Official agent skill

Principle Encode Lessons In Structure

by cursor in cursor/plugins

Apply when you catch yourself writing the same instruction a second time, or notice a recurring correction.

OfficialNo licenceAuto-check passedDevelopment

Install Principle Encode Lessons In Structure

skills CLI
$ npx skills add cursor/plugins --skill principle-encode-lessons-in-structure -a claude-code

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

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install cursor/plugins principle-encode-lessons-in-structure --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/cursor/plugins.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/pstack/skills/principle-encode-lessons-in-structure .claude/skills/principle-encode-lessons-in-structure && 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
principle-encode-lessons-in-structure
GitHub stars
10k
Used in
8 other repos
Token cost
~553 tokens
SKILL.md length
290 words
Files
1
Skills in repo
99
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
None found

At a glance

Apply when you catch yourself writing the same instruction a second time, or notice a recurring correction.

  • Works in 3 steps: Ask: can this be a lint rule, a metadata… → If yes, encode it. Delete the instruction → If no (requires judgment), make the…
  • Tasks that involve Linting and formatting
  • Instructions only: no scripts, shell commands, URLs or credentials in SKILL.md

What it does

Principle Encode Lessons In Structure is an agent skill from cursor/plugins, published by the product's own GitHub organization. Apply when you catch yourself writing the same instruction a second time, or notice a recurring correction. Encode the rule as a lint, metadata flag, runtime check, or script instead of more text.

Its SKILL.md is about 550 tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. It is a single SKILL.md file with no bundled scripts.

It sits in Development, covering Linting and formatting. The repository describes itself as: Cursor plugin specification and official plugins.

When your agent uses it

  • Tasks that involve Linting and formatting

Example prompts

  • “/principle-encode-lessons-in-structure”

Workflow steps

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

  1. Ask: can this be a lint rule, a metadata flag, a runtime check, or a script?
  2. If yes, encode it. Delete the instruction
  3. If no (requires judgment), make the instruction more prominent and add an example of the failure mode

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 9f451cf. 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

    No scripts in the folder and no shell commands in SKILL.md.

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

  • Network

    No URLs in SKILL.md.

    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

Principle Encode Lessons In Structure loads about 553 tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 59 tokens; SKILL.md has 290 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~59
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~553

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); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

Without a licence we can't republish the file, so here is its outline and opening line. It has 290 words (~553 tokens).

“Encode recurring fixes in mechanisms (tools, code, metadata, automation) instead of textual instructions. Every error, human correction, and unexpected outcome is a learning signal. Capture it, route it, and close the loop.”

— opening of SKILL.md by cursor
name
principle-encode-lessons-in-structure
disable-model-invocation
true

Read the full SKILL.md on GitHub

Files

Just SKILL.md in pstack/skills/principle-encode-lessons-in-structure of cursor/plugins.

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 9f451cf

Used in 8 other repositories

We found 8 copies of this SKILL.md (exact, near-identical or edited) in other folders, from 8 other GitHub owners. This page covers the copy in cursor/plugins, which our catalogue first saw on October 7, 2026.

Compare with similar skills

Principle Encode Lessons In Structure 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.

Principle Encode Lessons In Structure compared with similar skills
SkillStarsUsed inTokensAuto-checkLicenceRepo updated
Principle Encode Lessons In Structure this skillcursor/plugins10k8 repos~553Automated safety check: PassNone
Install Anti-Slop Oxlint Rulesdmmulroy/anti-slop5.2k—~2.2kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Babysit PR To Pass CIsgl-project/sglang37k2 repos~3kAutomated safety check: PassApache-2.0
Rust Best Practicesfarm-fe/farm5.6k3 repos~1.1kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Go Pedantrychromedp/chromedp13k—~3.7kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Kedro Babysitkedro-org/kedro11k—~4kAutomated safety check: PassCustom licence

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Categories

Questions about Principle Encode Lessons In Structure

What does Principle Encode Lessons In Structure do?

Apply when you catch yourself writing the same instruction a second time, or notice a recurring correction. Principle Encode Lessons In Structure is an agent skill from cursor/plugins, published by the product's own GitHub organization. Apply when you catch yourself writing the same instruction a second time, or notice a recurring correction.

When should I use Principle Encode Lessons In Structure?

Principle Encode Lessons In Structure fits situations like: tasks that involve Linting and formatting.

How do I install Principle Encode Lessons In Structure in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add cursor/plugins --skill principle-encode-lessons-in-structure -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (pstack/skills/principle-encode-lessons-in-structure in cursor/plugins) into .claude/skills/principle-encode-lessons-in-structure in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Principle Encode Lessons In Structure in Codex?

Run `npx skills add cursor/plugins --skill principle-encode-lessons-in-structure -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (pstack/skills/principle-encode-lessons-in-structure in cursor/plugins) into .agents/skills/principle-encode-lessons-in-structure in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Principle Encode Lessons In Structure 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 cursor/plugins --skill principle-encode-lessons-in-structure -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/principle-encode-lessons-in-structure, .gemini/skills/principle-encode-lessons-in-structure, .github/skills/principle-encode-lessons-in-structure and .opencode/skills/principle-encode-lessons-in-structure in your project.

What does Principle Encode Lessons In Structure need to run?

SKILL.md names no scripts, command-line tools or credentials: Principle Encode Lessons In Structure is instructions for the agent only.

Does Principle Encode Lessons In Structure access the network?

SKILL.md contains no URLs. Any network use would come from the scripts or tools the agent runs. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Principle Encode Lessons In Structure 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. Review the folder before installing.

What licence does Principle Encode Lessons In Structure use?

No licence was found for Principle Encode Lessons In Structure or its repository. Without one, default copyright applies: ask the author before reusing or redistributing it.

How many tokens does Principle Encode Lessons In Structure use?

About 553 tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 2.2k 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 Principle Encode Lessons In Structure?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Principle Encode Lessons In Structure: Install Anti-Slop Oxlint Rules (dmmulroy/anti-slop, 5.2k stars), Babysit PR To Pass CI (sgl-project/sglang, 37k stars), Rust Best Practices (farm-fe/farm, 5.6k stars) and Go Pedantry (chromedp/chromedp, 13k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Principle Encode Lessons In Structure?

cursor (a GitHub organization, an official publisher) maintains it in cursor/plugins, which has 10,130 GitHub stars. The repository holds 99 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on October 6, 2026.

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