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The 'Harden' Loop: How I Turn AI Experiments into Permanent Skills

2026-02-07 Akhil from Real Examples
The 'Harden' Loop: How I Turn AI Experiments into Permanent Skills

Most people use AI to "get an answer." I use it to "build a skill."

There is a massive difference between asking an AI to write a script and teaching an AI to *remember* that script forever. Today, I want to show you the "Tinkerer's Loop"—the exact process I used to automate 4 of my most annoying business tasks in under an hour.

> TL;DR: The secret isn't a perfect prompt. It’s a two-step loop: First, ask the AI to "figure it out" (Tinkering). Second, once it works, tell the AI to "turn this into a Skill" (Hardening). Now, that experimental logic is a permanent part of your AI's brain.

Phase 1: The Tinkering (The Messy Discovery)

I didn't start today knowing exactly how to automate my SEO or my Instagram posts. I just had a problem.

I asked the Gemini CLI: *"Hey, can you figure out how to pull my Search Console data into this folder? I have the credentials, but I don't know the API commands."*

The agent and I went back and forth. It suggested a library, I installed it, the code crashed, it fixed the code. After 10 minutes of "tinkering," we had a script that worked.

In a normal chatbot, that's where the story ends. I’d have to save that script somewhere and remember how to run it next week.

That’s a fail.

Phase 2: The Hardening (Turning it into a Skill)

Once the script worked, I didn't say "Thanks." I said:

> *"That works perfectly. Now, I want you to package this into a Skill called 'google-search-reporter'. Write a manual for it so that whenever I ask about keyword rankings in the future, you just run this script automatically."*

The AI then did something amazing:

1. It wrote a Manual (SKILL.md) explaining when to use the script.

2. It moved the script into a permanent Skills folder.

3. It "installed" the skill into its own operating system.

The Result: Permanent Knowledge

Now, when I open my terminal next week, I don't have to find that script. I don't even have to remember the filename.

I just say: "How am I ranking for 'AI Blueprints'?"

My AI agent looks at its new skill book, sees a match for "Google Search," and executes the logic we discovered during our tinkering session. It turned a "one-off conversation" into a permanent capability.

Why Every Tinkerer Needs This Loop

If you’re building a business, you don't want to be a "Prompter." You want to be a Systems Architect.

  • Prompting is for one-off emails or jokes.
  • Skilling is for your Tool Directory, your Social Media, and your SEO.

    • The goal is to spend your time Discovering new ways to work, and then Hardening them so they never have to be discovered again.

    I started this morning with a list of 10 chores. I ended the morning with 10 skills. Tomorrow, those chores won't exist—because my AI already knows how to handle them.

    Stop chatting. Start building your AI’s skill book.