distill
Strip overspecified instructions from an artifact. Trust the model's intuition — prescribe intent, not format.
npx skills add majiayu000/claude-skill-registry --skill distill-corygabrielsen-skills --agent claude-code
Same command for any agent — swap --agent for codex, cursor, copilot.
Weekly change comes from our own snapshots, not the repository page — it measures attention, not adoption.
# Distill You're over-specifying. The artifact tells the reader *how* to format output instead of *what* to accomplish. That scaffolding was necessary for weaker models. It constrains stronger ones. ## The Problem When writing skills, prompts, or instructions, you default to showing exactly what the output should look like — filled-in example tables, prescribed column names, template formats. This feels helpful but it creates a ceiling. The model matches your template instead of thinking about what the specific problem needs. ## The Test For each instruction in the artifact, ask: **is this intent or format?** | Intent (keep) | Format (cut) | |----------------|--------------| | Summarize the results in a table | Use these columns: Name, Status, Duration, Owner | | Assessments should be opinionated | Acceptable values: "ready", "blocked", "needs work" | | Group items by category | Categories: Infrastructure, Frontend, Backend, Testing | | Commit your changes after each step | Run `git add -A && git commit -m "step N: description"` | ## On Activation 1. **Identify the artifact** that's over-specifying. 2. **Flag every instruction** that prescribes format rather than intent. 3. **Cut o
- The Problem
- The Test
- On Activation
- What to Cut
- What to Keep
- Anti-patterns
What does the distill skill do?
Strip overspecified instructions from an artifact. Trust the model's intuition — prescribe intent, not format.
How do I install it?
Run `npx skills add majiayu000/claude-skill-registry --skill distill-corygabrielsen-skills --agent claude-code` — it drops the skill into your project so the agent can pick it up. Swap the --agent value for codex, cursor or copilot if you use one of those.
Where does this skill come from?
From majiayu000/claude-skill-registry, a repository with 534 stars. We read it straight from the repository tree rather than a submitted listing, so what you see here is what is actually published.
Is a popular skill a good skill?
Not necessarily. Stars measure attention, not adoption — a repository can trend for a week and be abandoned. That is why we show the weekly change from our own snapshots next to the total, instead of a single flattering number.