Scout is a pre-development research skill that analyzes real-world products and codebases to generate an actionable Steal List of proven patterns.
Install & Download
1. ClawHub CLI
The fastest way to install a skill directly from the registry.
npx clawhub@latest install steal-list
2. Manual Installation
Copy the skill folder to one of these locations
~/.openclaw/skills/ <project>/skills/ Priority: Workspace > Local > Bundled
3. Prompt Installation
Copy this prompt to OpenClaw to install it automatically.
Help me install steal-list using Clawhub. If Clawhub is not installed, install it first (npm i -g clawhub).
Prefer to download?
Get the raw skill files in a ZIP archive.
What is Scout?
Scout serves as a senior research engineer for your AI agent workflow, ensuring that no code is written without first understanding the landscape of existing solutions. By leveraging Openclaw Skills, it performs deep-dives into both UI/UX layouts and technical architectures, moving beyond simple bookmarks to extract concrete, reusable patterns. It synthesizes findings into three layers: standard industry patterns, trending ecosystem movements, and first-principles observations unique to your specific project.
The primary deliverable of this skill is a Steal List, a highly structured document that identifies exactly what to adopt, what to avoid (the Kill List), and where the current project can innovate. Whether you are building a SaaS, a CLI tool, or a complex API, Scout ensures your development starts with a high-fidelity blueprint derived from the best-in-class implementations available online.
Scout Use Cases
- Creating a comprehensive UI/UX reference guide for a new web application before starting design work.
- Researching GitHub repositories to compare architecture patterns and data models for a specific backend service.
- Identifying the best third-party libraries and dependencies used by successful production-scale projects.
- Extracting command-line interface standards and flag structures for high-quality developer tools.
- Uncovering Eureka moments where conventional wisdom in a category fails to meet the specific needs of your product.
How Scout Works
- Context Gathering: Scout analyzes your local README.md and package.json to understand the core product direction and existing tech stack.
- Scoping: The agent pauses to ask whether you need UI/UX references, code-level architecture research, or both.
- Targeted Search: Using Openclaw Skills, Scout executes specialized queries based on your build type (e.g., SaaS, API, Library) to find direct competitors and adjacent leaders.
- Visual and Code Analysis: It fetches screenshots for visual patterns and utilizes the GitHub CLI to read raw source files from high-star repositories.
- Pattern Synthesis: It categorizes findings into a comparison matrix, highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches.
- Document Generation: Scout creates a timestamped markdown file in the .scout/ directory containing the Steal List, Kill List, and final implementation recommendations.
Scout Setup
To enable Scout within your agent environment, ensure the GitHub CLI (gh) is installed and authenticated. This skill is part of the broader Openclaw Skills framework.
# Ensure GitHub CLI is installed
brew install gh
# Authenticate with GitHub
gh auth login
# The skill will automatically manage the .scout/ directory structure
mkdir -p .scout
Scout Data Schema & Taxonomy
Scout maintains a structured data hierarchy within the project root to ensure research is persistent and accessible.
| Location | Data Type | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
.scout/ |
Directory | Root storage for all research artifacts. |
scout-YYYYMMDD-HHMM.md |
Markdown | The master reference document containing the Steal List and comparison matrices. |
README.md |
Markdown | Used as a primary source for context gathering (first 50 lines). |
package.json |
JSON | Used to detect existing dependencies and build environment (first 20 lines). |
The reference document follows a strict taxonomy: STEAL for adopted patterns, KILL for avoided patterns, and EUREKA for unique architectural insights.
Scout Advanced Features
- Build-Type Strategies: Specialized research logic tailored for 10+ specific build types, from Browser Extensions to MCP servers.
- Multi-Layer Synthesis: A logical framework that distinguishes between table-stakes functionality and high-risk emerging trends.
- GitHub API Integration: Uses advanced
ghsearch and content fetching to perform deep code audits without manual cloning. - Architecture Comparison Matrix: Automatically generates a structured breakdown of how different top-tier repos solve the same technical challenges.
- Proactive Scouting: Capable of suggesting a research phase when it detects the user is attempting to build a complex feature without prior art.
SKILL.md
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