# extract-segment

> Extract specific sections from .ai-docs documents using line numbers. Use when asked to read a specific section, get content from certain lines, extract a topic, or retrieve partial document content. Triggers on phrases like "read the section", "read the section about", "extract the section", "extract lines", "read lines", "get the content from", "get content from lines", "show me the section", "show me the section on", "show me lines", "what does the section say", "what's in the section", "read the dependency injection section".

- Author: Alex Chambers
- Repository: AlexChambers-build/plugin-playground
- Version: 20260105203619
- Stars: 0
- Forks: 0
- Last Updated: 2026-02-06
- Source: https://github.com/AlexChambers-build/plugin-playground
- Web: https://mule.run/skillshub/@@AlexChambers-build/plugin-playground~extract-segment:20260105203619

---

---
name: extract-segment
description: Extract specific sections from .ai-docs documents using line numbers. Use when asked to read a specific section, get content from certain lines, extract a topic, or retrieve partial document content. Triggers on phrases like "read the section", "read the section about", "extract the section", "extract lines", "read lines", "get the content from", "get content from lines", "show me the section", "show me the section on", "show me lines", "what does the section say", "what's in the section", "read the dependency injection section".
allowed-tools: Bash, Read
---

# Extract Segment Skill

Extract specific sections of markdown documents from `.ai-docs/` using line numbers and offsets.

## When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when the user asks questions like:
- "Read the section about dependency injection from backend-best-practices.md"
- "Extract the service layer best practices section"
- "Show me the content from lines 186 to 253"
- "Get the authentication section from the security document"
- "Read the microservices section with some context around it"
- "What does the testing section say?"

## How It Works

The skill uses line-based extraction to read only the needed portions of documents:

1. Frontmatter contains section line ranges (e.g., lines 45-120)
2. Use this skill to extract only those specific lines
3. Optionally add offset to expand context around the section
4. Returns only the requested segment

## How to Use This Skill

### Progressive Disclosure Workflow
1. First, use read-frontmatter skill to get section metadata
2. Identify the line numbers for the relevant section
3. Use this skill to extract only that section
4. Avoid reading entire documents unnecessarily

### Basic Usage
```bash
node plugins/feature-dev/skills/extract-segment/scripts/extract-segment.js <filename> <start-line> <end-line>
```

### With Context (offset)
```bash
node plugins/feature-dev/skills/extract-segment/scripts/extract-segment.js <filename> <start-line> <end-line> --offset 5
```

### JSON Output
```bash
node plugins/feature-dev/skills/extract-segment/scripts/extract-segment.js <filename> <start-line> <end-line> --json
```

## Example Conversational Usage

**User:** "Read the section about service layer best practices from backend-best-practices.md"

**You should:**
1. First use read-frontmatter: `node plugins/feature-dev/skills/read-frontmatter/scripts/extract-frontmatter.js backend-best-practices.md --json`
2. Find the section named "Service Layer Best Practices" in the frontmatter sections array
3. Note it's at lines 186-253
4. Extract that section: `node plugins/feature-dev/skills/extract-segment/scripts/extract-segment.js backend-best-practices.md 186 253`
5. Read and summarize the content for the user

**User:** "Show me the dependency injection section with some context"

**You should:**
1. Use read-frontmatter to find the "Dependency Injection" section line numbers
2. Extract with offset for context: `node plugins/feature-dev/skills/extract-segment/scripts/extract-segment.js backend-best-practices.md 151 185 --offset 5`
3. Present the content to the user

## Command Examples

### Extract Specific Section
```bash
# Extract lines 45-120 (Microservices section)
node extract-segment.js backend-architecture-patterns.md 45 120
```

### Extract with Context
```bash
# Extract lines 45-120 plus 5 lines of context on each side
node extract-segment.js backend-architecture-patterns.md 45 120 --offset 5
```

### Extract from Multiple Sections
```bash
# Extract introduction (lines 1-40)
node extract-segment.js patterns.md 1 40

# Extract specific pattern (lines 150-200)
node extract-segment.js patterns.md 150 200
```

## Output Format

```json
{
  "file": "backend-architecture-patterns.md",
  "start": 45,
  "end": 120,
  "offset": 0,
  "actualStart": 45,
  "actualEnd": 120,
  "lineCount": 76,
  "content": "## Microservices Architecture\n\nMicroservices..."
}
```

Or plain text output for direct reading.

## Performance Benefits

- Reads only requested line ranges, not full file
- Reduces token usage in conversations
- Enables targeted content retrieval
- Works with frontmatter metadata for smart section targeting
- Supports context expansion via offset parameter

## Script

`scripts/extract-segment.js` - Line-based document segment extraction