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Skill Workflow · Step 07
07

Iterate and Edit

When the output slips twice in a row, you fix one thing. Not five. Test before, test after.

When to iterate

The output misses your standard twice in a row. Not once. Once can be the input. Twice is the skill.

The edit protocol

01

Find the one step that broke

Never rip the whole skill. Identify the single instruction or file that drifted. That is your target.

02

Test once before you change anything

Capture the current "wrong" output. So you know what changed when you change it.

03

Make one change

Edit the single instruction. Or add to the single knowledge file. Not three things at once.

04

Test again with the same input

Same input, new output. Did the change fix it? Did it break something else? You can only see this if you test the same way.

05

Stamp the version

Date the change in the skill file. One-liner. Future you will thank current you when something else breaks in three weeks.

For someone editing a skill they did not build

Safety rules

Read the whole skill before you touch anything. Run it once before you edit. Make one change at a time. Run it again with the same input. Commit each change separately so it can be rolled back.

Anti-pattern

Changing five things at once. Now you have no idea which fix worked, which broke something, or whether the next bug is new or old.

Now do it

Prompt
Continue with skill-creator. Step 7: iterate.

The skill missed the output standard twice in a row.
Help me find the single step or knowledge file that broke.

1. Capture the current "wrong" output for the same input.
2. Make one change — never more than one.
3. Re-run with the same input.
4. Compare. Did it fix? Did it break something else?
5. Stamp the version with today's date in SKILL.md.
Key Rule
Editing without testing builds garbage.

Iteration is a discipline, not a vibe. Test before. One change. Test after. Stamp it. Skills that survive are skills that were edited carefully.