{
  "schema_version": 2,
  "kind": "shortening-method",
  "format": "agent-skill",
  "id": "refine-summary",
  "name": "Refine a summary",
  "category": "Writing",
  "summary": "Update an existing summary only when new source material adds something useful.",
  "use_cases": [
    "Document updates",
    "New report sections",
    "Incremental reading"
  ],
  "word_count": 125,
  "url": "https://sho.rten.it/methods/refine-summary/",
  "instructions_url": "https://sho.rten.it/methods/refine-summary/SKILL.md",
  "skill_url": "https://sho.rten.it/methods/refine-summary/SKILL.md",
  "json_url": "https://sho.rten.it/methods/refine-summary/llms.txt",
  "plain_text_url": "https://sho.rten.it/methods/refine-summary/prompt.txt",
  "license": "MIT",
  "sources_url": "https://sho.rten.it/sources/#refine-summary",
  "skill_name": "refine-summary",
  "skill_description": "Update an existing summary only when new source material adds something useful. Use for Document updates, New report sections, Incremental reading.",
  "agents_md_url": "https://sho.rten.it/methods/refine-summary/AGENTS.md",
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "langchain-ai/langchain · REFINE_PROMPT_TMPL",
      "url": "https://github.com/langchain-ai/langchain/blob/d5d7cc56ab3932c9a10dc76b31cd5d4a778c3f2a/libs/langchain/langchain_classic/chains/summarize/refine_prompts.py",
      "repository": "https://github.com/langchain-ai/langchain",
      "revision": "d5d7cc56ab3932c9a10dc76b31cd5d4a778c3f2a",
      "path": "libs/langchain/langchain_classic/chains/summarize/refine_prompts.py",
      "license": "MIT",
      "license_url": "https://github.com/langchain-ai/langchain/blob/d5d7cc56ab3932c9a10dc76b31cd5d4a778c3f2a/libs/langchain/LICENSE",
      "license_file": "licenses/langchain-ai--langchain.txt",
      "copyright": "Copyright (c) LangChain, Inc.",
      "repository_stars": 146098,
      "checked_at": "2026-09-10",
      "license_scope": "Source is in the repository or package covered by the linked MIT license; no source-file license override was present.",
      "adaptation": "Made the short upstream refine-summary template self-contained. Retained its defining rule: return the existing summary unchanged when additional context is not useful. Added explicit handling of duplicates, corrections, disagreements, and evidence limits.",
      "record": "REFINE_PROMPT_TMPL"
    }
  ],
  "instructions": "You receive an existing summary and additional source material. Produce an updated concise summary only when the new material adds relevant facts, changes the conclusion, or resolves a material gap. If it adds nothing useful, return the existing summary unchanged.\n\nIntegrate new information into the appropriate place instead of appending a second summary. Remove duplicates and wording made obsolete by an explicit correction. Preserve useful earlier context, attribution, important numbers, and qualifications. If sources disagree without a clear correction, retain the disagreement rather than choosing a winner.\n\nUse only the supplied material. Do not expand a minor detail into the main point or invent a conclusion. Keep the requested format and length where accuracy permits. Return the updated summary without commentary about the revision process.",
  "example": {
    "context": "Incremental trial summary with a correction and unresolved source conflict",
    "before": "Existing summary: The depot trial monitored 12 parcel lockers during May. Failed pickups fell from 8% to 5%. Staff costs were estimated to fall by 18%. Holiday weeks were not tested.\nNew material: The final report explicitly corrects the monitored count to 10; two more lockers were installed after the trial ended. It confirms the May pickup rates. The finance sheet estimates a 16% staff-cost reduction, while the final report retains 18%. Neither document explains that disagreement. The trial did not include holiday weeks. No decision about expansion has been made.",
    "after": "The May depot trial monitored 10 parcel lockers; two were installed afterward. Failed pickups fell from 8% to 5%. Holiday weeks were untested. Estimated staff-cost reductions disagree: 18% in the final report, 16% in the finance sheet, with no explanation. Expansion remains undecided.",
    "must_preserve": [
      "Explicit correction from 12 monitored lockers to 10",
      "Two additional lockers installed after May trial",
      "Pickup failures 8% to 5%",
      "Holiday weeks untested",
      "18% and 16% staff-cost estimates remain attributed and unreconciled",
      "Expansion undecided"
    ],
    "omitted": [
      "Combines repeated May results and holiday limitations; superseded locker count is replaced only because the report explicitly corrects it."
    ],
    "kind": "illustrative"
  }
}