formula-detangler
Untangle the spreadsheet formula nobody dares touch — decompose the seven-function nest into named readable steps, explain what it actually does (vs. what it's believed to do), and rebuild it maintainably with helper columns and modern functions. Use when asked what does this formula do, this IFERROR-VLOOKUP monster broke, make this formula maintainable, or nobody understands the sheet the analyst left. Produces the plain-language decode, the step decomposition into helper columns, the believed-vs-actual gaps, and the rebuilt version.
Profile →npx skills add mohitagw15856/pm-claude-skills --skill formula-detangler --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.
# Formula Detangler Skill Every long-lived sheet grows one: the 400-character nest of IFs inside IFERROR inside INDEX-MATCH that one departed analyst understood — now load-bearing, feared, and edited by no one. Detangling is decompilation: read it inside-out, name each layer's job in plain language, check the *believed* behavior against the *actual* (the gaps are where the sheet has been quietly wrong), then rebuild as steps a successor can read — helper columns with named headers beat heroic one-liners in every sheet that outlives its author. ## What This Skill Produces - **The decode** — the formula's actual behavior in plain language, layer by layer - **The believed-vs-actual gaps** — where what it does differs from what the team thinks it does (the silent-wrong findings) - **The decomposition** — the nest split into named helper-column steps, each testable alone - **The rebuild** — modern equivalents (LOOKUP-family upgrades, IFS over IF-chains) where the platform allows, with the migration check ## Required Inputs Ask for these if not provided: - **The formula, verbatim** — and the cells/ranges it references (the decode reads the actual text, not a description) - **The believed
- What This Skill Produces
- Required Inputs
- Framework: The Detangle Rules
- Output Format
- The Decode (inside-out)
- Believed vs Actual
- The Decomposition
- The Rebuild + Verification
- Quality Checks
- Anti-Patterns
What does the formula-detangler skill do?
Untangle the spreadsheet formula nobody dares touch — decompose the seven-function nest into named readable steps, explain what it actually does (vs. what it's believed to do), and rebuild it maintainably with helper columns and modern functions. Use when asked what does this formula do, this IFERROR-VLOOKUP monster broke, make this formula maintainable, or nobody understands the sheet the analyst left. Produces the plain-language decode, the step decomposition into helper columns, the believed-vs-actual gaps, and the rebuilt version.
How do I install it?
Run `npx skills add mohitagw15856/pm-claude-skills --skill formula-detangler --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 mohitagw15856/pm-claude-skills, a repository with 1,255 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.