Guide · Agent skill
How to use the Naval Almanack Book Guide agent skill
Updated · written with AI from the project's own documentation and checked against our catalogue data
The naval-almanack skill turns your AI agent into a guide to the Chinese-language book The Naval Almanack: Wealth and Happiness Guide, which is based on the ideas of entrepreneur Naval Ravikant. This guide explains what an agent skill is, how to install this one, how to trigger it with plain requests, and where it should not be used. By the end you will be able to install the skill and ask it about the book's chapters, terms and life topics.
Naval Almanack Book Guidekangarooking/cangjie-skill · MIT Download the skill Quick start
- 1Download the ZIP. Get the naval-almanack ZIP from this page.
- 2Unzip into a skills folder. Unzip it into ~/.claude/skills/ for personal use or into the project's .claude/skills/ folder for one project.
- 3Or upload it in the Claude apps. Open Settings, go to Capabilities, then Skills, and upload the ZIP.
- 4Ask a plain question. Mention the book's title, author or a life topic such as happiness or envy in your request.
- 5Check the answer's scope. Confirm the reply stays within the book's framework and refer to a professional for medical, legal or safety matters.
What an agent skill is and what this one makes the agent do
An agent skill is a folder of instructions and reference files that an AI agent loads when a request matches the skill's description. You do not run it like a program; you ask a question and the agent decides whether to use the skill.
When you ask about the book, its chapters or key terms, the agent answers from its summaries. For life questions on happiness, anxiety, honesty, friendships or meaning, it picks one matching topic card and applies the book's framework to your situation.
- Book questions: title, author, chapters and an overview of the whole book
- Term explanations from the book's glossary
- Topic cards on happiness and desire, acceptance, meditation, status games, choosing friends, honesty, identity, life meaning, long-term compounding and judgment training
- Routing to separate standalone skills in the same package when a request fits them better, such as wealth structure, career positioning, big decisions, hourly rate and time, reading methods and phone addiction
Install the naval-almanack skill from the ZIP
Download the ZIP of the naval-almanack skill from this page and unzip it. The skill is a folder that must sit in a skills directory the agent reads.
For a personal install, place the folder in your user skills directory. For a single project, place it in that project's skills directory so it is only available there.
You can also upload the skill in the Claude apps. Open Settings, go to Capabilities, then Skills, and upload the ZIP there.
- Personal install: unzip into ~/.claude/skills/
- Project install: unzip into the project's .claude/skills/ folder
- Claude apps: Settings → Capabilities → Skills, then upload the ZIP
~/.claude/skills/How to trigger the skill with natural requests
You do not need a special command. Ask in plain language about the book, its author, its chapters or its ideas, or about a life topic it covers. The skill's description lists these triggers, including the book's Chinese title and the keywords 纳瓦尔, Naval, 幸福, 冥想, 内耗, 攀比, 圈子, 复利 and 人生意义.
If a request fits one of the standalone skills in the same package, the naval-almanack skill says to prefer that standalone skill when it is installed. Ask about the topic directly and the agent will choose.
- Use the book's Chinese title or the author's name to ask about the book itself
- Describe a life situation in your own words; the agent matches it to a topic card
- Ask for a term from the book to get its definition
- Ask a yes or no life question and expect the answer to follow the book's framework
Examples of requests that work
Requests can be in Chinese or English. The examples below show the kind of question the skill is written to handle. The exact wording of the reply will vary.
- 《纳瓦尔宝典》的核心原则是什么？ (What are the core principles of the Naval Almanack?)
- Explain the term 'happiness training' from the Naval Almanack.
- I keep ruminating over a conflict at work and cannot stop thinking about it. What does the book suggest?
- I am stuck in a situation I cannot change. Should I stay or leave, according to the book?
- How does the book think about envy and comparing myself to others?
What the skill needs and what it does not do
The skill lists no requirements. It does not run scripts and does not use the network, so everything it does comes from the files in the folder.
The skill has clear limits. It is not for investment advice or stock picking, which it explicitly excludes. It is not a financial advisor. For clinical depression, psychiatric crises or suicidal thoughts, the skill says to stop and seek professional or emergency help. For legal, medical or personal-safety decisions, it says to stop applying its methods and get professional help.
- No listed requirements
- Does not run scripts
- Does not use the network
- Excluded: investment advice, stock picking and financial product recommendations
- Excluded: clinical depression, psychiatric crises and suicidal thoughts; seek professional or emergency help
- Excluded: legal, medical or personal-safety decisions; seek professional help
- The book is written in Chinese, so Chinese-language questions match its material most closely
Tips for getting useful answers
Give the agent a concrete situation rather than a broad theme. The skill picks one topic card per question, so a specific question gets a more targeted framework.
Ask factual questions such as title, author or chapter when you only want facts. The skill is written to answer those briefly without turning them into life advice.
If an answer goes beyond the book, ask the agent to say so. The skill is written to state when a question is outside the book's scope rather than force its framework onto it.
- Name the situation: a relationship, a job, a habit or a feeling
- Separate fact questions from life questions
- Check the scope when a question seems outside the book
What people use it for
- Get a quick summary of the book's core principles before deciding whether to read it in full.
- Look up the book's key terms while reading the Chinese original.
- Work through a recurring worry, such as rumination or anxiety, using the book's framework on meditation or acceptance.
- Reflect on a relationship or friendship decision with the book's guidance on choosing peers and honest communication.
Frequently asked questions
Is the naval-almanack skill free to use?
The skill is released under the MIT licence, as stated on this page. The page does not list prices, so check the licence file in the download for the terms.
What do I need to run the naval-almanack skill?
The skill lists no requirements. It does not run scripts and does not use the network, so you only need an agent that supports skills and a place to put the folder.
Where do I install the naval-almanack skill?
Unzip the downloaded ZIP into ~/.claude/skills/ for personal use or into a project's .claude/skills/ folder. You can also upload the ZIP in the Claude apps under Settings, then Capabilities, then Skills.
Can the naval-almanack skill give investment advice?
No. The skill explicitly excludes investment advice and stock picking, and it is not a financial advisor. Use a qualified professional for those decisions.
Is the book The Naval Almanack available in English?
The skill is based on a book written in Chinese, and its answers draw on that material. Ask in Chinese for the closest match to the book's text.
What should I do if the skill does not trigger?
Mention the book's title, the author's name or a specific topic in your request. If the question is outside the book's scope, the skill is written to tell you so rather than force an answer.
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Our verdict
This skill suits Chinese-speaking readers who want structured summaries of The Naval Almanack and its framework on happiness, desire and long-term thinking. It is not suitable for investment advice, clinical or crisis support, or legal and medical decisions, where you should use a qualified professional or emergency services.
Download the skill