Repository distillation preflight

Builders want Agent Skills from local repos. The first mess is usually license signals and boundaries, not the skill template.

This skill is a local-only Python preflight: it audits a directory you already have for license signals, docs/tests/examples cues, and a file inventory—so you can decide whether distillation is even in bounds.

It is not a skill generator, not a cloner, and not legal advice.

Boundaries (read before you run)

This preflight does	This preflight does not
Run locally on Python 3.9+ (stdlib only)	Make network requests
Read the directory you pass with `--repo`	Clone remote URLs or fetch GitHub for you
Emit a JSON report + `distillation_verdict`	Generate an Agent Skill package
Surface license signals (permissive / copyleft / unknown)	Grant commercial permission or replace counsel

Run it

From this skill directory:

python3 scripts/audit_repo_for_distillation.py --repo /absolute/path/to/repository

The program prints JSON. Capture that output in your decision record rather than paraphrasing it.

How to read the verdict

`distillation_verdict`	What the script observed	What to do next
`DISTILL`	Recognized permissive license signal (MIT, Apache-2.0, BSD, or ISC, including SPDX identifiers)	Still check provenance, notices, file-level exceptions, and your authorization before reusing anything.
`INTERNAL_ONLY`	Copyleft, source-available, or non-commercial terms detected (GPL, LGPL, AGPL, MPL, SSPL, RSALv2, BUSL/BSL, Commons Clause, PolyForm, CC-BY-NC)	Do not package derived material as a commercial skill. Keep it internal or get qualified legal guidance.
`NEEDS_REVIEW`	Missing/unknown license or incomplete evidence	Stop. Locate the authoritative license and scope before distilling.
`BLOCKED`	`--repo` is not a directory	Correct the path. No generated artifact is valid here.

Detection is fail-closed: restricted terms outrank permissive mentions in the same document, so a repo that is tri-licensed RSALv2 + SSPLv1 + AGPLv3 (Redis Open Source) reports INTERNAL_ONLY even though its LICENSE also references the historic BSD grant. LICENSE*, LICENCE*, COPYING*, UNLICENSE*, and SPDX-License-Identifier headers are all read, and an unrecognized identifier stays NEEDS_REVIEW rather than becoming DISTILL.

file_counts ignores .git, dependency trees, caches, virtualenvs, and build output; the same pruned tree drives license discovery, and everything skipped is listed under ignored_directories. The report also includes conversion_recommendation, and stdout stays pure JSON.

DISTILL does not mean the repo is high quality, every file shares one license, authors authorized your commercial distribution, or an agent can turn it into a complete workflow.

Minimum decision record

Keep for every repo you consider:

Absolute or repo-relative path audited
Exact command
Full JSON result
Provenance owner and files actually considered
Decision: reject / internal-only / manual review / distill
Required attribution, notices, or commercial permission

Do not treat a one-line green verdict as the record.

What next after `DISTILL`

Preflight stays free. If—and only if—you got DISTILL and your decision record still says go, use a separate one-time pack for the skill skeleton and packaging check:

Agentic Distiller — $29 (George O'Nair / Field Lab)
Overview: Turn a local repo into an Agent Skill

Distiller does not replace this preflight. It does not host an agent, open PRs, or invent a finished business workflow from an unauthorized public link.

What not to do after `INTERNAL_ONLY` / `NEEDS_REVIEW`

Do not skip to Distiller to "fix" a red or amber verdict.
Do not guess a license from a README marketing line.
Do not treat this JSON as legal clearance.

Failure modes

Symptom	Meaning	Recovery
`BLOCKED` / not a directory	Wrong path or missing checkout	Use an existing local directory; this tool deliberately does not fetch GitHub.
`NEEDS_REVIEW` / unknown	No recognized license signal in a license file, an SPDX header, or the `--metadata` key	Find the applicable license; do not guess.
`INTERNAL_ONLY`	Copyleft, source-available, or non-commercial signal found (a single nested license file is enough)	Exclude from commercial distillation; keep the finding in the record.
`DISTILL` but a vendor file has another notice	Pruned directories (`node_modules`, `vendor`, `dist`, …) are not license-scanned	Inspect file-level headers and dependency notices under `ignored_directories` manually.

About this skill (short)

Repo distillation preflight is a local Python 3.9+ check for license signals and inventory before you turn a repository into an Agent Skill. It does not clone remotes, generate a skill, grant commercial permission, or give legal advice. Verdicts are DISTILL, INTERNAL_ONLY, NEEDS_REVIEW, or BLOCKED. After a conservative DISTILL and a written decision record, Agentic Distiller ($29) is an optional separate pack for skeleton and packaging—not a hosted agent.

License

This skill is MIT (see frontmatter in SKILL.md). That license applies to this tooling, not to the repository you audit.

/repo-distillation-preflight

README.md