Heal SKILL.md Files

VerifiedSafe

Detects the active skill from conversation context, analyzes errors or outdated instructions in its SKILL.md file, proposes specific fixes with before/after diffs, and applies changes after user approval with optional git commit. Helps maintain skill definitions when they contain wrong API references or incorrect directives.

Sby Skills Guide Bot
DevelopmentIntermediate
6/2/2026
Claude Code
#skill-healing#documentation-repair#skill-maintenance#autofix

Recommended for

Automated summary

This skill fixes incorrect SKILL.md files and related files when they contain wrong instructions or outdated API references.

Strengths

  • Automatic analysis of errors in SKILL.md files
  • Proposes changes before applying them
  • Safe application with user approval
  • Integrated Git commit option

Limitations

  • Requires the user to identify the initial problem
  • Depends on correct skill detection from conversation context
  • Only corrects documentation files, not executable scripts
When to use it

Use this skill when you discover an existing skill has outdated API references, wrong instructions, or incorrect information in its SKILL.md.

When not to use it

Do not use it to create a new skill or to modify files unrelated to skill documentation.

Security analysis

Safe
Quality score88/100

The skill uses only safe Bash commands (ls, git) for file discovery and version control, requires explicit user approval before any modifications, and does not include any destructive, exfiltrating, or obfuscated actions. It operates within a constrained scope focused on updating documentation files.

No concerns found

How this analysis is made

Examples

Fix outdated API reference in a skill
Heal the SKILL.md for my 'weather-api' skill – the endpoint URLs are from v1 but the API now uses v2.
Correct broken installation instructions
The 'deploy-skill' skill has wrong pip install commands. Please heal it.

name: heal-skill description: Fix incorrect SKILL.md files when a skill has wrong instructions or outdated API references argument-hint: [optional: specific issue to fix] allowed-tools: [Read, Edit, Bash(ls:), Bash(git:)] disable-model-invocation: true

<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">

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>

From the file to a first result

The download contains exactly the content displayed on this page. This copy may differ from the latest version in the source repository.

View the source and supporting files

This download contains SKILL.md only. Any scripts, references, templates and dependencies are not included. Get the required files from the source, preserving their directory structure, before continuing.

1. Download the file

Download SKILL.md

From the root of a test project, save the file as .skill-downloads/heal-skill-md-files-mm78nnjk/SKILL.md, or use the command below. This folder is for inspecting the skill before installation.

Command for macOS/Linux or WSL: requires a POSIX shell and curl. On Windows without WSL, use the download button and create the folder manually.

mkdir -p '.skill-downloads/heal-skill-md-files-mm78nnjk' && curl --fail --show-error --location 'https://skills-guides.com/api/skills/heal-skill-md-files-mm78nnjk/download' --output '.skill-downloads/heal-skill-md-files-mm78nnjk/SKILL.md.part' && mv '.skill-downloads/heal-skill-md-files-mm78nnjk/SKILL.md.part' '.skill-downloads/heal-skill-md-files-mm78nnjk/SKILL.md'

2. Check prerequisites

Read SKILL.md before using it. If it references scripts or external services, inspect them and prepare the required access in your test environment.

No recognized prerequisites section in this file. This does not mean it is self-contained: libraries, tools and access requirements may be mentioned elsewhere in the content or source repository.

The platforms on this page are catalog indications. The paths below follow tool documentation; they do not prove this skill has been run in those tools. No minimum tool version is confirmed for this listing.

3. Load the skill

After inspection, copy the complete folder into your project using one of the commands below, then open a new tool session. The command stops if a folder with the same name already exists: compare the files before replacing it.

Claude Code
test -f '.skill-downloads/heal-skill-md-files-mm78nnjk/SKILL.md' && test -s '.skill-downloads/heal-skill-md-files-mm78nnjk/SKILL.md' && mkdir -p '.claude/skills' && test ! -e '.claude/skills/heal-skill' && cp -R '.skill-downloads/heal-skill-md-files-mm78nnjk' '.claude/skills/heal-skill'

OpenSkills

OpenSkills must already be installed. The local install/read procedure is checked with OpenSkills 1.5.0, which requires Node.js ≥ 20.6.0. Catalog slugs are not resolved automatically.

Official OpenSkills installation
openskills install './.skill-downloads/heal-skill-md-files-mm78nnjk'

openskills read 'heal-skill-md-files-mm78nnjk'

Reading should display the installed file content and its base directory. It does not run the skill or install its dependencies.

For an agent that reads AGENTS.md, then sync the index. This command changes AGENTS.md: review the diff before using it.

openskills sync

Manual method or another tool: attach SKILL.md to a conversation, or open it in an agent that can read files. Include any required supporting resources. No universal folder is recognized by every tool.

4. Try a first task

Use a short, synthetic input: an API endpoint, a small document or an interface brief. In a new conversation, attach the file or give the agent its path, then adapt this request:

Read .skill-downloads/heal-skill-md-files-mm78nnjk/SKILL.md and apply its instructions to this example: [describe a test input]. Identify any missing files, dependencies or access. Produce the result requested by the skill without inventing data or running unreviewed scripts.

Expected result: output matching the skill instructions, or a precise list of missing prerequisites. A read confirmation alone does not validate a first use. If an external resource is unavailable, that path remains untested.

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