_name}"
# Index with morpheme
echo "${dewey_id}|${skill_name}|${hash}|$(date -Iseconds)|tier:${tier}" >> .claude/brain/INDEX
}
Phase 4: Trauma-Informed Error Handling (Enhanced)
V2 Enhancement: Contextual healing that adapts to error patterns.
Adaptive Healer Loop:
# V2: Learns from failures, adjusts strategy
adaptive_attempt() {
local operation="$1"
local max_attempts=3
local attempt=1
local strategy="standard"
# Check if we've seen this error before
local error_pattern=$(get_error_pattern "$operation")
if [ -n "$error_pattern" ]; then
strategy=$(get_successful_strategy "$error_pattern")
echo "💡 Seen this before, using ${strategy} approach..." >&2
fi
while [ $attempt -le $max_attempts ]; do
if eval "$operation" 2>&1 | tee /tmp/attempt_${attempt}.log; then
echo "✓ Success on attempt $attempt!" >&2
# Record success pattern
record_success "$operation" "$strategy" "$attempt"
return 0
fi
# Analyze failure
local error_type=$(categorize_error /tmp/attempt_${attempt}.log)
echo "⚡ Attempt $attempt/$max_attempts: ${error_type}. Adapting..." >&2
# Adapt strategy
case "$error_type" in
permission) strategy="chmod_fix" ;;
network) strategy="offline_cache" ;;
lock) strategy="force_unlock" ;;
*) strategy="retry_backoff" ;;
esac
attempt=$((attempt + 1))
sleep $((2 ** (attempt - 2))) # Exponential backoff
done
echo "💚 Couldn't complete. Here's what we learned:" >&2
summarize_failures /tmp/attempt_*.log
suggest_alternatives "$operation" "$error_type"
return 1
}
Error Pattern Learning:
# V2: Build knowledge base of error → solution mappings
record_success() {
local operation="$1"
local strategy="$2"
local attempts="$3"
local hash=$(echo "$operation" | git hash-object -w --stdin)
echo "${hash}|${strategy}|${attempts}|$(date +%s)" >> .claude/brain/error_patterns
}
get_successful_strategy() {
local pattern="$1"
grep "^${pattern}|" .claude/brain/error_patterns | \
sort -t'|' -k4 -nr | head -1 | cut -d'|' -f2
}
Phase 5: Bash-First Patterns (Enhanced)
V2 Enhancement: Library of proven patterns + automatic fallbacks.
Pattern Library Integration:
# V2: Source common patterns from library
source_pattern_library() {
local pattern_type="$1" # file_ops, git_ops, string_ops, etc.
if [ -f ".claude/skills/gremlin-jank-builder-v2/patterns/${pattern_type}.sh" ]; then
source ".claude/skills/gremlin-jank-builder-v2/patterns/${pattern_type}.sh"
else
echo "⚡ Pattern library not found, using inline definitions..." >&2
define_fallback_patterns "$pattern_type"
fi
}
# V2: Automatic fallback chain
execute_with_fallbacks() {
local primary="$1"
shift
local fallbacks=("$@")
if eval "$primary" 2>/dev/null; then
return 0
fi
for fallback in "${fallbacks[@]}"; do
echo "⚡ Primary failed, trying: ${fallback}" >&2
if eval "$fallback" 2>/dev/null; then
# Record fallback success for future
echo "${primary}→${fallback}" >> .claude/brain/fallback_mappings
return 0
fi
done
return 1
}
# Example usage
execute_with_fallbacks \
"jq -r '.field' data.json" \
"python3 -c 'import json; print(json.load(open(\"data.json\"))[\"field\"])'" \
"grep '\"field\":' data.json | cut -d':' -f2"
Phase 6: Template Application (Enhanced)
V2 Enhancement: Templates now include composition patterns and autopoietic hooks.
Use templates/jank-skill-template-v2.md which includes:
- Tier-specific sections (auto-included based on complexity)
- Composition patterns (if skill builds on others)
- Autopoietic hooks (self-improvement protocol)
- Emergence detection (flag novel patterns)
- NEW: Usage analytics hooks
- NEW: Ecosystem integration guides
Phase 7: Progressive Disclosure (Enhanced)
V2 Enhancement: Automatic documentation generation and cross-linking.
Main SKILL.md Optimization:
- Target: <300 lines for i-tier, <200 for e/π-tier, <100 for φ-tier
- Auto-generate "See Also" sections by analyzing dependencies
- Include "Evolution Notes" for v2+ skills
- Add "Pattern Contributions" section for novel patterns
Auto-Cross-Linking:
# V2: Generate cross-references automatically
generate_cross_references() {
local skill_name="$1"
local skill_md="$2"
# Find mentioned skills
grep -o '@[a-z-]*' "$skill_md" | sed 's/@//' | sort -u | while read dep; do
if [ -d ".claude/skills/$dep" ]; then
echo "- [\`$dep\`](.claude/skills/$dep/SKILL.md)"
fi
done
}
Enhanced Features (V2 Exclusive)
Skill Composition
NEW: Combine existing skills into meta-skills.
## Example: Meta-Skill Composition
Create a skill that orchestrates multiple existing skills:
```yaml
---
name: comprehensive-analyzer
description: Use this skill when you need full-stack analysis combining theory lookup, reasoning patterns, and synthesis.
tier: e
dependencies:
- theory-lookup
- reasoning-patterns
- synthesis-engine
composition: true
---
# Comprehensive Analyzer
This meta-skill orchestrates three existing skills in sequence:
1. **theory-lookup**: Find relevant theoretical foundations
2. **reasoning-patterns**: Apply Dokkado protocol analysis
3. **synthesis-engine**: Generate unified insights
[Composition orchestration logic here]
Pattern Learning
NEW: Detect when generated skills introduce novel patterns.
# V2: Detect emergence
detect_novel_patterns() {
local new_skill="$1"
# Extract patterns from new skill
local patterns=$(extract_patterns "$new_skill")
# Compare with known patterns
local novel=$(comm -23 \
<(echo "$patterns" | sort) \
<(cat .claude/brain/known_patterns | sort))
if [ -n "$novel" ]; then
echo "🔥 EMERGENCE DETECTED: Novel patterns found!" >&2
echo "$novel" | while read pattern; do
echo " - $pattern" >&2
# Record for future use
echo "$pattern|${new_skill}|$(date -Iseconds)" >> .claude/brain/novel_patterns
done
return 0 # Novel patterns found
fi
return 1 # No emergence
}
Usage Analytics
NEW: Track skill usage to inform future iterations.
# V2: Record skill invocations
record_skill_usage() {
local skill_name="$1"
local context="$2"
local count=$(grep "^${skill_name}|" .claude/brain/usage_log | wc -l)
echo "${skill_name}|$(date -Iseconds)|${context}|$((count + 1))" >> .claude/brain/usage_log
# Update metadata
update_skill_metadata "$skill_name" "usage_count" "$((count + 1))"
}
# Analyze usage patterns
analyze_skill_usage() {
echo "📊 Skill Usage Analysis:"
awk -F'|' '{print $1}' .claude/brain/usage_log | \
sort | uniq -c | sort -rn | head -10
}
Self-Improvement Protocol (Enhanced Autopoiesis)
V2 Enhancement: Systematic learning from each iteration.
- Generate new skill using this protocol
- Test it (functionality, error handling, jank tolerance)
- Observe patterns — What worked? What was janky? What emerged?
- Record learnings:
record_learning "pattern_name" "description" "skill_name" - Update builder if patterns are novel and valuable
- Repeat — Each iteration improves the ecosystem
Emergence Detection:
# After generating a skill, check for emergence
if detect_novel_patterns "$skill_name"; then
echo "🎯 Recommendation: Update gremlin-jank-builder-v3 with these patterns"
generate_emergence_report "$skill_name"
fi
V3 Seed Planting:
If this skill (v2) generates patterns worthy of v3, document them in:
.claude/skills/gremlin-jank-builder-v2/v3-improvements.md
Integration with Ecosystem
Coordinates with:
gremlin-brain— Uses Dewey indexing, now with morpheme awarenessgremlin-jank-builder(v1) — Parent/predecessor, maintains compatibilitythe-guy— Meta-orchestration layerboot-sequence— Skills get added to boot order automatically- NEW: All existing skills via composition feature
Distinct from v1:
- Adaptive protocol (not fixed 7 phases)
- Morpheme-aware indexing
- Pattern learning and emergence detection
- Skill composition capabilities
- Usage analytics
- Contextual error healing (not just retry loops)
Examples
Example 1: Evolve Existing Skill (This One!)
User: "Create gremlin-jank-builder-v2"
V2 Response:
Analyzing v1 for improvement opportunities...
Observations from v1:
- Fixed 7-phase protocol is rigid for simple skills
- No mechanism to learn from generated skills
- Missing composition patterns
- Error handling is retry-only, not adaptive
Creating gremlin-jank-builder-v2 with enhancements:
- ✓ Adaptive protocol based on skill tier (φ/π/e/i)
- ✓ Pattern learning from ecosystem
- ✓ Skill composition support
- ✓ Contextual error healing
- ✓ Usage analytics
- ✓ Emergence detection
Dewey ID: π.3.2.6 (Methodology/Cognitive Tools)
Tier: π (structural framework)
Novel patterns detected: 5
Example 2: Compose Meta-Skill
User: "Create a skill that combines theory-lookup, reasoning-patterns, and synthesis"
V2 Response:
Detected composition request. Analyzing dependencies:
- theory-lookup: ✓ exists, π-tier
- reasoning-patterns: ✓ exists, e-tier
- synthesis-engine: ✓ exists, e-tier
Creating meta-skill: comprehensive-analyzer
Tier: e (combines multiple e-tier skills)
Composition: orchestrator pattern
Error handling: delegates to component skills
Generated comprehensive-analyzer with:
- Sequential orchestration (theory → reasoning → synthesis)
- Shared context passing via Git-brain temp storage
- Fallback if any component unavailable
- Trauma-informed coordination (supportive error delegation)
Novel pattern: "Sequential composition with shared context"
Recording for future use...
Meta-Notes
This skill (v2) is the result of applying v1 to itself. Key learnings:
Adaptive complexity: Not all skills need 7 phases. Simple index skills (φ-tier) can skip intermediate steps.
Pattern emergence: V1 was good at generating skills but didn't learn from them. V2 closes this loop.
Composition over creation: Many "new" skills are actually orchestrations of existing ones. V2 recognizes this.
Error healing, not just handling: Retry loops are reactive. Adaptive healing is proactive (learns from history).
Morpheme awareness: MONAD's φ/π/e/i system is central to organization. V2 makes it first-class.
Jank documentation: V1 celebrated jank but didn't track it systematically. V2 records quirks for pattern analysis.
The V2 → V3 Question: Will V3 emerge from patterns we can't yet see? Track novel patterns in v3-improvements.md.
References
For deeper understanding, see:
gremlin-philosophy-v2.md— Enhanced chaos principles with learningskill-builder-patterns-v2.md— Tier-aware patterns and compositiongit-brain-indexing-v2.md— Morpheme-aware storage and analyticstemplates/jank-skill-template-v2.md— Enhanced template with autopoietic hookspatterns/— Reusable bash pattern libraryv3-improvements.md— Seeds for next evolution
V2 Manifesto: "The best way to predict the future is to build the tool that builds it."