Choose content that deserves a skill
Prefer methods that solve a defined task, can be repeated, and produce an outcome you can inspect. Stories and isolated opinions usually need editorial judgment before they become useful skills.
- A clear situation in which to use it
- Stable steps or decision rules
- Useful outside the original chapter
- A verifiable completion condition
Use a structured conversion process
Book2Skill extracts the PDF, groups related passages, generates candidate skills, removes overlap, and validates the final directory and frontmatter.
- Extract and inspect the source text
- Generate candidate methods by topic
- Merge duplicates and vague candidates
- Add triggers, steps, examples, and checks
- Render and validate the installable package
Evaluate whether the result can run
A useful skill tells an agent when to load it, what to do in order, and how to tell whether the task is complete. Concept notes without operating boundaries rarely trigger reliably.
- One capability per name
- Description covers both what and when
- Steps are directly executable
- References stay separate from the main flow
- Neighboring skills do not compete for the same trigger
Common questions
Does every book make good skills?
Method books, operating manuals, and process-heavy material work best. Literature and context-heavy material require more human selection.
How many skills should one book produce?
It depends on method density. Prefer a smaller set with clear boundaries over one skill for every chapter.
Ready to turn a PDF into Codex Skills?
Start with a file you know well, inspect the result, and decide whether it belongs in your workflow.
Upload a PDF