--- name: self-improving-agent description: A universal self-improving agent that learns from ALL skill experiences. Uses multi-memory architecture (semantic + episodic + working) to continuously evolve the codebase. Auto-triggers on skill completion/error with hooks-based self-correction. allowed-tools: Read, Write, Edit, Bash, Grep, Glob, WebSearch metadata: hooks: before_start: - trigger: session-logger mode: auto context: "Start {skill_name}" after_complete: - trigger: create-pr mode: ask_first condition: skills_modified reason: "Submit improvements to repository" - trigger: session-logger mode: auto context: "Self-improvement cycle complete" # Note: on_error intentionally only logs to session to avoid infinite recursion # Self-correction is triggered by other skills (debugger, code-reviewer) completing their work on_error: - trigger: session-logger mode: auto context: "Error captured in {skill_name}" --- # Self-Improving Agent > "An AI agent that learns from every interaction, accumulating patterns and insights to continuously improve its own capabilities." — Based on 2025 lifelong learning research ## Overview This is a **universal self-improvement system** that learns from ALL skill experiences, not just PRDs. It implements a complete feedback loop with: - **Multi-Memory Architecture**: Semantic + Episodic + Working memory - **Self-Correction**: Detects and fixes skill guidance errors - **Self-Validation**: Periodically verifies skill accuracy - **Hooks Integration**: Auto-triggers on skill events (before_start, after_complete, on_error) - **Evolution Markers**: Traceable changes with source attribution ## Research-Based Design Based on 2025 research: | Research | Key Insight | Application | |----------|-------------|-------------| | [SimpleMem](https://arxiv.org/html/2601.02553v1) | Efficient lifelong memory | Pattern accumulation system | | [Multi-Memory Survey](https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3748302) | Semantic + Episodic memory | World knowledge + experiences | | [Lifelong Learning](https://arxiv.org/html/2501.07278v1) | Continuous task stream learning | Learn from every skill use | | [Evo-Memory](https://shothota.medium.com/evo-memory-deepminds-new-benchmark) | Test-time lifelong learning | Real-time adaptation | ## The Self-Improvement Loop ``` ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ UNIVERSAL SELF-IMPROVEMENT │ ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ │ │ Skill Event → Extract Experience → Abstract Pattern → Update │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ │ │ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ │ │ MULTI-MEMORY SYSTEM │ │ │ ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ │ │ Semantic Memory │ Episodic Memory │ Working Memory │ │ │ │ (Patterns/Rules) │ (Experiences) │ (Current) │ │ │ │ memory/semantic/ │ memory/episodic/ │ memory/working/│ │ │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │ │ │ │ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ │ │ FEEDBACK LOOP │ │ │ │ User Feedback → Confidence Update → Pattern Adapt │ │ │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │ │ │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ``` ## When This Activates ### Automatic Triggers (via hooks) | Event | Trigger | Action | |-------|---------|--------| | **before_start** | Any skill starts | Log session start | | **after_complete** | Any skill completes | Extract patterns, update skills | | **on_error** | Bash returns non-zero exit | Capture error context, trigger self-correction | ### Manual Triggers - User says "自我进化", "self-improve", "从经验中学习" - User says "分析今天的经验", "总结教训" - User asks to improve a specific skill ## Evolution Priority Matrix Trigger evolution when new reusable knowledge appears: | Trigger | Target Skill | Priority | Action | |---------|--------------|----------|--------| | New PRD pattern discovered | prd-planner | High | Add to quality checklist | | Architecture tradeoff clarified | architecting-solutions | High | Add to decision patterns | | API design rule learned | api-designer | High | Update template | | Debugging fix discovered | debugger | High | Add to anti-patterns | | Review checklist gap | code-reviewer | High | Add checklist item | | Perf/security insight | performance-engineer, security-auditor | High | Add to patterns | | UI/UX spec issue | prd-planner, architecting-solutions | High | Add visual spec requirements | | React/state pattern | debugger, refactoring-specialist | Medium | Add to patterns | | Test strategy improvement | test-automator, qa-expert | Medium | Update approach | | CI/deploy fix | deployment-engineer | Medium | Add to troubleshooting | ## Multi-Memory Architecture ### 1. Semantic Memory (`memory/semantic-patterns.json`) Stores **abstract patterns and rules** reusable across contexts: ```json { "patterns": { "pattern_id": { "id": "pat-2025-01-11-001", "name": "Pattern Name", "source": "user_feedback|implementation_review|retrospective", "confidence": 0.95, "applications": 5, "created": "2025-01-11", "category": "prd_structure|react_patterns|async_patterns|...", "pattern": "One-line summary", "problem": "What problem does this solve?", "solution": { ... }, "quality_rules": [ ... ], "target_skills": [ ... ] } } } ``` ### 2. Episodic Memory (`memory/episodic/`) Stores **specific experiences and what happened**: ``` memory/episodic/ ├── 2025/ │ ├── 2025-01-11-prd-creation.json │ ├── 2025-01-11-debug-session.json │ └── 2025-01-12-refactoring.json ``` ```json { "id": "ep-2025-01-11-001", "timestamp": "2025-01-11T10:30:00Z", "skill": "debugger", "situation": "User reported data not refreshing after form submission", "root_cause": "Empty callback in onRefresh prop", "solution": "Implement actual refresh logic in callback", "lesson": "Always verify callbacks are not empty functions", "related_pattern": "callback_verification", "user_feedback": { "rating": 8, "comments": "This was exactly the issue" } } ``` ### 3. Working Memory (`memory/working/`) Stores **current session context**: ``` memory/working/ ├── current_session.json # Active session data ├── last_error.json # Error context for self-correction └── session_end.json # Session end marker ``` ## Self-Improvement Process ### Phase 1: Experience Extraction After any skill completes, extract: ```yaml What happened: skill_used: {which skill} task: {what was being done} outcome: {success|partial|failure} Key Insights: what_went_well: [what worked] what_went_wrong: [what didn't work] root_cause: {underlying issue if applicable} User Feedback: rating: {1-10 if provided} comments: {specific feedback} ``` ### Phase 2: Pattern Abstraction Convert experiences to reusable patterns: | Concrete Experience | Abstract Pattern | Target Skill | |--------------------|------------------|--------------| | "User forgot to save PRD notes" | "Always persist thinking to files" | prd-planner | | "Code review missed SQL injection" | "Add security checklist item" | code-reviewer | | "Callback was empty, didn't work" | "Verify callback implementations" | debugger | | "Net APY position ambiguous" | "UI specs need exact relative positions" | prd-planner | **Abstraction Rules:** ```yaml If experience_repeats 3+ times: pattern_level: critical action: Add to skill's "Critical Mistakes" section If solution_was_effective: pattern_level: best_practice action: Add to skill's "Best Practices" section If user_rating >= 7: pattern_level: strength action: Reinforce this approach If user_rating <= 4: pattern_level: weakness action: Add to "What to Avoid" section ``` ### Phase 3: Skill Updates Update the appropriate skill files with **evolution markers**: ```markdown ## Pattern Added (2025-01-12) **Pattern**: Always verify callbacks are not empty functions **Source**: Episode ep-2025-01-12-001 **Confidence**: 0.95 ### Updated Checklist - [ ] Verify all callbacks have implementations - [ ] Test callback execution paths ``` **Correction Markers** (when fixing wrong guidance): ```markdown ## Corrected Guidance Use direct state monitoring instead of callback chains: ```typescript // ✅ Do: Direct state monitoring const prevPendingCount = usePrevious(pendingCount); ``` ``` ### Phase 4: Memory Consolidation 1. **Update semantic memory** (`memory/semantic-patterns.json`) 2. **Store episodic memory** (`memory/episodic/YYYY-MM-DD-{skill}.json`) 3. **Update pattern confidence** based on applications/feedback 4. **Prune outdated patterns** (low confidence, no recent applications) ## Self-Correction (on_error hook) Triggered when: - Bash command returns non-zero exit code - Tests fail after following skill guidance - User reports the guidance produced incorrect results **Process:** ```markdown ## Self-Correction Workflow 1. Detect Error - Capture error context from working/last_error.json - Identify which skill guidance was followed 2. Verify Root Cause - Was the skill guidance incorrect? - Was the guidance misinterpreted? - Was the guidance incomplete? 3. Apply Correction - Update skill file with corrected guidance - Add correction marker with reason - Update related patterns in semantic memory 4. Validate Fix - Test the corrected guidance - Ask user to verify ``` **Example:** ```markdown ## Self-Correction: Click-Time Computation **Issue**: Using useMemo for claimable IDs caused stale data **Fix**: Compute at click time for always-fresh data **Pattern**: click_time_vs_open_time_computation ``` ## Self-Validation Use the validation template in `references/appendix.md` when reviewing updates. ## Hooks Integration ### Wiring Hooks in Claude Code Settings Add to Claude Code settings (`~/.claude/settings.json`): ```json { "hooks": { "PreToolUse": [ { "matcher": "Bash|Write|Edit", "hooks": [ { "type": "command", "command": "bash ${SKILLS_DIR}/self-improving-agent/hooks/pre-tool.sh \"$TOOL_NAME\" \"$TOOL_INPUT\"" } ] } ], "PostToolUse": [ { "matcher": "Bash", "hooks": [ { "type": "command", "command": "bash ${SKILLS_DIR}/self-improving-agent/hooks/post-bash.sh \"$TOOL_OUTPUT\" \"$EXIT_CODE\"" } ] } ], "Stop": [ { "matcher": "", "hooks": [ { "type": "command", "command": "bash ${SKILLS_DIR}/self-improving-agent/hooks/session-end.sh" } ] } ] } } ``` Replace `${SKILLS_DIR}` with your actual skills path. ## Additional References See `references/appendix.md` for memory structure, workflow diagrams, metrics, feedback templates, and research links. ## Best Practices ### DO - ✅ Learn from EVERY skill interaction - ✅ Extract patterns at the right abstraction level - ✅ Update multiple related skills - ✅ Track confidence and apply counts - ✅ Ask for user feedback on improvements - ✅ Use evolution/correction markers for traceability - ✅ Validate guidance before applying broadly ### DON'T - ❌ Over-generalize from single experiences - ❌ Update skills without confidence tracking - ❌ Ignore negative feedback - ❌ Make changes that break existing functionality - ❌ Create contradictory patterns - ❌ Update skills without understanding context ## Quick Start After any skill completes, this agent automatically: 1. **Analyzes** what happened 2. **Extracts** patterns and insights 3. **Updates** relevant skill files 4. **Logs** to memory for future reference 5. **Reports** summary to user ## References - [SimpleMem: Efficient Lifelong Memory for LLM Agents](https://arxiv.org/html/2601.02553v1) - [A Survey on the Memory Mechanism of Large Language Model Agents](https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3748302) - [Lifelong Learning of LLM based Agents](https://arxiv.org/html/2501.07278v1) - [Evo-Memory: DeepMind's Benchmark](https://shothota.medium.com/evo-memory-deepminds-new-benchmark) - [Let's Build a Self-Improving AI Agent](https://medium.com/@nomannayeem/lets-build-a-self-improving-ai-agent-that-learns-from-your-feedback-722d2ce9c2d9)