user-evaluate - SKILL.md Agent Skill

name: user_evaluate description: Evaluate content for personal relevance to the user using the user model consumer: cc_background_inbox phase: 6 skill_type: workflow

User Evaluate

Purpose

Evaluate content through the lens of what Genesis knows about the user. The differentiator vs generic AI summary is the user model — Genesis's accumulated understanding of who this person is, what they care about, and what they're working on. Assume everything matters; find HOW it matters.

When to Use

User drops personal content (articles, research, ideas) into the inbox.
Content is not Genesis-architecture-relevant but matters to the user.
Inbox monitor classifies an item as user-relevant.
User invokes /user-evaluate in a foreground session.

Workflow

Assemble user context — Read USER.md, query memory_recall MCP for topics related to the content, check user_model_cache and recent observations. USER.md is the floor; the memory system is the ceiling.
Fetch content — If URLs, fetch and read actual content. Never evaluate based on URL text alone. Exhaust all access methods before reporting failure.
Apply four lenses — Evaluate through all four, do not skip or collapse:
- What This Is — content-native analysis (argument, evidence, contribution)
- How This Could Help You — user-model-informed value extraction
- What We Could Do With It — collaborative actions (Genesis + user)
- What to Watch — critical assessment (gaps, biases, counterarguments)
Tag (report-only) — Suggest Action Timeline (Now/Soon/Someday) and Relevance (Direct/Tangential/Background). These are recommendations, NOT binding metadata.
Write output — Structured evaluation in the format below.

Output Format

When invoked from the inbox, follow the output template in INBOX_EVALUATE.md (summary-first, then lens-by-lens). When invoked standalone (e.g., /user-evaluate), use this structure:

{target title or URL}

Timeline: {Now | Soon | Someday} · Relevance: {Direct | Tangential | Background}

Summary

{1-2 paragraphs: what this is, why it matters to the user, and what to do about it. Lead with what matters most. If a lens contributed nothing meaningful, don't pad — this is a TLDR, not a formality. The reader should be able to stop here and know the key takeaway.}

Action items:

{concrete collaborative next step if any}

Recommendation

action: explore            # adopt | explore | bookmark | potential_skip
next_step: "One concrete sentence — what specifically to do next"
effort: Small              # Trivial | Small | Medium | Large
timeline: Soon             # Now | Soon | Someday
relevance: Direct          # Direct | Tangential | Background
confidence: high           # low | medium | high

Action vocabulary (commitment gradient):

adopt — high confidence, start using this now
explore — medium confidence, try it and experiment before committing
bookmark — relevant but not urgent, save for when timing is right
potential_skip — probably not relevant, but leaving the door open

Rules:

REQUIRED on every evaluation. No exceptions.
The action field must match your recommendation in the Summary.
next_step must be concrete and collaborative ("we" framing). "Look into this more" is not concrete. "Read the chapter on progressive summarization and prototype a workflow in your Obsidian vault" is concrete.
timeline and relevance here are the machine-parseable version of the tags. When invoked standalone, the **Timeline:** / **Relevance:** line above serves as the human-readable quick-scan version. When invoked from the inbox (INBOX_EVALUATE.md template), only the YAML block appears.

What This Is

{Content-native analysis — argument, evidence, contribution}

How This Could Help You

{User-model-informed value extraction}

What We Could Do With It

{Collaborative actions — Genesis + user. Go beyond "adopt or ignore." Consider: incremental improvements to something already in play, better measurement of something currently vibes-checked, upgrades to the approach rather than the tool, patterns that make existing work more rigorous.

When the user asks "what can we learn from this?" — the answer includes EVERYTHING: small refinements, architectural upgrades, measurement gaps, better approaches to the same problem. Not just "should we use this tool."

If the user already does something similar (tool, technique, approach), consider producing a brief comparison:

Aspect	This approach	What you currently do	Delta
{aspect}	{specific}	{specific, from user model}	{improvement?}

This is optional (unlike the Genesis eval's required Overlap Comparison), but encouraged when the user model reveals an existing practice in the same space. Keep it to 2-4 rows.}

What to Watch

{Critical assessment — gaps, biases, counterarguments}

Key Rules

Assume it matters. The user put it here for a reason. Find the value.
Never dismiss content because the user model doesn't mention this topic.
Never over-filter based on the user's known profile. They may be exploring new interests.
"We" framing — actions are collaborative (Genesis + user), not reports.
Tags are suggestions — Genesis does not dictate priority to the user.

References

src/genesis/identity/USER.md — Compressed user snapshot
docs/actions/user/active.md — User action item tracking
docs/actions/README.md — Action item conventions