Guide · Agent skill
How to use the Add Karpathy LLM Wiki agent skill
Updated · written with AI from the project's own documentation and checked against our catalogue data
The Add Karpathy LLM Wiki skill is an installer for NanoClaw, a personal AI assistant framework. It sets up a wiki folder inside a chat group where the agent keeps structured notes it builds from sources you add, such as articles, PDFs and transcripts, so knowledge accumulates instead of being re-derived for every question. This guide covers what the skill does, how to install it, how to trigger it, and what it needs before you start.
Add Karpathy LLM Wikinanocoai/nanoclaw · MIT Download the skill Quick start
- 1Check your NanoClaw project. Confirm you have a local NanoClaw checkout with pnpm available, and access to launchctl or systemctl.
- 2Download and unzip the skill. Download the ZIP from this page and unzip it into ~/.claude/skills/ or a project's .claude/skills/ folder.
- 3Start the setup conversation. Ask in plain language, for example asking for a knowledge base, and answer the agent's questions about group, topic and sources.
- 4Choose a group. Pick the main group, a dedicated new group, or an existing group for the wiki.
- 5Let the agent create the files. The agent creates the wiki and sources folders, index and log files, the container skill and the CLAUDE.md wiki section.
- 6Restart the service. Run the restart commands from the NanoClaw project root for your operating system.
- 7Test with a source. Send a source to the wiki group and check that the agent processes it and updates the wiki.
What the skill makes the agent do
Most chat-with-documents setups upload files, retrieve chunks at question time and generate an answer, with nothing kept afterwards. This skill follows Karpathy's LLM Wiki pattern instead: the agent incrementally builds and maintains a persistent, interlinked markdown wiki that sits between you and the raw sources. When you add material, the agent reads it, extracts key information and integrates it into existing wiki pages.
During setup the skill creates a wiki/ and sources/ folder in the group, an index.md and a log.md, and a container skill file at container/skills/wiki/SKILL.md that tells the agent how to ingest, query and lint the wiki. It also adds a wiki section to the group's CLAUDE.md, wrapped in marker comments.
Check the requirements before installing
This skill only works with NanoClaw. The steps assume its project layout, its setup scripts and its launchd or systemd services, so it will not work in another project. You need a NanoClaw project checked out locally with pnpm available, and access to the container and service manager (launchctl on macOS or systemctl on Linux).
- Optional skills are needed for some source types, such as image, PDF or voice handling (for example /add-image-vision, /add-pdf-reader, /add-voice-transcription).
- Network access is needed to fetch URLs with curl or the browser tooling.
- The skill runs scripts and uses the network.
Install the skill
Download the ZIP from this page and unzip it into one of these locations: ~/.claude/skills/ for all your projects, or a project's .claude/skills/ folder for one project only. The unzipped folder should contain SKILL.md, llm-wiki.md and REMOVE.md.
Alternatively, in the Claude apps go to Settings → Capabilities → Skills and upload the ZIP.
~/.claude/skills/add-karpathy-llm-wiki/Trigger the skill with natural requests
You do not need a command. Ask in plain language. The skill's description lists these triggers: "add wiki", "wiki", "knowledge base", "llm wiki" and "karpathy wiki". A request such as "I want a knowledge base for my reading on energy policy" should be enough to start.
The agent will first read the pattern, summarise it, then ask questions. Expect it to ask which group should hold the wiki, what the topic is, what kinds of sources you will add, and whether you want periodic health checks.
- Main group: add the wiki to your existing main chat.
- Dedicated group: create a new group just for the wiki.
- Other: pick an existing group.
Work through the setup and ingest sources
Setup is interactive. The skill designs the wiki with you, then creates its files. Re-running is safe: directories are created with mkdir -p, existing index.md and log.md files are kept, and the group CLAUDE.md section is replaced in place rather than duplicated. If a container skill already exists, the agent asks before overwriting it.
When you add several files or a folder, the group instructions require the agent to process them one at a time, finishing each file (summary, entities, concepts, cross-references, index and log) before starting the next. For URLs, the agent is told to download full files with curl where full text matters, and to use fetch or agent-browser for web pages, because the built-in WebFetch returns a summary.
curl -sLo sources/filename.pdf "<url>"Restart the service and test
After setup, restart the NanoClaw service from the project root so containers pick up the change. On macOS the skill uses launchctl, and on Linux systemctl, through the helper script in setup/lib/install-slug.sh.
Then send a source to the wiki group to test it. If you chose a schedule, the agent sets up a weekly or monthly lint task using the schedule_task tool.
source setup/lib/install-slug.sh
launchctl kickstart -k gui/$(id -u)/$(launchd_label) # macOS
systemctl --user restart $(systemd_unit) # LinuxSafety notes before you add sources
Sources are fetched and stored as plain files, and their content is sent to the model provider. The skill does not address access control, so do not use it for sensitive or confidential material unless you have separately secured the environment.
The skill runs scripts and uses the network. Read SKILL.md and REMOVE.md before running it, and review the CLAUDE.md edits it makes.
Remove the wiki later
The REMOVE.md file in the skill describes the removal. It deletes the shared container skill at container/skills/wiki, removes the marker-wrapped block from groups/<folder>/CLAUDE.md, and restarts the service so containers drop the skill. Removal steps are idempotent, so they are safe to repeat. The Linux restart command is not shown in the excerpt, so check the full REMOVE.md for it.
What people use it for
- A long-lived personal knowledge base on one topic, built up from articles and notes over months.
- A team wiki in a dedicated NanoClaw group, where members send sources and query the accumulated notes.
- A researcher applying Karpathy's LLM Wiki idea to a specific field, with the agent maintaining cross-references between entities and concepts.
- Periodic health checks of the wiki through a scheduled lint task, if you choose a weekly or monthly schedule.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need NanoClaw to use this skill?
Yes. The skill is an installer for NanoClaw and its steps assume NanoClaw's project layout, setup scripts and launchd or systemd services. It will not work in other projects.
Is the Add Karpathy LLM Wiki skill free?
The source is released under the MIT licence. Check the licence file in the repository for the full terms before reusing the code.
How do I install the skill?
Download the ZIP from this page and unzip it into ~/.claude/skills/ or a project's .claude/skills/ folder. You can also upload the ZIP in the Claude apps under Settings → Capabilities → Skills.
What is the difference between this and RAG?
A RAG setup retrieves chunks from raw documents at question time and re-derives the answer each time. This skill has the agent build and update a persistent wiki of interlinked markdown pages, so knowledge accumulates between sessions.
Can I use it with sensitive documents?
The skill does not address access control, and sources are stored in plain files and sent to the model provider. Avoid confidential material unless you have separately secured the environment.
Why does the agent process my files one at a time?
The group instructions tell the agent to finish each file fully, including summary, entities, concepts, cross-references, index and log, before moving on. Batch reading produces shallow pages, so the skill avoids it.
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Our verdict
This skill suits NanoClaw users who want a long-lived knowledge base the agent maintains, or developers and researchers applying Karpathy's LLM Wiki idea to one topic. If you do not run NanoClaw, need a one-click install, or must handle confidential material, pick a different approach.
Download the skill