How to use the ExtractWisdom agent skill

What an agent skill is and what ExtractWisdom makes the agent do

An agent skill is a folder of instructions and supporting files that an AI agent loads when a request matches the skill's description. ExtractWisdom is one such skill. Once it is installed, the agent reads the whole source before writing anything.

In its standard mode the agent builds sections named for the content rather than using a fixed template, adds a one-sentence takeaway, a two-minute highlights list and references worth following at Full depth, and keeps mandatory contrarian takes from the speaker in their strongest form. In Alpha mode it returns a short ranked list of ideas that are new to a well-read reader: 24 by default, or the number you ask for.

Install ExtractWisdom from the ZIP or the Claude apps

Download the ExtractWisdom ZIP from the skill page, then choose one of two routes.

For Claude Code, unzip the folder into your personal skills directory ~/.claude/skills/, or into a project's .claude/skills/ directory to limit it to that project.

For the Claude apps, upload the skill under Settings → Capabilities → Skills.

• Personal install: ~/.claude/skills/
• Project install: .claude/skills/ inside your project
• Claude apps: Settings → Capabilities → Skills

Trigger the skill with natural requests

You do not need a special command. Ask in plain language and the agent matches the request to the skill. The skill's trigger phrases include "extract wisdom", "extract alpha", "highest-alpha ideas", "what is new in this", "analyze video", "analyze podcast", "summarize interview" and "distill content". The shorthand "ew" runs extraction and "ea" runs Alpha mode.

Alpha mode takes an optional number. "ea 8" asks for eight ideas. Without a number it returns 24.

• Standard extraction: "extract wisdom from this Marcus Hutchins interview"
• Article: "extract the key insights from this blog post"
• Alpha: "ea 8" or "what is new in this"

Examples of what you will get back

For a YouTube interview, the skill obtains the transcript with fabric -y URL and writes sections named for that interview, followed by the closing sections for Full depth. For a blog post, the skill fetches the raw HTML and extracts the article body in full, rather than using a summary tool, and attributes its sections to the source.

Each Alpha bullet is meant to be about eight words and make one claim. The bullets are ranked, so the first is the idea the skill judges most surprising or useful to a well-read reader in the field. If the content holds fewer real new ideas than you asked for, the output has fewer bullets and says so.

What you need before running it

The core skill needs only network access to fetch article HTML or YouTube sources. The Fabric CLI and yt-dlp are optional and only needed to fetch YouTube transcripts. They are installed through Setup.md, which is referenced from the skill.

The skill runs scripts and uses the network, so review what it will run before you enable it in a shared or work environment.

• Network access for article HTML and YouTube sources
• Optional: Fabric CLI and yt-dlp, for YouTube transcripts only (see Setup.md)

Safety notes and when not to rely on the output

The output is a model summary. It can misstate or omit details, so verify quotes, numbers and claims against the source before using them for fact-checking or any high-stakes decision.

For multi-source web investigation, the skill routes you to a separate Research skill. If you specifically need Fabric's fixed extract_wisdom prompt, use Fabric instead.

• Verify important claims against the original source
• Use Research for multi-source web investigation
• Use Fabric for the fixed extract_wisdom pattern

Tips for better results

Give the full URL or paste the complete text, because the skill works from the full source and a partial fetch weakens the result. For long transcripts, the skill chunks the text as described in its extraction instructions.

If you have a personal customisation folder, the skill reads PREFERENCES.md, configurations and resources from it, and those override the defaults. Choose Alpha mode when you want only the new ideas, and Full depth when you want context and quotes.

• Provide the full URL or complete pasted text
• Choose Alpha mode for only new ideas, Full for context
• Add a number to ea to control how many bullets you get