Skills

A skill is a reusable technique that Hefty learned from a successful interaction. Think of skills as Hefty's playbook - proven approaches it can reach for when facing a similar task.

Example skill
Docker Multi-Stage Build
When building Docker images for Node.js apps, use a multi-stage build: first stage installs dependencies and runs the build, second stage copies only the production artifacts. This reduces image size by 60-80%.

Skills capture what to do, when to apply it, and what results to expect. When Hefty encounters a similar task later, it recalls the relevant skill and uses the proven approach instead of figuring it out from scratch.

Skills also track their own track record:

  • Usage count - how many times the skill has been applied
  • Success rate - how often it leads to good outcomes
  • Recent history - the last several uses with outcomes

This means frequently-used, reliable skills get prioritized in future lookups. Skills that consistently fail naturally get deprioritized.

Teaching Hefty Skills

Beyond automatic learning, you can explicitly teach Hefty skills by providing structured text - for example, a skill.md file describing a workflow, deployment process, or coding pattern. Hefty sanitizes the input, extracts the core technique, and saves it to its knowledge base.