retro Skill for Claude: Retrospective on a Coding Session

retro makes your agent review a coding session and suggest improvements to its environment, such as better navigation, checks and steering files.

Installs: 310.4K; on skills.sh
Stars: 309.2K; on GitHub
Files: 1; besides SKILL.md
Updated: Nov 2026; last repo commit

retro runs a retrospective on a coding session and suggests changes to the agent's environment, not to your product code. It reads the primary sources for the session, which may mean searching session logs on your machine, and defaults to the current session. It looks for gaps in seven areas and presents them in order of severity.

It runs only when you call it. It starts by calling the writing-for-agents skill, so install the whole mattpocock set. Its steps end with presenting suggestions to you, not with editing files.

Good for

Developers who want their coding agent to make fewer repeat mistakes
Teams tuning CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md, coding standards and lint checks
Anyone whose agent keeps burning tokens finding files or running slow tools

Install retro

Claude Code

Copy this prompt.

Install the retro skill in Claude Code. Run this command:

claude plugin install mattpocock-skills@claude-plugins-official

Then check that it loaded and tell me how to use it.

2
Paste it into Claude Code. It shows the change and asks before running it.

Install the plugin so the skills this one calls come along. The README asks you to run /setup-matt-pocock-skills once per repo, and says to pick the plugin or the skills CLI, not both, or you get every skill twice. This skill is set to run only when you call it, so type its name; with a plugin install Claude Code may show it as /mattpocock-skills:retro.

From the project README. Source.

What's in the skill

When it loads

Conduct a retrospective on a coding session.

Sections in SKILL.md

Steps
Reference
Implementation vs Review
Files

Key facts

Author: mattpocock (Matt Pocock, owner of the mattpocock/skills repo)
License: MIT
Installs on skills.sh: 310,387 as of 2026-11-02
GitHub stars: 309,237 for the whole mattpocock/skills repo
skills.sh audits: Gen Agent Trust Hub pass, Socket pass, Snyk pass
What is inside: 1 files besides SKILL.md (1 in agents/)
Needs: The writing-for-agents skill from the same repo; access to your session logs
Part of plugin: mattpocock-skills
Last commit to the repo: 2026-11-01

What it includes

Calls the writing-for-agents skill
Used so suggestions for steering files are written the way agents read them.
Try: “/retro”
Read · Load the style guide
Session logs on this machine, current session by default
You can name a different session.
Files · Read the session
Could the agent find the right files quickly?
Suggests navigation pointers when a session spent long finding information.
Read · Navigation
Lint, types, tests that would have caught a mistake
Reads the repo's own check scripts and CI first. A repo with no guardrail at all counts as a finding.
Read · Automated checks
Rules for the reviewer agent
Mechanical violations get a deterministic check. CODING_STANDARDS.md is kept for judgement calls.
Read · Coding standards
Steering text that belongs elsewhere
Flags large files and instructions better moved to standards or automated checks.
Read · Global AGENTS.md
Costly tools, dead instructions, missing information
Finds expensive tool calls, instructions that change nothing, and information the agent could not reach.
Read · Tool economy, no-ops, information access
In order of severity
Gives you the list to decide on. The steps in SKILL.md end here and include no file edits.
Read · Present candidates

From the official docs

Permissions

Low risk

It reads session logs and repo files to suggest changes. Its steps do not include editing files.

What it can do

Read your data
Create and change things
Delete things
Read-only mode

Watch out for

It reads your session logs
SKILL.md has it search session logs on your machine, which may include anything shown or typed in those sessions. Name the session you want reviewed.

Technical details

Scopes	Reads session logs and repo files on your machine

Questions

What does the retro skill do?

It reviews a coding session and suggests fixes to the agent's environment: navigation, automated checks, coding standards, AGENTS.md, tool use, dead instructions and missing information.

How do I install it?

Use the install box at the top of this page, which has tabs for Claude Code, the Claude app and Codex. The install box uses the whole mattpocock plugin, since retro calls another skill from the set.

Does it change my repo?

Not by itself. SKILL.md has it suggest improvements and present candidates for you to decide on; its steps include no edits.

Which session does it review?

The current session by default, or the one you name. It reads session logs on your machine.

Does it run automatically?

No. SKILL.md turns off automatic invocation, so you start it yourself.

Is it safe?

It reads session logs on your machine, which may include anything shown or typed in those sessions, so name the session you want reviewed. Its steps present suggestions and do not edit files.

Information

updated Nov 2, 2026

Repository: mattpocock/skills
Folder: skills/engineering/retro

mattpocock/skills skills.sh

Sources

Docs, issue trackers and discussions this page is built from.

Show all 3

mattpocock/skills README · github.com
retro SKILL.md · github.com
skills.sh listing and audits · skills.sh