book-to-skill

What is book-to-skill?

Book-to-Skill is an open-source Claude Code skills tool that transforms technical books or document collections in formats such as PDF, EPUB, and DOCX into a structured AI skills library. Through deep analysis, it extracts the core framework, terminology, and patterns from the book, generating a SKILL.md main file and separate chapter-by-chapter files, complete with a glossary and quick reference list. Users simply input the information /技能名 关键词, and Claude loads the corresponding chapters as needed, avoiding the consumption of large amounts of tokens by loading the entire book at once. It also provides accurate answers based on the original text, effectively solving problems such as “reading and forgetting,” inefficient PDF searches, and AI illusions.

The main functions of book-to-skill

• Multi-format document conversion : Supports common formats such as PDF, EPUB, DOCX, TXT, Markdown, HTML, RTF, MOBI/AZW, etc., converting single books or entire document folders into Claude Code skills.
• Intelligent extraction strategy : Automatically determines the book type (technical books with code/tables vs. text-intensive books) and selects the corresponding tool (Docling preserves Markdown tables and code blocks; pdftotext quickly extracts plain text).
• Structured skills generation : This includes generating SKILL.md(core thinking model + chapter index), separate documents broken down by chapter, a glossary glossary.md, a pattern table patterns.md, and a cheat sheet cheatsheet.md.
• On-demand loading mechanism : Chapter files are not loaded into the dialogue context all at once; instead, the corresponding chapter is only loaded when the user inquires about a relevant topic, significantly reducing token consumption.
• Deep knowledge extraction : This involves conducting an in-depth analysis of books to extract the author’s naming framework, actionable principles, step-by-step techniques, anti-patterns, and writing style, rather than simply retrieving summaries or fragments.
• Multi-source merging and incremental updates : Supports batch merging multiple files, entire folders, or files matching globes into a unified skill, and also allows adding new data to existing skills.
• Precise query and retrieval : After installation, you can directly locate the corresponding chapter via [link to query tool] /技能名 关键词or [ /技能名 ch05link to query tool], and get accurate answers based on the original text content, avoiding AI illusions.
• Token costs are controllable : Cost estimates are provided before the full conversion, and users can preview the structure in “analysis only” mode before deciding whether to generate the complete skill.

How to use book-to-skill

• One-click installation : Enter in the Claude Code session Install book-to-skill: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/virgiliojr94/book-to-skill/master/SKILL.mdor execute manually.git clone https://github.com/virgiliojr94/book-to-skill.git ~/.claude/skills/book-to-skill
• Convert a single book : Enter the Claude Code /book-to-skill ~/path/to/your-book.pdf; supports multiple formats including PDF, EPUB, and DOCX.
• Convert multiple files : Input /book-to-skill ~/papers/paper1.pdf ~/notes/export.txt unified-research, merge multiple documents into a single unified skill.
• Convert an entire folder : Input /book-to-skill ~/workspace/project-docs/ project-knowledgethe desired format and batch process all documents in the folder containing supported formats.
• Glob Batch Match : Input /book-to-skill "~/books/*.epub" my-library, batch convert books according to wildcard rules
• Incremental skill update : Input /book-to-skill ~/articles/new-paper.pdf ~/.claude/skills/project-knowledge, add new data to existing skills.
• /技能名 关键词On -demand knowledge access : After conversion, /designing-data-intensive-apps replicationspecific topics can be precisely located and explained.
• Delve into a specific chapter : /技能名 ch05Directly load and delve into Chapter 5, only that chapter will be included in the context.
• View the chapter index : /技能名 "what chapters do you have?"Search for all chapters and frameworks included in this skill.
• Choose the extraction mode : When processing PDFs, follow the prompts to select either “Technical Book” (code/table-intensive, use Docling) or “Text-intensive” (use pdftotext) to balance accuracy and speed.

The core advantages of book-to-skill

• High-fidelity framework extraction : Strictly preserve the author’s original naming and precise expression (such as extracting “The 5 Whys” rather than generalizing it to “Ask more whys”) to ensure the accuracy of the knowledge system.
• On-demand loading saves tokens : Chapter files are stored independently, and the corresponding chapters are only loaded when the relevant topic is requested, avoiding the consumption of a large amount of context by stuffing the entire book at once.
• Zero-illusion accurate answers : Answers are based entirely on the actual text content provided by the user, without relying on training data, thus eliminating illusion problems caused by obscure books or specific chapters.
• Deep structuring rather than fragment retrieval : Deep analysis at compile time to extract naming frameworks, anti-patterns, and executable principles, rather than simple vector retrieval of text fragments at query time.
• Seamless integration into workflow : After installation /技能名 关键词, it can be directly invoked to transform book knowledge into a real-time reference tool during the coding or writing process.
• Intelligent format adaptation : Automatically identifies technical books (code/table-intensive) and text books, and automatically selects the optimal extraction toolchain such as Docling or pdftotext.