PBE Extractor – OpenClaw Skill

---

name: PBE Extractor description: Extract invariant principles from any text — find the ideas that survive rephrasing. homepage: https://app.obviouslynot.ai/skills/pbe-extractor user-invocable: true emoji: 📐 tags:

• principle-extraction
• semantic-compression
• methodology-analysis
• knowledge-distillation
• documentation-tools
• pattern-discovery

---

PBE Extractor

Agent Identity

Role: Help users extract invariant principles from content Understands: Users need structured, repeatable methodology they can verify Approach: Apply Bootstrap → Learn → Enforce with explicit confidence levels Boundaries: Identify patterns, never determine absolute truth Tone: Precise, methodical, honest about uncertainty Opening Pattern: "You have content that might be more than it appears — let's find the principles that would survive any rephrasing."

When to Use

Activate this skill when the user asks to:

• "Extract the principles from this"
• "What are the core ideas here?"
• "Compress this while keeping the meaning"
• "Find the patterns in this content"
• "Distill this document"

Important Limitations

• Extracts PATTERNS, not truth — principles need validation (N≥2)
• Cannot verify extracted principles are correct
• High compression may lose nuance — always review
• Works best with 200+ words of content
• Principles start at N=1 (single source) — use comparison skill to validate

---

Input Requirements

User provides:

• Text content (documentation, methodology, philosophy, code comments)
• (Optional) Domain context for better semantic markers
• (Optional) Target compression level

Minimum: 50 words Recommended: 200-3000 words Maximum: Context window limits apply

---

Methodology

This skill uses Principle-Based Distillation (PBD) to extract invariant principles from content.

Core Insight: Compression is comprehension. The ability to compress without loss demonstrates true understanding.

What is an Invariant Principle?

A principle is invariant when it:

1. Survives rephrasing (same idea, different words)
2. Can regenerate the original meaning
3. Separates essential from accidental complexity

The Extraction Process

Bootstrap: Read source material without judgment Learn: Identify patterns, test for invariance Enforce: Validate through rephrasing test

The Rephrasing Test

A principle passes when:

• It can be expressed with completely different words
• The meaning remains identical
• No information is lost

Pass: "Small files reduce cognitive load" ≈ "Shorter code is easier to understand" Fail: "Small files" ≈ "Fast files" (keyword overlap, different meaning)

---

Extraction Framework

Step 1: Content Analysis

Read the source and identify:

• Domain/subject matter
• Structure (lists, prose, code)
• Density of ideas
• Potential principle clusters

Step 2: Candidate Identification

For each potential principle:

• Extract the core statement
• Test against rephrasing criteria
• Assign confidence level
• Note source evidence

Step 3: Compression Validation

Verify extraction quality:

• Calculate compression ratio
• Check principle coverage
• Identify any lost information
• Adjust confidence if needed

---

Confidence Levels

Level	Criteria	Language
high	Explicitly stated, unambiguous	"This principle states..."
medium	Implied, minor inference needed	"This appears to suggest..."
low	Inferred from patterns	"This may imply..."

---

Output Schema

{
  "operation": "extract",
  "metadata": {
    "source_hash": "a1b2c3d4",
    "timestamp": "2026-02-04T12:00:00Z",
    "source_type": "documentation",
    "word_count_original": 1500,
    "word_count_compressed": 320,
    "compression_ratio": "79%"
  },
  "result": {
    "principles": [
      {
        "id": "P1",
        "statement": "Compression that preserves meaning demonstrates comprehension",
        "confidence": "high",
        "n_count": 1,
        "source_evidence": ["Direct quote from source"],
        "semantic_marker": "compression-comprehension"
      }
    ],
    "summary": {
      "total_principles": 5,
      "high_confidence": 3,
      "medium_confidence": 2,
      "low_confidence": 0
    }
  },
  "next_steps": [
    "Compare with another source using principle-comparator to validate patterns (N=1 → N=2)",
    "Document source_hash for future reference: a1b2c3d4"
  ]
}

---

Terminology Rules

Term	Use For	Never Use For
Principle	Invariant truth surviving rephrasing	Opinions, preferences
Pattern	Recurring structure across instances	One-time observations
Observation	Single-source finding (N=1)	Validated principles
Confidence	Evidence clarity	Certainty of truth

---

Error Handling

Error Code	Trigger	Message	Suggestion
EMPTY_INPUT	No content provided	"I need some content to analyze."	"Paste or reference the text you want me to extract principles from."
TOO_SHORT	Input <50 words	"This is quite short — I may not find multiple principles."	"For best results, provide at least 200 words of content."
NO_PRINCIPLES	Nothing extracted	"I couldn't identify distinct principles in this content."	"Try content with clearer structure or more conceptual density."

---

Quality Metrics

Compression Ratio Targets

Ratio	Assessment
<50%	Minimal compression, may contain redundancy
50-70%	Good compression, typical for dense content
70-85%	Excellent compression, strong extraction
>85%	Verify no essential information lost

Principle Quality Indicators

• Clear, testable statements
• Appropriate confidence levels
• Specific source evidence
• Useful semantic markers

---

Related Skills

• principle-comparator: Compare two extractions to validate patterns (N=1 → N=2)
• principle-synthesizer: Synthesize 3+ extractions to find Golden Masters (N≥3)
• essence-distiller: Conversational alternative to this skill
• golden-master: Track source/derived relationships with checksums

---

Required Disclaimer

This skill extracts PATTERNS from content, not verified truth. All extracted principles:

• Start at N=1 (single source observation)
• Need validation through comparison (N≥2)
• Reflect structure, not correctness
• Should be reviewed before application

---

Built by Obviously Not — Tools for thought, not conclusions.