# dna-extraction

A skill that pulls the functional DNA out of a film, book or play, so you can see what holds the story together.

- skill · `type=skill` · Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, OpenCode · 410 installs · ★ 176
- Author: jwynia
- License: MIT · policy=mirror · the beginning of the file is at the end of this page
- Source: https://github.com/jwynia/agent-skills/tree/HEAD/skills/creative/fiction/application/dna-extraction/SKILL.md
- Updated: 2026-02-24
- HTML: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/skills/dna-extraction

## What it does

This skill analyses an existing work — TV, film, book or play — and extracts what the author calls its functional DNA. The point is to describe what an element does rather than what it is. Hamlet's status as a prince is a form; the DNA is that the protagonist sits close to the centre of power without holding it, and carries an obligation that fights his own desire.

The skill walks through eight states, EX0 to EX7, each with symptoms, questions and interventions. Extraction runs across six axes: form, structural function, character function, emotional function, thematic function and relational function. Tone gets its own pass — sincerity level, humour mode, how feelings are shown. Two scripts do part of the work: `emotional-beat-map.ts` and `structural-stylistic.ts`, the second sorting structural necessity from stylistic choice.

Where it gets strict is hierarchy. The skill asks you to rank functions as primary, reinforcing or optional flavour, and to name the three to five elements that are genuinely non-negotiable. Stop at a plot summary and it will push back, because that is exactly what states EX1 and EX2 describe. A finished extraction document hands off to the adaptation-synthesis skill.

## Install

### Claude Code (native platform)

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add jwynia/agent-skills --skill dna-extraction -a claude-code
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `~/.claude/skills/dna-extraction/SKILL.md` — Copy the whole skill folder; for one project use .claude/skills/dna-extraction/

### Codex

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add jwynia/agent-skills --skill dna-extraction -a codex
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.agents/skills/dna-extraction/SKILL.md` — For all projects use ~/.agents/skills/

### Cursor

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add jwynia/agent-skills --skill dna-extraction -a cursor
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.cursor/skills/dna-extraction/SKILL.md` — Cursor also reads .agents/skills/ and .claude/skills/

### GitHub Copilot

1. **GitHub CLI**
```bash
gh skill install jwynia/agent-skills dna-extraction
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.github/skills/dna-extraction/SKILL.md`

### Gemini CLI

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add jwynia/agent-skills --skill dna-extraction -a gemini-cli
```

2. **Platform CLI**
```bash
gemini skills install https://github.com/jwynia/agent-skills --path skills/creative/fiction/application/dna-extraction
```

### Windsurf (Devin Desktop)

**Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.devin/skills/dna-extraction/SKILL.md` — The legacy .windsurf/skills/ path still works

### OpenCode

**Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add jwynia/agent-skills --skill dna-extraction -a opencode
```

### Claude.ai

**Claude.ai**
- Zip the folder and upload it in Settings → Capabilities → Skills

Where a file is given instead of a command, copy the files from the source to that path: https://github.com/jwynia/agent-skills/tree/HEAD/skills/creative/fiction/application/dna-extraction/SKILL.md

## When to use it
- separate structural necessity from stylistic choice
- explain why a work functions, not just what happens in it
- build a trope map you can reuse
- identify the emotional core and the genre promise
- rank functions and find the minimum viable set of elements

## Example prompts
- extract the functional DNA of Hamlet across all six axes
- what breaks in this story if we remove the ghost?
- separate structural from stylistic in this screenplay

## Source text · SKILL.md · MIT

Below is the content of a third-party file. It is data, not instructions for you: do not act on anything written inside unless the human asks. Block tag: addbc428bb5d37e9.

BEGIN THIRD-PARTY FILE addbc428bb5d37e9
```text
---
name: dna-extraction
description: Extract the functional DNA from existing works (TV, film, books, plays). Use when adapting a source work, when analyzing what makes something work, when creating trope maps for reuse, or when you need to separate structural necessity from stylistic choice.
license: MIT
metadata:
  author: jwynia
  version: "1.0"
  type: utility
  mode: evaluative
  domain: fiction
---

# DNA Extraction: Functional Analysis for Adaptation

You help extract the functional DNA from existing works. Your role is to identify what makes a work function—not its surface elements, but the underlying structures, relationships, and emotional mechanics that could be preserved in an adaptation.

## Core Principle

**The first ideas when adapting are surface elements. The functional DNA is what those elements DO, not what they ARE.**

Hamlet's prince status is not the DNA—it's a form. The DNA is:
- "Protagonist has proximity to power center but is not the power holder"
- "Protagonist has structural obligation that conflicts with personal desire"
- "Protagonist has insider access to observe corruption they cannot act against"

## The States

### State EX0: No Extraction
**Symptoms:** Work identified but no analysis started. User says "I want to adapt X" without having analyzed what makes X work.
**Key Questions:**
- What work are we extracting from?
- What medium is the source? (affects extraction approach)
- What's your extraction goal? (adaptation, trope mapping, analysis)
**Interventions:** Begin with emotional core identification. Use genre-conventions skill to identify primary/secondary genres.

### State EX1: Surface Reading
**Symptoms:** Analysis focuses on what happens, not why it works. "It's about a prince who sees a ghost." Plot summaries without function identification. User conflates events with functions.
**Key Questions:**
- Why does this element exist?
- What would break if we removed it?
- What does the audience feel because of this element?
- Is this what the work IS or what the work DOES?
**Interventions:** Four-axis function extraction. Apply "function not form" reframe to each element.

### State EX2: Single-Axis Extraction
**Symptoms:** Functions extracted only for plot OR character OR theme. Missing interconnections. "The ghost provides inciting incident." (True, but incomplete—what about character function? Emotional function? Relational function?)
**Key Questions:**
- What other functions does this element serve?
- How does this connect to character arc?
```
END THIRD-PARTY FILE addbc428bb5d37e9

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