Skill Explorer

skill-explorer

A systematic framework for discovering, evaluating, and comparing OpenClaw skills. Use when you need to find the right skill for a specific task, compare multiple options, or assess skill quality and safety.

Overview

This skill provides a battle-tested workflow for skill exploration: 1. Demand Analysis → Clarify what you need 2. Search & Discovery → Find relevant skills 3. Information Gathering → Collect metrics and details 4. Lateral Exploration → Find alternatives and competitors 5. Deep Dive → Download and inspect skill files 6. Safety Assessment → Security review 7. Synthesis & Report → Output comparison and recommendations 8. Decision Support → Present options for user approval

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When to Use This Skill

Use skill-explorer when:

You need to find a skill for a specific task

You want to compare multiple similar skills

You need to evaluate skill quality before installation

You're doing security review of a skill

You want to discover related or complementary skills

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The Exploration Workflow

Phase 1: Demand Analysis

Clarify the requirements:

What task does the user need to accomplish?
What are the must-have vs nice-to-have features?
Any constraints (budget, platform, language)?
What's the priority: functionality, popularity, or safety?

Document the search criteria:

Primary keywords

Secondary/alternative terms

Platform constraints (e.g., "must work with Chinese market")

Safety requirements (e.g., "no network access")

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Phase 2: Search & Discovery

Primary search:

clawhub search 
clawhub search  

Capture initial results: Record top 5-10 results with:

Skill name

Relevance score

First impression of summary

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Phase 3: Information Gathering

For each promising skill, collect:

clawhub inspect  --json

Extract key metrics: | Metric | Why It Matters | |--------|---------------| | stats.stars | Community quality indicator | | stats.downloads | Popularity/visibility | | stats.installsAllTime | Actual adoption | | stats.installsCurrent | Active usage (low churn = good) | | stats.versions | Maintenance activity | | owner.handle | Developer reputation | | updatedAt | Freshness |

Read SKILL.md:

Core functionality

Use cases

Prerequisites

Integration requirements

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Phase 4: Lateral Exploration

Find alternatives and complements:

# Search with related keywords
clawhub search 
clawhub search 
Look for broader/narrower skills
clawhub search 
clawhub search 

Expand the candidate pool:

Direct competitors (same function)

Partial overlaps (related function)

Complementary skills (work together)

Domain-specific variants (e.g., "CN" versions)

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Phase 5: Deep Dive

Download and inspect promising skills:

# Install to temp directory for inspection
cd /tmp && mkdir skill-check
cd skill-check && clawhub install 

File structure analysis:

find . -type f | sort

Look for:

SKILL.md - Main documentation

scripts/ - Executable code

package.json / requirements.txt - Dependencies

_meta.json - Metadata

Hidden files or unusual structures

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Phase 6: Safety Assessment

Static code analysis:

# Check for suspicious patterns
grep -r -E "(eval\(|exec\(|Function\(|atob\(|btoa\()" .
grep -r -E "(crypto|encrypt|decrypt|base64|0x[0-9a-f]{20,})" .
Check for network/API calls
grep -r -E "(https?://|api\.|token|key|secret|password)" .
Check for file system operations
grep -r -E "(fs\.|writeFile|readFile|unlink|chmod)" .

Risk classification: | Level | Indicators | |-------|-----------| | 🟢 Low | Pure documentation, no scripts, no network | | 🟡 Medium | Scripts but official APIs only, read-only ops | | 🔴 High | Obfuscated code, unknown network endpoints, write operations |

Special checks:

[ ] VirusTotal warnings (verify if false positive)

[ ] Hardcoded credentials or tokens

[ ] External dependencies (npm/pip packages)

[ ] Permission requirements (camera, microphone, etc.)

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Phase 7: Synthesis & Report

Create comparison table:

| Skill | Stars | Installs | Safety | Best For |
|-------|-------|----------|--------|----------|
| skill-a | ⭐⭐ 25 | 45 | 🟢 | General use |
| skill-b | ⭐ 8 | 12 | 🟢 | Specific niche |
| skill-c | ⭐⭐⭐ 60 | 120 | 🟡 | Power users |

Write detailed analysis: 1. Executive Summary - Top 2-3 recommendations 2. Detailed Comparison - Feature-by-feature analysis 3. Safety Assessment - Security findings 4. Use Case Mapping - Which skill fits which scenario 5. Installation Guide - Prerequisites and steps

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Phase 8: Decision Support

Present clear options:

## Recommendation
Option A: Best Overall → [skill-name]
Why: Highest quality + safety
Trade-off: May lack advanced features
Option B: Most Popular → [skill-name]
Why: Community validated
Trade-off: Higher complexity
Option C: Specific Need → [skill-name]
Why: Perfect fit for [specific use case]
Trade-off: Less generalizable

Get user approval:

Present options with trade-offs

Ask for priority (functionality vs safety vs popularity)

Wait for explicit approval before installation

Document approved skills for installation queue

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Best Practices

Do's

✅ Always check multiple similar skills (don't settle for first result)

✅ Download and inspect before recommending installation

✅ Document security findings clearly

✅ Consider the user's specific context (language, platform, expertise)

✅ Update EVOLUTION.md after installation

Don'ts

❌ Don't recommend based on downloads alone

❌ Don't skip security checks even for popular skills

❌ Don't install without explicit user approval

❌ Don't ignore VirusTotal warnings without investigation

❌ Don't overlook maintenance status (old updates = risk)

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Integration with Evolution System

After completing an exploration:

1. Update EVOLUTION.md: - Add discovered skills to "待学习" list - Note priority and context - Link to exploration report

2. Create exploration report: - Save to reports/skill-exploration-{topic}.md - Include all findings and recommendations - Reference in future decisions

3. Track decisions: - Document which skills were approved/declined - Note reasons for future reference - Update after installation and usage

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Example Output Template

# Skill Exploration Report: [Topic]
Executive Summary
Recommended: [skill-name] (⭐⭐ 50 stars, 80 installs, 🟢 safe)
Skills Discovered
Tier 1: Strong Candidates
| Skill | Stars | Installs | Safety | Verdict |
|-------|-------|----------|--------|---------|
| ... | ... | ... | ... | ... |
Tier 2: Alternatives
...
Detailed Analysis
[skill-name]
Overview: ...
Strengths: ...
Weaknesses: ...
Safety Review: ...
Best For: ...
Recommendations
1. Install: [skill] - [reason]
2. Consider: [skill] - [reason]
3. Skip: [skill] - [reason]
Next Steps
[ ] User approval for recommended skills
[ ] Security review for approved skills
[ ] Installation and testing
[ ] Update EVOLUTION.md

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Related Skills

marketing-mode - For go-to-market strategy after skill selection

tweet-writer - For promoting discovered skills

skill-creator - For creating your own skills based on gaps found

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*This skill helps you make informed decisions about skill adoption, ensuring you find the right tool for the job while maintaining security standards.*

Do's

✅ Always check multiple similar skills (don't settle for first result)

✅ Download and inspect before recommending installation

✅ Document security findings clearly

✅ Consider the user's specific context (language, platform, expertise)

✅ Update EVOLUTION.md after installation

Don'ts

❌ Don't recommend based on downloads alone

❌ Don't skip security checks even for popular skills

❌ Don't install without explicit user approval

❌ Don't ignore VirusTotal warnings without investigation

❌ Don't overlook maintenance status (old updates = risk)

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