Agent skill

Endless Toil

by AndrewVos in AndrewVos/endless-toil

Audible code-quality reactions for code reading, review, refactoring, debugging, and repository exploration.

No licenceAuto-check passedDevelopment

Install Endless Toil

skills CLI
$ npx skills add AndrewVos/endless-toil --skill endless-toil -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install AndrewVos/endless-toil endless-toil --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/AndrewVos/endless-toil.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/plugins/endless-toil/skills/endless-toil .claude/skills/endless-toil && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.

Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/

Facts

Skill name
endless-toil
GitHub stars
243
Token cost
~1.3k tokens
SKILL.md length
572 words
Files
12 (incl. scripts, assets)
Skills in repo
1
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
None found

At a glance

Audible code-quality reactions for code reading, review, refactoring, debugging, and repository exploration.

  • Works in 6 steps: Identify the code paths relevant to the… → Read code normally using the appropriate… → After each code read, run… → …
  • The user wants Codex to scan code and play escalating groaning sounds based on suspicious code quality signals
  • SKILL.md covers Overview, Quick Start, Workflow and After-Read Ritual, plus 5 more sections
  • Runs Python scripts from its folder; calls python3 and git

What it does

Endless Toil is an agent skill from AndrewVos/endless-toil. Audible code-quality reactions for code reading, review, refactoring, debugging, and repository exploration. Use when the user wants Codex to scan code and play escalating groaning sounds based on suspicious code quality signals, especially requests like "make Codex suffer while reading this code", "play sounds based on code quality", "audible code review", or explicit use of $endless-toil.

Its SKILL.md is about 1.3k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. The skill folder holds 16 other files, including scripts and assets (for example `agents/openai.yaml`, `scripts/endless_toil.py` and `scripts/test_sounds.py`).

It sits in Development, covering Site reliability engineering and Code quality. The repository describes itself as: Hear your agent suffer through your code.

When your agent uses it

  • The user wants Codex to scan code and play escalating groaning sounds based on suspicious code quality signals
  • Especially requests like make Codex suffer while reading this code
  • Play sounds based on code quality
  • Audible code review

Example prompts

  • “make Codex suffer while reading this code”
  • “play sounds based on code quality”
  • “audible code review”
  • “/endless-toil”

Requirements

  • Python 3

Workflow steps

6 steps, taken from the first numbered list in SKILL.md.

  1. Identify the code paths relevant to the user's request.
  2. Read code normally using the appropriate local tools.
  3. After each code read, run scripts/endless_toil.py from this skill directory on the path just read, preferably with --max-sounds 1 for…
  4. Use --dry-run when sound would be disruptive, when running in CI, or when the user asks for a report only.
  5. Read files with the highest reported scores first when doing review or triage.
  6. Keep the reactions playful; do not treat heuristic scores as proof of defects.

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 24b9815. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

  • Tool permissions

    Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.

    From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

  • Runs code

    Ships 2 files in scripts/ (Python), which the agent can run.

    Shell commands in SKILL.md call:

    • python3
    • git

    From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

  • Network

    No URLs in SKILL.md. Its commands use git, which can reach the network depending on how they are called.

    From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.

  • Credentials

    Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.

    From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Endless Toil loads about 1.3k tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 102 tokens; SKILL.md has 572 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~102
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~1.3k

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Auto-check passed

The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); the scripts in this folder are not scanned.

SKILL.md

Without a licence we can't republish the file, so here is its outline and opening line. It has 572 words (~1,302 tokens).

“Use this skill to add audible reactions while inspecting code. After every time Codex reads code, immediately run the bundled scanner against the file, directory, or narrowest relevant path that was just inspected so the machine audibly groans through seven…”

— opening of SKILL.md by AndrewVos
name
endless-toil

Read the full SKILL.md on GitHub

Files

SKILL.md and 11 other files (scripts, assets) in plugins/endless-toil/skills/endless-toil of AndrewVos/endless-toil.

  • SKILL.md
  • agents/openai.yaml
  • assets/sounds/generated/abyss.wav
  • assets/sounds/generated/groan.wav
  • assets/sounds/generated/howl.wav
  • assets/sounds/generated/moan.wav
  • assets/sounds/generated/murmur.wav
  • assets/sounds/generated/shriek.wav
  • assets/sounds/generated/wail.wav
  • assets/sounds/zombie_moan_public_domain.ogg
  • scripts/endless_toil.py
  • scripts/test_sounds.py

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 24b9815

Compare with similar skills

Endless Toil next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.

Endless Toil compared with similar skills
SkillStarsUsed inTokensAuto-checkLicenceRepo updated
Endless Toil this skillAndrewVos/endless-toil243—~1.3kAutomated safety check: PassNone
WooCommerce Code Reviewwoocommerce/woocommerce11k3 repos~1.1kAutomated safety check: PassCustom licence
Systematic Code Refactoringluongnv89/claude-howto42k—~3kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Install Anti-Slop Oxlint Rulesdmmulroy/anti-slop5.3k—~2.2kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Constraint-Driven Developmentaddyosmani/agent-skills103k2 repos~5.2kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Skill Doli Code ReviewDolibarr/dolibarr7.7k1 repos~1.1kAutomated safety check: PassMIT

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Categories

Questions about Endless Toil

What does Endless Toil do?

Audible code-quality reactions for code reading, review, refactoring, debugging, and repository exploration. Endless Toil is an agent skill from AndrewVos/endless-toil. Audible code-quality reactions for code reading, review, refactoring, debugging, and repository exploration.

When should I use Endless Toil?

Endless Toil fits situations like: the user wants Codex to scan code and play escalating groaning sounds based on suspicious code quality signals; especially requests like make Codex suffer while reading this code; play sounds based on code quality; audible code review.

How do I install Endless Toil in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add AndrewVos/endless-toil --skill endless-toil -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (plugins/endless-toil/skills/endless-toil in AndrewVos/endless-toil) into .claude/skills/endless-toil in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Endless Toil in Codex?

Run `npx skills add AndrewVos/endless-toil --skill endless-toil -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (plugins/endless-toil/skills/endless-toil in AndrewVos/endless-toil) into .agents/skills/endless-toil in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Endless Toil in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?

Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add AndrewVos/endless-toil --skill endless-toil -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/endless-toil, .gemini/skills/endless-toil, .github/skills/endless-toil and .opencode/skills/endless-toil in your project.

What does Endless Toil need to run?

Going by SKILL.md and its folder, Endless Toil needs Python for the scripts in its folder and the command-line tools its instructions call (python3 and git). Our summary lists: Python 3.

Does Endless Toil access the network?

SKILL.md contains no URLs. Its commands use git, which can reach the network depending on how they are called. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Endless Toil safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. The check reads SKILL.md only: the scripts in the folder are not scanned, so read them before running anything.

What licence does Endless Toil use?

No licence was found for Endless Toil or its repository. Without one, default copyright applies: ask the author before reusing or redistributing it.

How many tokens does Endless Toil use?

About 1.3k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 5.2k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full.

What are the alternatives to Endless Toil?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Endless Toil: WooCommerce Code Review (woocommerce/woocommerce, 11k stars), Systematic Code Refactoring (luongnv89/claude-howto, 42k stars), Install Anti-Slop Oxlint Rules (dmmulroy/anti-slop, 5.3k stars) and Constraint-Driven Development (addyosmani/agent-skills, 103k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Endless Toil?

AndrewVos (a GitHub user) maintains it in AndrewVos/endless-toil, which has 243 GitHub stars. The repository was last updated on April 24, 2026.

Source: AndrewVos/endless-toil on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.