# book-to-skill - Category: Prompts & plugins - Official site: https://github.com/virgiliojr94/book-to-skill - HTML: https://www.88z.ai/en/tools/book-to-skill - Markdown: https://www.88z.ai/en/tools/book-to-skill.md book-to-skill is an open-source tool designed to solve the problem of developers struggling to recall specific chapters after reading technical books. ## What is book-to-skill? book-to-skill is an open-source tool designed to solve the problem of developers struggling to recall specific chapters after reading technical books.It transforms any technical book PDF, document folder, or collection of sources into a structured skill package compliant with the open Agent Skills standard. Instead of generating simple summaries, the tool extracts frameworks, decision rules, anti-patterns, and specific content from each chapter.It produces a complete skill structure including core mental models, chapter files, glossaries, and cheatsheets.These skills are natively recognized and loaded by various AI coding agents such as GitHub Copilot CLI, Claude Code, Amp, and Codex. Through an on-demand loading mechanism, the agent only reads relevant chapter files when a specific topic is queried, significantly reducing token consumption (measured to be 24–51× less than dumping the entire book into context).This integrates technical books directly into your workflow, turning them into accessible knowledge bases rather than dormant PDF files. ## Key features - **Structured Skill**：Converts unstructured PDFs into standardized skill directories containing SKILL.md, chapter files, glossaries, and pattern tables, preserving the book's logical structure rather than just summarizing it. - **Multi-Agent Comp**：Generated skills comply with open standards and are natively supported by major AI agents including GitHub Copilot CLI, Claude Code, Amp, Codex, Hermes Agent, OpenCode, and OpenClaw. - **On-Demand Loadin**：Chapter files are loaded only when users query related topics, avoiding massive context window occupation and significantly reducing token costs while improving response accuracy. - **Hallucination Pr**：Agents answer based on extracted real chapter content, preventing hallucinations or refusals common in general LLMs that lack specific book content. - **Beyond Books App**：Not limited to books; it can process internal documentation, architecture decision records, brand guidelines, research paper clusters, and API specifications—any structured prose material. - **Efficient Token**：Measured data shows that using skills generated by book-to-skill reduces token consumption by 24 to 51 times compared to dumping the entire book content into the context. ## How to use it 1. Install the book-to-skill tool, ensuring Python and related dependencies are configured in your environment. 2. Prepare the technical book PDF file you wish to convert, or the path to a folder containing multiple documents. 3. Run the command in your terminal, e.g., `/book-to-skill ./my-book.pdf`, pointing to the target file or directory. 4. The tool will automatically parse the content and generate a structured skill package in the user-level skills directory (e.g., ~/.agents/skills/). 5. Invoke the skill in your AI coding agent (such as Claude Code or GitHub Copilot CLI) using a slash command (e.g., `/my-book-slug replication`). 6. The agent will load relevant chapters on demand and answer your technical questions based on the actual book content. ## Where it fits - **Deep Technical L**：When reading heavy technical monographs, convert the entire book into a skill to easily query specific algorithm or design pattern implementation details while coding. - **Internal Knowled**：Merge team Architecture Decision Records (ADRs), runbooks, and onboarding guides into a unified skill, allowing new members to quickly retrieve and understand internal standards via AI agents. - **Compliance & Sta**：Convert complex RFC documents, API contracts, or compliance standards into skills, enabling developers to reference accurate clauses in real-time while writing code to avoid violations. - **Research Materia**：Merge multiple related research papers and personal notes into a unified skill, updating dynamically as new materials arrive to form a personal knowledge base. ## Pricing and free quota book-to-skill is an open-source project under the MIT license and is free to use.Pricing follows the official site. ## Who it is for - Software Engineers - Technical Team Leads - Lifelong Learners - Technical Writers ## FAQ ### Which AI agents does book-to-skill support? It supports any host that adheres to the open Agent Skills standard, including GitHub Copilot CLI, Amp, Claude Code, Codex, Hermes Agent, OpenCode, and OpenClaw. ### Can it handle non-book documents? Yes.As long as the input is structured prose, such as internal documentation, brand guidelines, research papers, or API specifications, it can be converted into a skill. ### How does this tool save tokens? It uses an on-demand loading mechanism where the agent only reads the corresponding chapter file when you query a specific topic, rather than dumping the entire book into context, saving 24-51× tokens. ### Where are the generated skills stored? By default, skills are generated in the user-level cross-agent skills directory (e.g., ~/.agents/skills//).Different agents may have specific discovery paths, such as Claude Code attempting to create symlinks. ## Tags PDF Processing · Knowledge Management · AI Agent Skills · Developer Tools Features, pricing and availability follow the official site. Except for 88z.ai’s own API pages, this is a third-party product; 88z.ai only provides a directory introduction.