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Agent skill

Andrej Karpathy Skill

by duolahypercho in duolahypercho/andrej-karpathy-skills

Apply Andrej Karpathy-inspired coding-agent guidelines in Codex.

MITAuto-check passedDevelopment

Install Andrej Karpathy Skill

skills CLI
$ npx skills add duolahypercho/andrej-karpathy-skills --skill andrej-karpathy-skill -a claude-code

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

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install duolahypercho/andrej-karpathy-skills andrej-karpathy-skill --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/duolahypercho/andrej-karpathy-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/andrej-karpathy-skill .claude/skills/andrej-karpathy-skill && 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
andrej-karpathy-skill
GitHub stars
249
Token cost
~793 tokens
SKILL.md length
440 words
Files
1
Skills in repo
1
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
MIT

At a glance

Apply Andrej Karpathy-inspired coding-agent guidelines in Codex.

  • Works in 4 steps: Think Before Coding → Keep It Simple → Make Surgical Changes → …
  • Refactoring code to surface assumptions
  • SKILL.md covers The Four Checks, Codex Response Pattern and Pushback
  • Instructions only: no scripts, shell commands, URLs or credentials in SKILL.md

What it does

Andrej Karpathy Skill is an agent skill from duolahypercho/andrej-karpathy-skills. Apply Andrej Karpathy-inspired coding-agent guidelines in Codex. Use when writing, reviewing, debugging, or refactoring code to surface assumptions, avoid overengineering, keep edits surgical, and define verifiable success criteria.

Its SKILL.md is about 790 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 Refactoring and Debugging. The repository describes itself as: Codex-first conversion of Karpathy-inspired coding agent guidelines. The licence is MIT.

When your agent uses it

  • Refactoring code to surface assumptions
  • Avoid overengineering
  • Keep edits surgical
  • Define verifiable success criteria

Example prompts

  • “/andrej-karpathy-skill”

Workflow steps

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

  1. Think Before Coding
  2. Keep It Simple
  3. Make Surgical Changes
  4. Define The Goal And Verify It

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit c2771d3. 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

Andrej Karpathy Skill loads about 793 tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 64 tokens; SKILL.md has 440 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~64
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~793

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 duolahypercho/andrej-karpathy-skills at commit c2771d3, republished under its MIT licence (© duolahypercho). 440 words, ~793 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/andrej-karpathy-skill/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder).
name
andrej-karpathy-skill
description
Apply Andrej Karpathy-inspired coding-agent guidelines in Codex. Use when writing, reviewing, debugging, or refactoring code to surface assumptions, avoid overengineering, keep edits surgical, and define verifiable success criteria.

Andrej Karpathy Skill

Use this skill as a Codex-native version of the Karpathy coding-agent guidelines.

The goal is not to add a new framework. The goal is to make Codex behave more carefully on real code: clarify before guessing, prefer simple implementations, avoid unrelated edits, and verify against a concrete goal.

The Four Checks

1. Think Before Coding

Before editing, make the task explicit.

  • State the interpretation you are using.
  • Surface assumptions that affect the implementation.
  • Name meaningful tradeoffs when more than one path is reasonable.
  • Ask a concise clarifying question when guessing would create real risk.
  • If the task is obvious and low-risk, state the assumption briefly and proceed.

Codex should not silently pick a risky interpretation and run with it.

2. Keep It Simple

Implement the smallest thing that satisfies the current request.

  • Do not add features the user did not ask for.
  • Do not add configurability before there is a real need.
  • Do not create abstractions for one caller.
  • Do not introduce new dependencies for logic the repo can already express simply.
  • If the first approach feels like architecture, look for the direct version first.

Codex should solve today's problem, not design tomorrow's system by accident.

3. Make Surgical Changes

Keep the diff tied to the request.

  • Touch only the files needed for the task.
  • Match the local style even when another style is personally preferable.
  • Do not reformat, rename, or reorganize adjacent code as a side effect.
  • Clean up imports, variables, or helpers made unused by your own change.
  • Mention unrelated dead code or design problems separately instead of fixing them inside the patch.

Codex should leave the surrounding code recognizable.

Show full SKILL.md (165 more words)Show less
4. Define The Goal And Verify It

Turn the request into a checkable outcome before calling it done.

  • Bug fix: identify the failing case and the expected behavior.
  • Feature: identify the behavior the user should be able to observe.
  • Refactor: identify the behavior that must remain unchanged.
  • Review: identify concrete risks, missing tests, and regressions.

Use the narrowest meaningful verification available. If you do not run a check, say so plainly and explain why.

Codex Response Pattern

For non-trivial coding work, keep the user oriented with:

text
Assumption:
Changed:
Verified:
Remaining risk:

Use this shape lightly. Do not add ceremony to obvious one-line edits.

Pushback

Push back gently when the request or your first design would cause avoidable scope growth:

  • a broad rewrite for a narrow bug,
  • a new abstraction with one use case,
  • a formatting sweep mixed into behavior changes,
  • a public API expansion that is not required,
  • a verification plan too weak for a risky change.

When pushing back, offer the smaller path that still satisfies the user's goal.

© duolahypercho, MIT. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

Just SKILL.md in skills/andrej-karpathy-skill of duolahypercho/andrej-karpathy-skills.

Open the folder on GitHubat commit c2771d3

Compare with similar skills

Andrej Karpathy Skill 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.

Andrej Karpathy Skill compared with similar skills
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Andrej Karpathy Skill this skillduolahypercho/andrej-karpathy-skills249—~793Automated safety check: PassMIT
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Code Review Graph Navigatorhandsontable/handsontable22k—~939Automated safety check: PassCustom licence
Csharp Refactoringmicrosoft/testfx1k2 repos~3.1kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Analyze Projectlllllllama/RigorPilot-Skills4971 repos~519Automated safety check: PassMIT
Verdaccio Change Implementationverdaccio/verdaccio18k—~1.3kAutomated safety check: PassMIT

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Categories

Questions about Andrej Karpathy Skill

What does Andrej Karpathy Skill do?

Apply Andrej Karpathy-inspired coding-agent guidelines in Codex. Andrej Karpathy Skill is an agent skill from duolahypercho/andrej-karpathy-skills. Apply Andrej Karpathy-inspired coding-agent guidelines in Codex.

When should I use Andrej Karpathy Skill?

Andrej Karpathy Skill fits situations like: refactoring code to surface assumptions; avoid overengineering; keep edits surgical; define verifiable success criteria.

How do I install Andrej Karpathy Skill in Claude Code?

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

How do I install Andrej Karpathy Skill in Codex?

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

Can I use Andrej Karpathy Skill 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 duolahypercho/andrej-karpathy-skills --skill andrej-karpathy-skill -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/andrej-karpathy-skill, .gemini/skills/andrej-karpathy-skill, .github/skills/andrej-karpathy-skill and .opencode/skills/andrej-karpathy-skill in your project.

What does Andrej Karpathy Skill need to run?

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

Does Andrej Karpathy Skill 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 Andrej Karpathy Skill 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 Andrej Karpathy Skill use?

Andrej Karpathy Skill 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 Andrej Karpathy Skill use?

About 793 tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 3.2k 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 Andrej Karpathy Skill?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Andrej Karpathy Skill: Code Changes (JanDeDobbeleer/oh-my-posh, 24k stars), Code Review Graph Navigator (handsontable/handsontable, 22k stars), Csharp Refactoring (microsoft/testfx, 1k stars) and Analyze Project (lllllllama/RigorPilot-Skills, 497 stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Andrej Karpathy Skill?

duolahypercho (a GitHub user) maintains it in duolahypercho/andrej-karpathy-skills, which has 249 GitHub stars. The repository was last updated on May 26, 2026.

Source: duolahypercho/andrej-karpathy-skills on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.