Wisdom Extraction

Workflow

Step 1: Identify Source and Acquire Content

Determine the source type and acquire content accordingly:

YouTube URL (contains youtube.com or youtu.be):

Execute the download script to fetch only the transcript (no video file):

bash scripts/download_video.sh <youtube-url>

The script will:

• Auto-detect your environment (Claude Code or Claw based agents) and OS (macOS or Linux)
• Download English subtitles or auto-generated transcripts
• Output the transcript path and next steps

Cookie handling: The script first attempts to download using browser cookies (for access-restricted videos). If no browser is found or cookies fail, it automatically falls back to trying cookie-less download.

After downloading, execute the rename command the script provides:

mv <OUTPUT_DIR> <OUTPUT_DIR>/../YYYY-MM-DD-<concise-description>

• Keep the description short (1-6 words), use hyphens instead of spaces
• Take the video content and title into consideration
• Example: Video "My Interview With Demis Hassabis" becomes 2026-02-05-Demis-Hassabis-Interview

Then read the transcript file from TRANSCRIPT_PATH. Transcripts are cleaned and formatted as continuous text with minimal whitespace.

Note: The download script uses --restrict-filenames to sanitise special characters in filenames for safer handling.

Web URL (blog posts, articles, any non-YouTube URL):

Use WebFetch to extract content:

WebFetch with prompt: "Extract the main article content"

WebFetch returns cleaned markdown-formatted content ready for analysis.

Local file path (.txt, .md, or other text formats):

Use the Read tool to load content directly.

Step 2: Analyse and Extract Wisdom

IMPORTANT: Avoid signal dilution, context collapse, quality degradation and degraded reasoning for future understanding of the content. Keep the signal-to-noise ratio high. Preserve domain insights while excluding filler or fluff.

If the content is very long and you have the ability to ask the user questions - ask the user what level of detail they want in the document, use multi-choice if possible with: "Highly detailed", "Medium detail", "Concise"

Perform analysis on the content, extracting:

1. Key Insights & Takeaways

• Identify the main ideas, core concepts, and central arguments
• Extract fundamental learnings and important revelations
• Highlight expert advice, best practices, or recommendations
• Note any surprising or counterintuitive information

2. Notable Quotes

• Extract memorable, impactful, or particularly well-articulated statements
• Include context for each quote when relevant
• Focus on quotes that encapsulate key ideas or provide unique perspectives
• Preserve the original wording exactly, except correct American spellings to Australian English

3. Structured Summary

• Create hierarchical organisation of content
• Break down into logical sections or themes
• Provide clear section headings that reflect content structure
• Include high-level overview followed by detailed breakdowns
• Note any important examples, case studies, or demonstrations

4. Actionable Takeaways

• List specific, concrete actions the audience can implement with examples (if applicable)
• Do not add your own advice, input or recommendations outside of what is in the content unless the user has asked you to do so
• Frame as clear, executable steps
• Prioritise practical advice over theoretical concepts
• Include any tools, resources, or techniques mentioned
• Distinguish between immediate actions and longer-term strategies

5. Your Own Insights On The Content

Do this in a separate step, only after you've added the content from the source.

• Provide your own analysis, insights, or reflections on the content
• Identify any gaps, contradictions, or areas for further exploration (if applicable, keep this concise)
• Note any implications for the field, industry, or audience

Step 3: Write Analysis to Markdown File

Determine the output directory:

YouTube sources: The renamed directory from Step 1.

Web and text sources: Run the following to determine the base output directory, then use it as described below:

bash scripts/download_video.sh --output-dir

If the command fails or is unavailable, fall back to ~/Downloads/text-wisdom/.

Save to <base-output-dir>/YYYY-MM-DD-<concise-description>/:

• Create the directory if it doesn't exist
• Use the same date-prefixed naming convention as YouTube sources

File name: <source-title> - analysis.md

Format the analysis using this structure:

# Analysis: [Title]

**Source**: [YouTube URL, web URL, or file path]
**Analysis Date**: [YYYY-MM-DD]

## Summary
[Brief 2-3 sentence overview of the main topic and purpose]

### Simplified Explanation
[Explain It Like I'm 10: A simple 1-2 sentence explanation of the core concept in a way a 10-year-old could understand]

### Key Takeaways
- [Concise takeaway 1]
- [Concise takeaway 2]
- [Concise takeaway 3]

## Key Insights
- [Insight 1]
  - [Supporting detail]
- [Insight 2]
  - [Supporting detail]
- [Insight 3]
  - [Supporting detail]
- etc..

## Notable Quotes (Only include if there are notable quotes)
> "[Quote 1]"

Context: [Brief context if needed]

> "[Quote 2]"

Context: [Brief context if needed]

## Structured Breakdown
### [Section 1 Title]
[Content summary]

### [Section 2 Title]
[Content summary]

## Actionable Takeaways
1. [Specific action item 1]
2. [Specific action item 2]
3. [Specific action item 3]

## Insights & Commentary
[Your own insights, analysis, reflections, or commentary on the content, if applicable]

## Additional Resources
[Any tools, links, or references mentioned in the content]

_Wisdom Extraction: [Current date in YYYY-MM-DD]_

After writing the analysis file, inform the user of the location.

Claw note: When running via Claw, also return the full analysis content in your response. Users often want to read the insights immediately without opening a separate file.

Step 4: Critical Self-Review

Conduct a critical self-review of your summarisation and analysis.

Create tasks to track the following (mechanical checks first, then content quality):

• No American English spelling - check and fix (e.g. judgment->judgement, practicing->practising, organize->organise)
• No em-dashes, smart quotes, or non-standard typography
• Proper markdown formatting
• Accuracy & faithfulness to the original content
• Completeness
• Concise, clear content with no fluff, marketing speak, filler, or padding (high signal-to-noise ratio)
• Logical organisation & structure

Re-read the analysis file, verify each item, fix any issues found, then mark tasks completed.

Step 5: Formatting and Send Completion Notification (Claude Code Only & Optional)

If you have access to prettier run a prettier --write "path/to/file.md" to auto-format the markdown file (skip if prettier is not available).

Use scripts/send_notification.sh to send a desktop notification:

TITLE="Wisdom Extracted" MESSAGE="<short description>" PLAY_SOUND=true DIR="<output-directory>" bash scripts/send_notification.sh

Then stop unless further instructions are given.

Additional Capabilities

Multiple Source Analysis

When analysing multiple sources:

• Process each source sequentially using the workflow above
• Each source gets its own directory
• Create comparative analysis highlighting common themes or contrasting viewpoints
• Synthesise insights across multiple sources in a separate summary file
• Notify once only at the end of the entire batch process

Topic-Specific Focus

When user requests focused analysis on specific topics:

• Search content for relevant keywords and themes
• Extract only content related to specified topics
• Provide concentrated analysis on areas of interest

Time-Stamped Analysis (YouTube only)

If timestamps are needed:

• Note that basic transcripts don't preserve timestamps
• Can reference general flow (beginning, middle, end) of content
• For precise timestamps, may need to cross-reference with the actual video

Tips

• Don't add new lines between items in a list
• Avoid marketing speak, fluff or other unnecessary verbiage such as "comprehensive", "cutting-edge", "state-of-the-art", "enterprise-grade" etc.
• Always use Australian English spelling
• Do not use em-dashes or smart quotes
• Only use bold where emphasis is truly needed
• Ensure clarity and conciseness in summaries and takeaways
• Always ask yourself if the sentence adds value - if not, remove it
• If the source mentions a specific tool, resource or website, task a sub-agent to look it up and provide a brief summary, then include it in the Additional Resources section
• You can consider creating mermaid diagrams to explain complex concepts, relationships, or workflows found in the content

Resources

scripts/

• download_video.sh: Downloads YouTube transcripts (no video files) using yt-dlp. Auto-detects environment (Claude Code/Claw) and OS, outputs paths and next steps.
• send_notification.sh: Sends desktop notifications when analysis is complete (Claude Code only, optional).

Installation Paths

This skill works with both Claude Code and Claw based agents:

• Claude Code: ~/.claude/skills/extract-wisdom/
• OpenClaw: ~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/extract-wisdom/
• ZeroClaw: ~/.zeroclaw/workspace/skills/extract-wisdom/