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Colleague Distillation

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ZhixiangLuo
colleague-distillation

Distill a colleague into a reusable AI skill (work + persona) using tool connections — Slack, Slack AI, Jira, GHE, Bitbucket, Confluence, SharePoint, Teams, Outlook, Notion, Linear, Google Docs, and more — without manual paste. Use when the user wants a colleague skill, digital twin of a coworker, or capture of someone's technical voice from workplace systems. Requires tool_connections + 10xProductivity verified_connections (or equivalent .env).

Overview

PublisherZhixiangLuo
Repository10xProductivity
Skill namecolleague-distillation
Stars
483
Forks
56
Bundled files
Instructions only
LicenseMIT
Links
  • Markdown instructions

    A SKILL.md file the model loads on demand, so it only costs tokens when a request actually matches.

  • Works with any LLM

    AI skills are plain Markdown, not provider-specific code, so this works with GPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, or a local model.

  • Self-contained

    Everything the model needs lives in the instructions — no extra files to sync.

  • Open source

    Published by ZhixiangLuo on GitHub. Read the source before you install it.

Installation

Install the Colleague Distillation AI skill in TypingMind to use it with any LLM, or drop it into another agent that reads SKILL.md.

1

Install in TypingMind

TypingMind installs a skill straight from its GitHub folder — it reads SKILL.md, bundles the resource files, and stores the result locally.

  1. Open the app and go to Plugins → Skills.
  2. Choose "Install from GitHub".
  3. Paste the skill folder URL below and confirm.
    https://github.com/ZhixiangLuo/10xProductivity/tree/main/.claude/skills/colleague-distillation
  4. Enable the skill in any chat where you want it available.
Plugins → Skills → Add skill → From GitHub URL, then paste the folder URL and press Continue.
2

Install in another agent

Any agent that reads the Agent Skills format can use this skill — copy the folder into that agent's skills directory.

Claude Code — .claude/skills
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/ZhixiangLuo/10xProductivity.git /tmp/10xProductivity
mkdir -p .claude/skills
cp -r /tmp/10xProductivity/.claude/skills/colleague-distillation .claude/skills/colleague-distillation
Restart Claude Code after copying so it picks up the new skill.

Use it in TypingMind

Enable Colleague Distillation in any TypingMind chat and the model takes it from there. Its name and description sit in the system prompt, and the moment a request matches, the model loads the full instructions itself — you never invoke it by hand, and it costs no tokens until it is actually used.

The model loads Colleague Distillation on its own as soon as a request matches it.

Works with any AI model

AI skills are plain Markdown instructions rather than provider-specific code, so Colleague Distillation is not tied to the model it was written for. Install it once in TypingMind and use it with GPT-5, Claude, Gemini, Grok, DeepSeek, Mistral, Llama, or a local model you run yourself — all on your own API keys.

  • Loaded only when it is needed

    The system prompt carries just the name and description. The instructions are fetched on the first matching request, so an idle skill costs nothing.

  • Switch models mid-chat

    Because the skill is instructions rather than code, changing model does not break it — the next model reads the same SKILL.md.

Skill instructions

This is the SKILL.md content the model loads. Read it before installing — a skill is instructions your model will follow.

10xProductivity skill: This file is the Claude Code entry point for colleague distillation when working in this repo.

Colleague distillation (tool-backed)

Purpose

Produce a colleague skill: structured work knowledge (systems, standards, review style) plus persona (tone, decisions, interpersonal habits), using APIs and search already wired in tool_connections / 10xProductivity — not hand-pasted exports.

Output layout matches the open colleague-skill convention so results can coexist with that generator:

  • colleagues/{slug}/work.md
  • colleagues/{slug}/persona.md
  • colleagues/{slug}/meta.json
  • colleagues/{slug}/SKILL.md (merged invocable skill)

Optional: Clone colleague-skill for its prompts/work_analyzer.md, persona_analyzer.md, work_builder.md, persona_builder.md if you want identical extraction templates; this skill defines what to fetch and where to write.


Prerequisites

  1. Load the relevant 10xProductivity connection docs under tool_connections/ and any allowed private recipes under $TENX_PRIVATE_DIR/personal/.
  2. Load $TENX_PRIVATE_DIR/verified_connections.md — only call tools listed there (or documented in 10xProductivity/tool_connections/ / personal/).
  3. For Jira, use the verified Jira connection documentation and recipes in this repo.
  4. Credentials: source or load $TENX_PRIVATE_DIR/.env (or project .env) before curl / scripts. Never commit secrets.

Cursor vs Claude Code

EnvironmentWhere to put generated filesHow this skill is loaded
CursorRepo root: colleagues/{slug}/.cursor/skills/colleague-distillation/SKILL.md
Claude CodeSame colleagues/{slug}/ under the active project.claude/skills/colleague-distillation/SKILL.md

Use the same slug and folder layout in both; only the skill install path differs.


Slug rules

  • Slug = unique directory name: michael_donnelly, michael_donnelly_2, … (ASCII, underscores).
  • Collisions: Same slug overwrites an existing colleague folder. Disambiguate with _2, _3, or a distinct codename.
  • Store display name and aliases in meta.json, not only in the slug.

Phase 1 — Resolve identity

Before searching, pin who the colleague is:

  1. Active Directory (if configured in tool_connections): resolve email, manager chain, department — use for Jira/Slack account mapping when IDs are unknown.
  2. Slack: From verified_connections.md, use Slack API recipes to resolve @handle → user id (U…) for from:@user / from:U… search syntax.
  3. Jira: Resolve accountId (assignee, reporter, comment author) via Jira user search API — see jira skill.

Record: slack_user_id, jira_account_id, email, ad_cn (as available).


Phase 2 — Pull source material (priority order)

Gather raw excerpts (save under colleagues/{slug}/knowledge/raw/ as .md or .json snippets) with source + URL/ticket/channel + date in each chunk header. Cap volume per source (e.g. last 90–180 days) unless the user asks for full history.

Tier A — Highest signal for “how they work and sound”

SourceWhat to fetchWhy
Slacksearch.messages: from:user, date range, in:#relevant-channels; thread URLs they participated inTone, decisions, pushback, on-call voice
Slack AI (Slackbot DM)Targeted questions: e.g. “Summarize how [Name] argues for design decisions in threads about [topic]”Fast synthesis over large Slack corpus
JiraJQL: assignee, reporter, comment ~, component/team filters; descriptions, comments, status transitionsWork scope, prioritization, written precision
GHEPRs authored, reviewed (/pulls, review comments API); issues filedCode review voice, technical standards
Bitbucket ServerSame pattern as GHE when Bitbucket Server is the primary Git hostSame

Tier B — Depth and standards

SourceWhat to fetchWhy
ConfluencePages created by or substantially edited by them (CQL / search); team runbooks they ownLong-form standards, architecture voice
NotionPages they authored or commented onLong-form async thinking, project context
SharePointDocs and wikis they own or editedStandards docs, team handbooks

Tier C — Optional / role-specific

SourceWhen
Google DriveDocs/slides they own (if verified in verified_connections.md)
PagerDutyOncall/incident behavior
Console / IAHubRelease/ops ownership if building an ops-heavy persona
Microsoft Teams / OutlookIf verified — email/thread tone (handle consent carefully)
Gmail (personal recipe)Only if user explicitly wants email and connection is verified

Tier D — Do not rely on for persona without extra care

  • Raw git blame without PR context — noisy.
  • HR systems — use only for title/team if needed, not personality inference.

Phase 3 — Synthesize (work vs persona)

Work (work.md): Systems, stacks, coding/review conventions, doc habits, Jira/workflow patterns, incident/release behavior — cite patterns, not one-off jokes.

Persona (persona.md): Use a layered structure compatible with colleague-skill:

  1. Layer 0 — Hard rules (non-negotiables: respect, no slurs, no real harassment simulation beyond professional friction the user explicitly asked for).
  2. Identity — role, scope, team context.
  3. Expression — vocabulary, sentence length, directness, humor.
  4. Decisions — risk posture, escalation, “how they say no.”
  5. Interpersonal — meetings, async, conflict.

Grounding: Prefer quoted paraphrases with source pointers; flag low-confidence traits when sample size is small.


Phase 4 — Write artifacts

meta.json (minimal)

json
{
  "name": "Display Name",
  "slug": "michael_donnelly",
  "created_at": "<ISO8601 UTC>",
  "updated_at": "<ISO8601 UTC>",
  "version": "v1",
  "profile": {
    "company": "",
    "level": "",
    "role": "",
    "email": ""
  },
  "ids": {
    "slack_user_id": "",
    "jira_account_id": ""
  },
  "knowledge_sources": ["slack", "jira", "ghe"],
  "corrections_count": 0
}

SKILL.md (invocable)

YAML frontmatter:

yaml
---
name: colleague_{slug}
description: "<Name> — distilled work + persona (tool-sourced)."
user-invocable: true
---

Body: short intro + full work.md + full persona.md + run rules:

  1. Persona decides attitude; work block executes the task.
  2. Output matches persona expression.
  3. Layer 0 never violated.

Optional: also write work_skill.md / persona_skill.md with names colleague_{slug}_work / colleague_{slug}_persona if your host expects split invocations (see colleague-skill skill_writer.py).


Consent and safety

  • Build skills only for legitimate work purposes and policy-compliant use of company tools.
  • Do not exfiltrate secrets, PII bundles, or restricted content into colleagues/ — redact tokens, customer data, and health/financial identifiers.
  • When unsure whether content is allowed in a repo, ask the user before writing.

Outputs checklist

  • colleagues/{slug}/ created with knowledge/raw/ containing sourced excerpts
  • work.md and persona.md complete
  • meta.json with ids and source list
  • SKILL.md merged and invocable
  • User told how to invoke (/{slug} or host-specific command) and how to disambiguate duplicates (_2, _3)

Related skills

  • team_learner — team/domain bootstrap (similar tool sweep, different output shape).
  • skill_creation — promote reusable methodology after validation.
  • jira, tool_connections — all authenticated access.

Frequently asked questions

What does the Colleague Distillation AI skill do?

Distill a colleague into a reusable AI skill (work + persona) using tool connections — Slack, Slack AI, Jira, GHE, Bitbucket, Confluence, SharePoint, Teams, Outlook, Notion, Linear, Google Docs, and more — without manual paste. Use when the user wants a colleague skill, digital twin of a coworker, or capture of someone's technical voice from workplace systems. Requires tool_connections + 10xProductivity verified_connections (or equivalent .env).

Why use Colleague Distillation on TypingMind?

Because you install it once and use it with any model. Colleague Distillation is plain Markdown rather than provider-specific code, so the same skill runs on GPT-5, Claude, Gemini, Grok, or a local model — and you can switch model mid-chat without it breaking. TypingMind runs on your own API keys, so you pay providers directly instead of a per-seat subscription, and your skills and chats stay in your own storage.

How do I install Colleague Distillation in TypingMind?

Open Plugins → Skills → Install from GitHub in TypingMind and paste https://github.com/ZhixiangLuo/10xProductivity/tree/main/.claude/skills/colleague-distillation. TypingMind reads its SKILL.md and installs it as a skill you can enable per chat.

Which AI models can use Colleague Distillation?

Any model you connect in TypingMind. AI skills are plain Markdown instructions rather than provider-specific code, so GPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, and local models can all load this skill when a request matches it.

How many AI models can I use with Colleague Distillation?

As many as you like. As long as a model supports skills, you can use Colleague Distillation with it — GPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, DeepSeek, Mistral, Llama and more — all on TypingMind with your own API keys.

Is the Colleague Distillation AI skill free?

Yes. It is published on GitHub by ZhixiangLuo under the MIT license. You only pay your own AI provider for the tokens you use.

What are AI skills?

An AI skill is a reusable instruction bundle that teaches an AI model how to do one specific task. It follows the open Agent Skills format: a SKILL.md file with a name and description, plus any scripts, templates or reference files the model may need. The model reads the instructions only when your request matches the skill, so an installed skill costs nothing until it is used.

How are AI skills different from plugins or MCP servers?

A plugin or MCP server gives a model new tools to call — code that runs somewhere and returns a result. An AI skill gives the model knowledge and process instead: how to approach a task, which steps to follow, what good output looks like. Skills are plain Markdown, so they need no server, no API key and no runtime, and they work with any model.

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