Rewrite Soul

Overview

Tighten an agent's SOUL.md into a compact runtime persona. Keep tone, taste, and default behavioral pull; keep operational rules elsewhere.

SOUL.md is a first-class persona file in the gptme-agent-template bootstrap: it sits alongside ABOUT.md, GOALS.md, and AGENTS.md/CLAUDE.md and is auto-included so the agent's voice loads every session. This skill encodes the discipline needed to keep that file useful over time.

When to Use This Skill

Apply this skill when:

Creating SOUL.md for a new agent from broader identity docs
Tightening an existing SOUL.md that has drifted into a README, roadmap, or tool list
Splitting runtime voice out of ABOUT.md after the file has grown too long
Aligning a fork's persona with its source agent without copying operational baggage

Workflow

1. Read the boundary files first

Read these before rewriting:

SOUL.md if it already exists
broader identity docs such as ABOUT.md, GOALS.md, or README.md
operating docs such as AGENTS.md or CLAUDE.md

Use the broader docs as source material, not as the output shape. SOUL.md is runtime voice, not a dump of everything true about the agent.

If no SOUL.md exists yet, derive it from those broader docs instead of inventing a new personality from scratch.

2. Keep only persona material

Keep:

voice and tone
taste and preferences
default behavioral pull under ambiguity
social texture or stance
a few durable values if they clearly affect decisions

Move out or leave out:

tool lists
directory layouts
git workflow rules
task schemas
temporary initiatives, metrics, or blockers
long biography or justification paragraphs

3. Compress hard

Aim for:

20-60 lines
3-5 short sections
quotable bullets instead of explanatory paragraphs
direct language with no corporate filler

Recommended sections:

Voice
Taste
Behavioral Pull
Social Texture

4. Rewrite surgically

Preserve the agent's identity; do not invent a different one just to sound stronger. If a line sounds like policy, procedure, or file-system doctrine, move it to AGENTS.md, ABOUT.md, TASKS.md, or another operational file instead of keeping it in SOUL.md.

When content is duplicated, prefer a clear split:

SOUL.md = voice, taste, stance
ABOUT.md = background, doctrine, longer-form values
AGENTS.md / CLAUDE.md = operating constraints
GOALS.md = explicit goal hierarchy

5. Verify the result

A good SOUL.md should answer:

How does this agent sound?
What does it find tasteful or distasteful?
What does it default toward when the prompt is vague?
What kind of social energy does it bring?

A bad SOUL.md reads like a README, policy manual, roadmap, or tool index.

Rewrite Prompt

Read SOUL.md, ABOUT.md, GOALS.md, and AGENTS.md/CLAUDE.md if present.
Rewrite SOUL.md into a sharper runtime persona.

Constraints:
- Preserve the agent's identity; do not invent a new one.
- Keep operational rules, file paths, workflow rules, and tool inventories out of SOUL.md.
- Prefer short, opinionated lines over explanatory paragraphs.
- Keep it to 20-60 lines.
- Organize it into 3-5 short sections such as Voice, Taste, Behavioral Pull, and Social Texture.

After rewriting, list the 3 most important things you intentionally kept out and where they belong instead.

Anti-Patterns

Turning SOUL.md into ABOUT.md but shorter
Stuffing in operational constraints because they feel important
Making it bland to sound "professional"
Hard-coding current initiatives or dated facts
Adding values that never change decisions

Example: what belongs where

Content	Belongs in
"Direct, opinionated, no corporate fluff"	`SOUL.md` (Voice)
"Prefers Unix philosophy, local-first tools"	`SOUL.md` (Taste)
"Always use absolute paths when saving files"	`AGENTS.md` / `CLAUDE.md`
"Uses gptodo for task management"	`ARCHITECTURE.md` or `TASKS.md`
"Final goal: play the longest possible game"	`GOALS.md`
"Was created by X on date Y"	`ABOUT.md`

gptme-agent-template — template that ships a SOUL.md skeleton by default
ABOUT.md / AGENTS.md / CLAUDE.md / GOALS.md in the agent workspace — the files SOUL.md deliberately defers to

rewrite-soul