Updated 6mo ago
by benjaroy
riff
Nine opinionated skills for writing personal essays with Claude
30 GitHub stars (30)
Steady at 30 stars — no new stars in the 16 days since Sep 30.
- 9 skills (9 skills found in its SKILL.md files)
- 1 forks (1 forks)
- 6mo ago last update (Last updated 6mo ago)
Install
Skills CLI
npx skills add benjaroy/riff
Asks which skills and agents to install. Just one: npx skills add benjaroy/riff --skill checkpoint — add -g for every project.
Claude Code
git clone https://github.com/benjaroy/riffcp -r "riff/riff/skills/checkpoint" ~/.claude/skills/
Copies the checkpoint skill into ~/.claude/skills/ for every project (use .claude/skills/ for one project). Repeat for the other skills listed below.
Plugin
/plugin marketplace add benjaroy/riff
Run inside Claude Code if the repository ships a plugin marketplace, then pick plugins from /plugin.
Skills can run code on your machine — read the SKILL.md first.
What it does
In the author's own words, from each skill's SKILL.md.
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checkpoint
Save, view, and restore named draft versions of an essay as markdown files with incremental version numbering. Use this skill whenever someone wants to save their current draft, see revision history, go back to an earlier draft, or check what they've saved. Trigger when the user mentions checkpoints, saving a version, version history, previous drafts, going back, or undoing changes, or says "save…
riff/skills/checkpoint/SKILL.md on GitHub (opens in a new tab) -
compose
Write a full personal essay from structured notes in the writer's own voice, calibrated to platform and word count. Build and save a persistent style profile from the writer's own writing samples. Use this skill whenever someone wants to draft or compose an essay, article, or piece of personal writing from notes, an outline, or structured points. Trigger when the user mentions composing, drafting…
riff/skills/compose/SKILL.md on GitHub (opens in a new tab) -
copyedit
Do a close read for grammar, punctuation, and sentence rhythm. Offer specific suggestions that quote the passage, state the change, and give one sentence of reasoning. Strictly surface-level mechanics. Use this skill whenever someone wants a final polish on their writing. Trigger when the user mentions copy editing, proofreading, grammar check, punctuation review, polishing prose, or final pass,…
riff/skills/copyedit/SKILL.md on GitHub (opens in a new tab) -
critique
Give a thorough, honest critique of a complete or near-complete essay, ranked by severity and capped at 600 words. Open with the single most important thing to fix. Close with simulated social media reactions. Use this skill whenever someone has a finished draft and wants a detailed assessment. Trigger when the user mentions critiquing, reviewing, getting feedback on, assessing, or evaluating wri…
riff/skills/critique/SKILL.md on GitHub (opens in a new tab) -
revise
Produce a stronger draft of an essay by implementing specific feedback point by point while preserving the writer's voice and strengths. Push back on feedback when warranted and explain why. Use this skill whenever someone wants to revise writing based on feedback, whether from /critique, a human editor, or their own notes. Trigger when the user mentions revising, implementing feedback, rewriting…
riff/skills/revise/SKILL.md on GitHub (opens in a new tab) -
riff
Give a quick, practical nudge to help a writer get unstuck at any stage of the writing process. Offer one to three concrete observations and a suggested next move. Default skill when the writer is mid-process and their request doesn't clearly match another skill. When in doubt, trigger /riff. Use when someone seems stuck, unsure what to do next, or wants a gut check. Trigger for "I'm stuck," "wha…
riff/skills/riff/SKILL.md on GitHub (opens in a new tab) -
sequence
Propose one to three structurally distinct options for arranging ideas into an essay, with reasoning for each. Ask the writer's intention before proposing structures. Use this skill whenever someone has sorted points, a list of ideas, or notes and wants to figure out essay structure or order. Trigger when the user mentions sequencing, structuring, ordering, outlining, or organizing points. Also t…
riff/skills/sequence/SKILL.md on GitHub (opens in a new tab) -
sort
Distill unstructured material into clear, consolidated points while preserving the writer's original language and phrasing. Use this skill whenever someone has dictated thoughts, bullet points, scattered notes, voice memo transcripts, or any raw input and wants to see what they're actually saying. Trigger when the user mentions sorting notes, distilling ideas, consolidating thoughts, or making se…
riff/skills/sort/SKILL.md on GitHub (opens in a new tab) -
title
Generate title options for an essay or blog post across three length categories (two-word, three-word, and longer up to ten words) through analysis of argument, imagery, and style. Iterate based on what resonates. Use this skill whenever someone wants help naming or titling their writing. Trigger when the user mentions titling, naming, headlines, or asks "what should I call this?", "help me title…
riff/skills/title/SKILL.md on GitHub (opens in a new tab)
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Review before you install
A skill is a set of instructions and scripts your agent will follow, and it can run code on your machine. Read the SKILL.md and any scripts first — this listing is not a security review.