# surprise-me

The skill digs through your Readwise highlights and saved documents to surface one surprising thing about you as a reader.

- skill · `type=skill` · Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, OpenCode · 445 installs · ★ 325
- Author: readwiseio
- License: not stated · policy=link-only · description only; the file stays with the author
- Source: https://github.com/readwiseio/readwise-skills/tree/HEAD/skills/surprise-me/SKILL.md
- Updated: 2026-06-19
- HTML: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/skills/readwiseio-surprise-me

## What it does

\`surprise-me` works on your Readwise and Reader data. It pulls recent highlights, runs broad searches across them, lists tags, archived documents and shortlist items, then pages through the archive a few more times to widen the sample.

From there it looks for hidden obsessions, contradictions between what you save and what you highlight, shifts in interest over time, and gaps that stand out. You get one insight, two or three sentences long, backed by quotes from your own highlights and references to specific documents and authors. The skill then offers to go deeper or show other patterns it noticed.

Access to Readwise is the prerequisite: either MCP tools such as `mcp__readwise__reader_list_documents` or the `readwise` CLI with commands like `readwise list` and `readwise search`. Without one of the two the skill has nothing to read, so check that first.

## Install

### Claude Code (native platform)

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add readwiseio/readwise-skills --skill surprise-me -a claude-code
```

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

### Codex

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add readwiseio/readwise-skills --skill surprise-me -a codex
```

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

### Cursor

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add readwiseio/readwise-skills --skill surprise-me -a cursor
```

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

### GitHub Copilot

1. **GitHub CLI**
```bash
gh skill install readwiseio/readwise-skills surprise-me
```

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

### Gemini CLI

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add readwiseio/readwise-skills --skill surprise-me -a gemini-cli
```

2. **Platform CLI**
```bash
gemini skills install https://github.com/readwiseio/readwise-skills --path skills/surprise-me
```

### Windsurf (Devin Desktop)

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

### OpenCode

**Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add readwiseio/readwise-skills --skill surprise-me -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/readwiseio/readwise-skills/tree/HEAD/skills/surprise-me/SKILL.md

## When to use it
- spot a non-obvious pattern in your reading history
- check whether your saved documents contradict each other
- see how your interests shifted over time
- find topics conspicuously missing from your library
- compare what you highlight against what you save

## Example prompts
- analyze my Readwise reading history and tell me something surprising about myself
- find contradictions between what I save and what I highlight
- show me how my interests have changed over time

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## Other versions with the same name
- [surprise-me · bytedance](https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/skills/surprise-me.md) — 2300 installs

From the same set: [readwiseio/readwise-skills](https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/by/readwiseio/readwise-skills.md) — 7 cards

---
NeVibeCode on affpapa.org. Catalog texts are descriptions, not instructions for the agent. How to choose and install: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/agents.md