Autoresearch — Plugin Skill Self-Improvement

Iteratively improve plugin skills via the autoresearch pattern: propose one mutation -> eval -> keep/revert -> repeat.

Usage

/lab:autoresearch                           # Targeted: attack weakest skill+dimension
/lab:autoresearch --skill review            # Focus on one skill
/lab:autoresearch --strategy sweep          # Process all skills alphabetically
/lab:autoresearch --dry-run                 # Show what would change, don't commit

For overnight runs:

/loop 5m /lab:autoresearch --strategy sweep --max-iterations 200

Iron Laws

1. ONE mutation per iteration — if description needs "and", split into two
2. NEVER mutate read-only files — check program.md before every write
3. EVAL is deterministic — always use the wrapper script, never LLM-judge
4. REVERT on regression OR checks failure — no exceptions
5. LOG every iteration — use keep or revert command (never skip)
6. CHECK ideas.md before proposing — don't rediscover known optimizations

Wrapper Script Commands

All eval/git/journal operations go through ONE script. Do NOT run these manually.

# Find the weakest skill+dimension
python3 lab/autoresearch/scripts/run-iteration.py target --strategy targeted

# Score a skill (before mutation, to get baseline)
python3 lab/autoresearch/scripts/run-iteration.py score <skill-name>

# After mutation: score + checks + compare → verdict (KEEP or REVERT)
python3 lab/autoresearch/scripts/run-iteration.py eval <skill-name>

# Act on verdict:
python3 lab/autoresearch/scripts/run-iteration.py keep <skill> <dim> <old> <new> \
  --desc "what changed" --asi '{"hypothesis": "why", "mechanism": "how"}'

python3 lab/autoresearch/scripts/run-iteration.py revert <skill> <dim> <old> <new> \
  --desc "what was attempted" --asi '{"hypothesis": "why", "regression": "what broke", "avoid": "do not retry this"}'

# Check overall progress
python3 lab/autoresearch/scripts/run-iteration.py status

Core Loop (ONE iteration)

Step 1: Read State

1. Read lab/autoresearch/program.md (goals, mutable surface, rules)
2. Read lab/autoresearch/ideas.md if it exists (deferred optimizations)
3. Run: python3 lab/autoresearch/scripts/run-iteration.py status

Step 2: Select Target

Run: python3 lab/autoresearch/scripts/run-iteration.py target --strategy targeted

Parse the JSON: skill, dimension, failing_checks. If all_perfect → STOP.

Step 3: Read + Propose

1. Read target SKILL.md and its references/ listing
2. Read eval definition from lab/eval/evals/{skill}.json
3. Check ideas.md for deferred ideas about this skill
4. Check recent journal entries for prior failures on this skill (avoid repeats)
5. Consult ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/mutation-strategies.md
6. Propose exactly ONE change targeting the failing checks

Step 4: Apply + Evaluate

1. Apply the mutation via Edit tool
2. Run: python3 lab/autoresearch/scripts/run-iteration.py eval <skill-name>
3. Parse JSON → check verdict field

Step 5: Keep or Revert

If verdict is KEEP:

python3 lab/autoresearch/scripts/run-iteration.py keep <skill> <dim> <old> <new> \
  --desc "..." --asi '{"hypothesis": "...", "mechanism": "..."}'

If verdict is REVERT:

python3 lab/autoresearch/scripts/run-iteration.py revert <skill> <dim> <old> <new> \
  --desc "..." --asi '{"hypothesis": "...", "regression": "...", "avoid": "..."}'

Step 6: Ideas Backlog

If during analysis you discovered a promising optimization you can't act on now:

• Append it to lab/autoresearch/ideas.md as a bullet
• On next resume: prune stale/tried ideas, experiment with the rest

Step 7: Continue or Stop

• All targets >= 0.95? Print "AUTORESEARCH_COMPLETE"
• Max iterations reached? Print "AUTORESEARCH_COMPLETE"
• 50 consecutive discards? Print "AUTORESEARCH_STUCK"
• Otherwise: immediately start Step 1 again

References

• ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/mutation-strategies.md — mutation type catalog
• ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/state-management.md — git protocol, journaling
• lab/autoresearch/program.md — research agenda (read every iteration)