Reflexion - Evaluate Pattern Effectiveness

What This Skill Does

Records feedback on patterns and approaches used during work. This feedback:

1. Trains the recommendation system for better pattern suggestions
2. Provides data for learner skill to auto-discover new patterns
3. Tracks what works and what doesn't over time

Use this AFTER completing work to record what helped and what didn't.

Quick Reference

# Store feedback
npx agentdb reflexion store "session-id" "task description" reward success "critique"

# Retrieve similar experiences
npx agentdb reflexion retrieve "search query" --k 5 --only-successes

# Get critique summary
npx agentdb reflexion critique-summary "topic" true

Primary Method: Store Feedback

npx agentdb reflexion store \
  "dp-004" \
  "Used domain-adapter pattern for new HTTP source" \
  1.0 \
  true \
  "Pattern was complete - followed Source trait steps exactly, tests passed first try"

Parameters (positional)

Examples

Pattern Worked Well

npx agentdb reflexion store \
  "dp-004" \
  "Used domain-adapter pattern for new HTTP source" \
  1.0 \
  true \
  "Pattern was complete - followed Source trait steps exactly, tests passed first try"

Pattern Partially Worked

npx agentdb reflexion store \
  "dp-004" \
  "Used add-stream pattern but needed adjustment" \
  0.6 \
  true \
  "Pattern missing retention field requirement added in v2.0 - should update pattern via save-pattern"

Pattern Failed

npx agentdb reflexion store \
  "dp-004" \
  "Pattern mqtt-routing failed for multi-topic subscription" \
  0.2 \
  false \
  "Pattern assumes single topic per source - needs update for multi-topic. Used workaround with topic array."

No Pattern Found

npx agentdb reflexion store \
  "dp-004" \
  "Implemented TimescaleDB continuous aggregate - no existing pattern" \
  0.85 \
  true \
  "No pattern existed. Created new approach using hypertable + continuous_aggregate. Should save as new pattern."

Retrieve Similar Experiences

# Find successful similar work
npx agentdb reflexion retrieve "HTTP source implementation" \
  --k 5 \
  --only-successes \
  --min-reward 0.7

# Find failures to learn from
npx agentdb reflexion retrieve "MQTT configuration" \
  --k 5 \
  --only-failures

# Get synthesized summary
npx agentdb reflexion retrieve "parquet storage" \
  --k 10 \
  --synthesize-context

Retrieve Parameters

Get Critique Summary

Aggregate lessons from critiques:

# Get critique summary for failures
npx agentdb reflexion critique-summary "mqtt" true

# Get all critiques for a topic
npx agentdb reflexion critique-summary "architecture" false

Reward Scale

Session ID Convention

Use consistent session IDs for aggregation:

Critique Best Practices

Good critiques (specific, actionable):

"Pattern was complete - followed steps exactly and deployment succeeded"
"Missing retention field that's now required in v2.0 schema"
"TimescaleDB connection pattern assumed localhost but we use Docker networking"
"Architecture pattern outdated - ADR-005 superseded the approach"

Poor critiques (vague, unusable):

"It worked"              # Too vague
"Failed"                 # No actionable info
"Good pattern"           # Doesn't explain what made it good

The Pattern Workflow

1. BEFORE work:  get-pattern  → Search for relevant patterns
2. DURING work:  Apply patterns, note gaps and discoveries
3. AFTER work:   reflexion    → Record what helped (THIS SKILL)
                 save-pattern → Store NEW discoveries (if any)
                 learner      → Auto-discover patterns from episodes (periodic)

After Recording Feedback

If your critique identifies a pattern that needs updating:

# 1. Record the feedback (this skill)
npx agentdb reflexion store \
  "dp-004" \
  "Used add-stream pattern" \
  0.6 \
  true \
  "Pattern missing required retention field"

# 2. Update the pattern (save-pattern skill)
npx agentdb skill create \
  "add-stream-v2" \
  "Add Data Stream (v2.0): Now requires retention field. Steps: 1) Create config.yaml, 2) Add retention field (required), 3) Run sync..." \
  "tags: streams, config, updated"

Related Skills

• get-pattern - Search patterns BEFORE work
• save-pattern - Store NEW patterns after discovering reusable approaches
• learner - Auto-discover patterns from reflexion episodes

What NOT to Use This For

Reflexion is for FEEDBACK on work done, not storing new knowledge.