FAQ

What is BookForge?

BookForge is an open-source tool that distills non-fiction books into structured, executable skills for AI agents. It takes a book, runs it through a 5-stage pipeline, and produces SKILL.md files that agents can read and follow to perform domain-specific tasks.

How is it different from other agent skills libraries?

Most skills libraries are hand-authored by developers. BookForge is different in two ways:

1. Source material. Skills are distilled from published non-fiction — books that represent years of accumulated expertise in a domain. The knowledge depth comes from the source, not from whoever wrote the skill.
2. Verified output. Every skill goes through functional testing: a with-skill vs without-skill comparison that measures whether the skill actually improves agent performance on relevant tasks.

What books are supported?

BookForge targets non-fiction books across 29 domains, including software architecture, negotiation, decision-making, systems thinking, technical leadership, product management, and more. The current catalog covers 50+ books. See the domain list for the full breakdown.

Not every book makes a good source for skills. Books need to score well on skill density — they should contain concrete procedures, not just theory or narrative.

What agent platforms work with BookForge?

Any agent that reads Markdown-based skill files. Currently tested with:

• Claude Code — reads from .claude/skills/
• Codex CLI — reads from .codex/skills/
• Cursor — reads from .cursor/skills/
• Windsurf — reads from .windsurf/skills/
• Other agents — any agent that can read SKILL.md files from a configured directory

The SKILL.md format is an open standard. If your agent reads Markdown instructions, BookForge skills will work.

Is it free?

Yes. BookForge is open source. The pipeline code is MIT-licensed. Generated skills are CC-BY-SA 4.0.

What license does it use?

Two licenses:

• Pipeline code (the tool itself): MIT. Use it however you want.
• Generated skills (SKILL.md files and associated content): CC-BY-SA 4.0. You can use, share, and adapt skills freely, but you must give attribution and share derivatives under the same license.

How do I request a book?

Open a thread in GitHub Discussions with the book title, author, and which domain it belongs to. If you have a copy and want to process it yourself, see the Contributing guide.

Can I contribute my own skills?

Yes. The contribution model is: pick a book, run the pipeline, review the output, submit a PR. See Contributing for the full process.

You can also submit hand-authored skills if they follow the SKILL.md format and pass verification testing.

How are skills verified?

Two-stage verification:

1. Structural checks — the skill conforms to the SKILL.md spec. All required sections are present, the body is under 500 lines, script references resolve, frontmatter is valid.
2. Functional testing — an agent attempts the same task twice: once with the skill installed, once without. The outputs are compared to measure whether the skill improves results.

Skills that fail either check are sent back for revision before being published.

Does BookForge work with my agent?

If your agent can read Markdown files from a directory, it will work. BookForge skills are plain Markdown with YAML frontmatter — no proprietary format, no vendor lock-in.

The bookforge install command places skills in the conventional directory for your agent (.claude/skills/, .codex/skills/, etc.). You can also copy skill files manually to wherever your agent looks for them.