Agent skill

Engineering Fundamentals

by DanielPodolsky in DanielPodolsky/ownyourcode

Background knowledge for code quality. An agent skill from DanielPodolsky/ownyourcode.

MITAuto-check passedDevelopment

Install Engineering Fundamentals

skills CLI

$ npx skills add DanielPodolsky/ownyourcode --skill engineering-fundamentals -a claude-code

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

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install DanielPodolsky/ownyourcode engineering-fundamentals --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/DanielPodolsky/ownyourcode.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/.claude/skills/fundamentals/engineering .claude/skills/engineering-fundamentals && 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/

Paste into Claude Code

Install the "engineering-fundamentals" agent skill from https://github.com/DanielPodolsky/ownyourcode/tree/main/.claude/skills/fundamentals/engineering into .claude/skills/engineering-fundamentals/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "engineering-fundamentals", then confirm the skill loads.

Claude Code copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

$skill-installer

$skill-installer install https://github.com/DanielPodolsky/ownyourcode/tree/main/.claude/skills/fundamentals/engineering

Type this inside Codex. $skill-installer <name> installs a curated skill from openai/skills. The installer writes to $CODEX_HOME/skills (default ~/.codex/skills). Restart Codex if the skill does not show up.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add DanielPodolsky/ownyourcode --skill engineering-fundamentals -a codex

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.codex/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install DanielPodolsky/ownyourcode engineering-fundamentals --agent codex

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/DanielPodolsky/ownyourcode.git skills-src && mkdir -p .agents/skills && cp -r skills-src/.claude/skills/fundamentals/engineering .agents/skills/engineering-fundamentals && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.agents/skills/ instead of .agents/skills for a personal install.

Codex skills documentation · loads skills from .agents/skills/

Paste into Codex

Install the "engineering-fundamentals" agent skill from https://github.com/DanielPodolsky/ownyourcode/tree/main/.claude/skills/fundamentals/engineering into .agents/skills/engineering-fundamentals/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "engineering-fundamentals", then confirm the skill loads.

Codex copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add DanielPodolsky/ownyourcode --skill engineering-fundamentals -a cursor

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.cursor/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install DanielPodolsky/ownyourcode engineering-fundamentals --agent cursor

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/DanielPodolsky/ownyourcode.git skills-src && mkdir -p .cursor/skills && cp -r skills-src/.claude/skills/fundamentals/engineering .cursor/skills/engineering-fundamentals && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.cursor/skills/ instead of .cursor/skills for a personal install.

Cursor skills documentation · loads skills from .cursor/skills/, .agents/skills/, .claude/skills/, .codex/skills/

Paste into Cursor

Install the "engineering-fundamentals" agent skill from https://github.com/DanielPodolsky/ownyourcode/tree/main/.claude/skills/fundamentals/engineering into .cursor/skills/engineering-fundamentals/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "engineering-fundamentals", then confirm the skill loads.

Cursor copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

gemini skills install

$ gemini skills install https://github.com/DanielPodolsky/ownyourcode.git --path .claude/skills/fundamentals/engineering

--scope user (default) or --scope workspace; --path is the subfolder of the repo that holds the skill; --consent skips the security confirmation prompt.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add DanielPodolsky/ownyourcode --skill engineering-fundamentals -a gemini-cli

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.gemini/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install DanielPodolsky/ownyourcode engineering-fundamentals --agent gemini-cli

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/DanielPodolsky/ownyourcode.git skills-src && mkdir -p .gemini/skills && cp -r skills-src/.claude/skills/fundamentals/engineering .gemini/skills/engineering-fundamentals && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.gemini/skills/ instead of .gemini/skills for a personal install, then run /skills reload.

Gemini CLI skills documentation · loads skills from .gemini/skills/, .agents/skills/

Paste into Gemini CLI

Install the "engineering-fundamentals" agent skill from https://github.com/DanielPodolsky/ownyourcode/tree/main/.claude/skills/fundamentals/engineering into .gemini/skills/engineering-fundamentals/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "engineering-fundamentals", then confirm the skill loads.

Gemini CLI copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install DanielPodolsky/ownyourcode engineering-fundamentals

Installs for Copilot at project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Preview a skill first with gh skill preview. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

skills CLI

$ npx skills add DanielPodolsky/ownyourcode --skill engineering-fundamentals -a github-copilot

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.copilot/skills/.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/DanielPodolsky/ownyourcode.git skills-src && mkdir -p .github/skills && cp -r skills-src/.claude/skills/fundamentals/engineering .github/skills/engineering-fundamentals && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.copilot/skills/ instead of .github/skills for a personal install. Commit .github/skills so cloud agent and code review can use it.

GitHub Copilot skills documentation · loads skills from .github/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/

Paste into GitHub Copilot

Install the "engineering-fundamentals" agent skill from https://github.com/DanielPodolsky/ownyourcode/tree/main/.claude/skills/fundamentals/engineering into .github/skills/engineering-fundamentals/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "engineering-fundamentals", then confirm the skill loads.

GitHub Copilot copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add DanielPodolsky/ownyourcode --skill engineering-fundamentals -a opencode

OpenCode documents no install command of its own. Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.config/opencode/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install DanielPodolsky/ownyourcode engineering-fundamentals --agent opencode

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/DanielPodolsky/ownyourcode.git skills-src && mkdir -p .opencode/skills && cp -r skills-src/.claude/skills/fundamentals/engineering .opencode/skills/engineering-fundamentals && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.config/opencode/skills/ instead of .opencode/skills for a personal install.

OpenCode skills documentation · loads skills from .opencode/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/

Paste into OpenCode

Install the "engineering-fundamentals" agent skill from https://github.com/DanielPodolsky/ownyourcode/tree/main/.claude/skills/fundamentals/engineering into .opencode/skills/engineering-fundamentals/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "engineering-fundamentals", then confirm the skill loads.

OpenCode copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

Facts

Skill name: engineering-fundamentals
GitHub stars: 290
Used in: 1 other repo
Token cost: ~1.4k tokens
SKILL.md length: 457 words
Files: 1
Skills in repo: 19
Repo updated: Jun 27, 2026
First seen: Oct 7, 2026
Licence: MIT

At a glance

Background knowledge for code quality. An agent skill from DanielPodolsky/ownyourcode.

Works in 5 steps: Magic Numbers → Unclear Naming → God Functions → …
Tasks that involve Code quality
SKILL.md covers When to Apply, Review Checklist, Common Mistakes (Anti-Patterns) and SOLID Principles Quick Check, plus 4 more sections
Instructions only: no scripts, shell commands, URLs or credentials in SKILL.md

What it does

Engineering Fundamentals is an agent skill from DanielPodolsky/ownyourcode. Background knowledge for code quality. Applied when reviewing naming conventions, DRY, SOLID, function size, refactoring, or when junior asks "is this clean", "code review", "better way".

Its SKILL.md is about 1.4k 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 Code quality and Refactoring. The repository describes itself as: Claude Code workflow for AI-mentored development. Work efficiently with Spec-Driven Development and the 6 Gates. Built to fight cognitive offloading — for developers using AI to… The licence is MIT.

When your agent uses it

Tasks that involve Code quality
Tasks that involve Refactoring

Example prompts

“is this clean”
“code review”
“better way”
“/engineering-fundamentals”

Workflow steps

5 steps, taken from the step headings in SKILL.md.

Magic Numbers
Unclear Naming
God Functions
Deep Nesting
Premature Abstraction

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit bd1f17c. 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

Engineering Fundamentals loads about 1.4k tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 53 tokens; SKILL.md has 457 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it: ~53
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches: ~1.4k

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

The full file from DanielPodolsky/ownyourcode at commit bd1f17c, republished under its MIT licence (© DanielPodolsky). 457 words, ~1,360 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/engineering-fundamentals/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder).

name: engineering-fundamentals
description: Background knowledge for code quality. Applied when reviewing naming conventions, DRY, SOLID, function size, refactoring, or when junior asks "is this clean", "code review", "better way".
user-invocable: false

Engineering Fundamentals Review

"Code is read more than it is written. Write for the reader, not the machine."

When to Apply

Activate this skill when reviewing:

Any code changes
Function and variable naming
Code organization and structure
General refactoring decisions

Review Checklist

Naming

Descriptive: Can you understand the variable without context?
No abbreviations: Are names spelled out? (user not usr)
No generic names: No data, temp, info, stuff?
Boolean prefix: Do booleans start with is, has, can, should?
Function verbs: Do functions start with action verbs?

Function Design

Single responsibility: Does each function do ONE thing?
Size limit: Are functions under 20-30 lines?
Parameter count: Are there fewer than 4 parameters?
No side effects: Are pure functions actually pure?
Early returns: Are guard clauses used instead of deep nesting?

Code Organization

DRY: Is duplicated code extracted into functions?
But not too DRY: Are abstractions justified (rule of three)?
Cohesion: Are related things grouped together?
Separation: Are unrelated things separated?

Comments & Documentation

Why, not what: Do comments explain reasoning, not obvious code?
No commented-out code: Is dead code deleted, not commented?
JSDoc on public APIs: Are exported functions documented?

Common Mistakes (Anti-Patterns)

1. Magic Numbers

❌ if (status === 2) { ... }
   setTimeout(callback, 86400000);

✅ const STATUS = { ACTIVE: 2, INACTIVE: 1 };
   if (status === STATUS.ACTIVE) { ... }

   const ONE_DAY_MS = 24 * 60 * 60 * 1000;
   setTimeout(callback, ONE_DAY_MS);

2. Unclear Naming

❌ const d = new Date();
   const temp = getUser();
   const flag = true;

✅ const createdAt = new Date();
   const currentUser = getUser();
   const isAuthenticated = true;

3. God Functions

❌ function processOrder(order) {
     // 200 lines: validate, calculate, save, email, log...
   }

✅ function processOrder(order) {
     validateOrder(order);
     const total = calculateTotal(order);
     await saveOrder(order, total);
     await sendConfirmationEmail(order);
     logOrderProcessed(order);
   }

4. Deep Nesting

❌ function check(user) {
     if (user) {
       if (user.active) {
         if (user.role === 'admin') {
           return true;
         }
       }
     }
     return false;
   }

✅ function check(user) {
     if (!user) return false;
     if (!user.active) return false;
     if (user.role !== 'admin') return false;
     return true;
   }

5. Premature Abstraction

❌ // Used once, but has 10 configuration options
   createFlexibleReusableButton({ ... });

✅ // Just make the button
   <button className="primary">Submit</button>

   // Abstract when you need it 3+ times

SOLID Principles Quick Check

Principle	Question	Red Flag
Single Responsibility	"Does this class/function do one thing?"	Class with 10+ methods
Open/Closed	"Can I extend without modifying?"	Switch statements for types
Liskov Substitution	"Can I swap implementations?"	Overriding methods that break contracts
Interface Segregation	"Are interfaces focused?"	Clients forced to depend on unused methods
Dependency Inversion	"Do high-level modules depend on abstractions?"	Direct instantiation of dependencies

Show full SKILL.md (186 more words)Show less

Socratic Questions

Ask the junior these questions instead of giving answers:

Naming: "Would a new developer understand this name without context?"
Function Size: "Can you describe what this function does in one sentence?"
Duplication: "I see this pattern in three places. What happens if it needs to change?"
Abstraction: "How many times is this abstraction actually used?"
Readability: "If you came back to this code in 6 months, would you understand it?"

Naming Conventions

Type	Convention	Example
Variables	camelCase	`userName`, `isActive`
Constants	UPPER_SNAKE_CASE	`MAX_RETRIES`, `API_URL`
Functions	camelCase + verb	`getUser()`, `handleSubmit()`
Classes	PascalCase	`UserService`, `AuthProvider`
Files (components)	PascalCase	`UserProfile.tsx`
Files (utilities)	camelCase	`formatDate.ts`

Standards Reference

See detailed patterns in:

/standards/global/naming-conventions.md

Red Flags to Call Out

Flag	Question to Ask
Single letter variables	"What does `d` represent?"
Functions > 30 lines	"Can we break this into smaller functions?"
> 3 levels of nesting	"Can we use early returns?"
Copy-pasted code	"If this logic changes, how many places need updating?"
Commented-out code	"Is this needed? Can we delete it?"
TODO without tracking	"Is there a ticket for this?"
Magic strings/numbers	"Should this be a named constant?"

Files

Just SKILL.md in .claude/skills/fundamentals/engineering of DanielPodolsky/ownyourcode.

Open the folder on GitHubat commit bd1f17c

Used in 1 other repository

We found 1 copy of this SKILL.md (exact, near-identical or edited) in other folders, from 1 other GitHub owner. This page covers the copy in DanielPodolsky/ownyourcode, which our catalogue first saw on October 7, 2026.

aiskillstore/marketplaceskills/danielpodolsky/engineering-fundamentals

Compare with similar skills

Engineering Fundamentals 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.

Engineering Fundamentals compared with similar skills
Skill	Stars	Used in	Tokens	Auto-check	Licence	Repo updated
Engineering Fundamentals this skillDanielPodolsky/ownyourcode	290	1 repos	~1.4k	Automated safety check: Pass	MIT	3 mo ago
Systematic Code Refactoringluongnv89/claude-howto	42k	—	~3k	Automated safety check: Pass	MIT	9 days ago
Ponytail Lazy Developer ModeDietrichGebert/ponytail	159k	—	~873	Automated safety check: Pass	MIT	yesterday
Dignified Python Standardsdocling-project/docling	69k	—	~1.5k	Automated safety check: Pass	Apache-2.0	today
Clean Code GuardamElnagdy/guard-skills	1.3k	2 repos	~4.3k	Automated safety check: Pass	MIT	3 mo ago
Code Refactoring Workflowluongnv89/claude-howto	42k	—	~3.1k	Automated safety check: Pass	MIT	9 days ago

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Questions about Engineering Fundamentals

What does Engineering Fundamentals do?

Background knowledge for code quality. An agent skill from DanielPodolsky/ownyourcode. Engineering Fundamentals is an agent skill from DanielPodolsky/ownyourcode. Background knowledge for code quality.

When should I use Engineering Fundamentals?

Engineering Fundamentals fits situations like: tasks that involve Code quality; tasks that involve Refactoring.

How do I install Engineering Fundamentals in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add DanielPodolsky/ownyourcode --skill engineering-fundamentals -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (.claude/skills/fundamentals/engineering in DanielPodolsky/ownyourcode) into .claude/skills/engineering-fundamentals in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Engineering Fundamentals in Codex?

Run `npx skills add DanielPodolsky/ownyourcode --skill engineering-fundamentals -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (.claude/skills/fundamentals/engineering in DanielPodolsky/ownyourcode) into .agents/skills/engineering-fundamentals in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Engineering Fundamentals 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 DanielPodolsky/ownyourcode --skill engineering-fundamentals -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/engineering-fundamentals, .gemini/skills/engineering-fundamentals, .github/skills/engineering-fundamentals and .opencode/skills/engineering-fundamentals in your project.

What does Engineering Fundamentals need to run?

SKILL.md names no scripts, command-line tools or credentials: Engineering Fundamentals is instructions for the agent only.

Does Engineering Fundamentals 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 Engineering Fundamentals 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 Engineering Fundamentals use?

Engineering Fundamentals is published under the MIT licence (the repository's licence). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Engineering Fundamentals use?

About 1.4k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 5.4k 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 Engineering Fundamentals?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Engineering Fundamentals: Systematic Code Refactoring (luongnv89/claude-howto, 42k stars), Ponytail Lazy Developer Mode (DietrichGebert/ponytail, 159k stars), Dignified Python Standards (docling-project/docling, 69k stars) and Clean Code Guard (amElnagdy/guard-skills, 1.3k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Engineering Fundamentals?

DanielPodolsky (a GitHub user) maintains it in DanielPodolsky/ownyourcode, which has 290 GitHub stars. The repository holds 19 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on June 27, 2026.

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

Install Engineering Fundamentals

Facts

At a glance

What it does

When your agent uses it

Example prompts

Workflow steps

What it can do on your machine

Tool permissions

Runs code

Network

Credentials

Context cost

Safety

SKILL.md

Engineering Fundamentals Review

When to Apply

Review Checklist

Naming

Function Design

Code Organization

Comments & Documentation

Common Mistakes (Anti-Patterns)

1. Magic Numbers

2. Unclear Naming

3. God Functions

4. Deep Nesting

5. Premature Abstraction

SOLID Principles Quick Check

Socratic Questions

Naming Conventions

Standards Reference

Red Flags to Call Out

Files

Used in 1 other repository

Compare with similar skills

Similar skills

More from DanielPodolsky/ownyourcode

Related

Questions about Engineering Fundamentals