DeepTutor CLI
HKUDS/DeepTutor
Teaches the agent to set up and run DeepTutor from the command line: chat and capabilities, knowledge bases, partners, memory, sessions, notebooks and the server or Web app.
Plan a unit using backwards design from desired outcomes through assessment evidence to learning activities.
Install Backwards Design Unit Planner
$ npx skills add GarethManning/education-agent-skills --skill backwards-design-unit-planner -a claude-codeProject install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.
$ gh skill install GarethManning/education-agent-skills backwards-design-unit-planner --agent claude-codeProject scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/GarethManning/education-agent-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/curriculum-assessment/backwards-design-unit-planner .claude/skills/backwards-design-unit-planner && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.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/
Install the "backwards-design-unit-planner" agent skill from https://github.com/GarethManning/education-agent-skills/tree/main/skills/curriculum-assessment/backwards-design-unit-planner into .claude/skills/backwards-design-unit-planner/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "backwards-design-unit-planner", 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 install https://github.com/GarethManning/education-agent-skills/tree/main/skills/curriculum-assessment/backwards-design-unit-plannerType 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.
$ npx skills add GarethManning/education-agent-skills --skill backwards-design-unit-planner -a codexProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.codex/skills/.
$ gh skill install GarethManning/education-agent-skills backwards-design-unit-planner --agent codexProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/GarethManning/education-agent-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .agents/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/curriculum-assessment/backwards-design-unit-planner .agents/skills/backwards-design-unit-planner && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.agents/skills/ instead of .agents/skills for a personal install.
Codex skills documentation · loads skills from .agents/skills/
Install the "backwards-design-unit-planner" agent skill from https://github.com/GarethManning/education-agent-skills/tree/main/skills/curriculum-assessment/backwards-design-unit-planner into .agents/skills/backwards-design-unit-planner/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "backwards-design-unit-planner", 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.
$ npx skills add GarethManning/education-agent-skills --skill backwards-design-unit-planner -a cursorProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.cursor/skills/.
$ gh skill install GarethManning/education-agent-skills backwards-design-unit-planner --agent cursorProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/GarethManning/education-agent-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .cursor/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/curriculum-assessment/backwards-design-unit-planner .cursor/skills/backwards-design-unit-planner && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.cursor/skills/ instead of .cursor/skills for a personal install.
Cursor skills documentation · loads skills from .cursor/skills/, .agents/skills/, .claude/skills/, .codex/skills/
Install the "backwards-design-unit-planner" agent skill from https://github.com/GarethManning/education-agent-skills/tree/main/skills/curriculum-assessment/backwards-design-unit-planner into .cursor/skills/backwards-design-unit-planner/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "backwards-design-unit-planner", 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 https://github.com/GarethManning/education-agent-skills.git --path skills/curriculum-assessment/backwards-design-unit-planner--scope user (default) or --scope workspace; --path is the subfolder of the repo that holds the skill; --consent skips the security confirmation prompt.
$ npx skills add GarethManning/education-agent-skills --skill backwards-design-unit-planner -a gemini-cliProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.gemini/skills/.
$ gh skill install GarethManning/education-agent-skills backwards-design-unit-planner --agent gemini-cliProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/GarethManning/education-agent-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .gemini/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/curriculum-assessment/backwards-design-unit-planner .gemini/skills/backwards-design-unit-planner && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.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/
Install the "backwards-design-unit-planner" agent skill from https://github.com/GarethManning/education-agent-skills/tree/main/skills/curriculum-assessment/backwards-design-unit-planner into .gemini/skills/backwards-design-unit-planner/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "backwards-design-unit-planner", 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.
$ gh skill install GarethManning/education-agent-skills backwards-design-unit-plannerInstalls 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).
$ npx skills add GarethManning/education-agent-skills --skill backwards-design-unit-planner -a github-copilotProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.copilot/skills/.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/GarethManning/education-agent-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .github/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/curriculum-assessment/backwards-design-unit-planner .github/skills/backwards-design-unit-planner && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.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/
Install the "backwards-design-unit-planner" agent skill from https://github.com/GarethManning/education-agent-skills/tree/main/skills/curriculum-assessment/backwards-design-unit-planner into .github/skills/backwards-design-unit-planner/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "backwards-design-unit-planner", 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.
$ npx skills add GarethManning/education-agent-skills --skill backwards-design-unit-planner -a opencodeOpenCode documents no install command of its own. Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.config/opencode/skills/.
$ gh skill install GarethManning/education-agent-skills backwards-design-unit-planner --agent opencodeProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/GarethManning/education-agent-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .opencode/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/curriculum-assessment/backwards-design-unit-planner .opencode/skills/backwards-design-unit-planner && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.config/opencode/skills/ instead of .opencode/skills for a personal install.
OpenCode skills documentation · loads skills from .opencode/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/
Install the "backwards-design-unit-planner" agent skill from https://github.com/GarethManning/education-agent-skills/tree/main/skills/curriculum-assessment/backwards-design-unit-planner into .opencode/skills/backwards-design-unit-planner/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "backwards-design-unit-planner", 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
backwards-design-unit-planner- GitHub stars
- 837
- Token cost
- ~5.4k tokens
- SKILL.md length
- 1,842 words
- Files
- 1
- Skills in repo
- 160
- Repo updated
- First seen
- Licence
- Custom licence
At a glance
Plan a unit using backwards design from desired outcomes through assessment evidence to learning activities.
- Works in 3 steps: Desired Results → Assessment Evidence → Learning Plan
- Starting a new unit
- SKILL.md covers What This Skill Does, Evidence Foundation, Input Schema and Prompt, plus 3 more sections
- Instructions only: no scripts, shell commands, URLs or credentials in SKILL.md
What it does
Backwards Design Unit Planner is an agent skill from GarethManning/education-agent-skills. Plan a unit using backwards design from desired outcomes through assessment evidence to learning activities. Use when starting a new unit or redesigning an existing one from standards.
Its SKILL.md is about 5.4k 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 Education. The repository describes itself as: 165 evidence-grounded AI skills for teachers, school leaders and EdTech builders—pedagogy, learning science, curriculum, assessment and regeneration. Claude, Codex and Hermes.
When your agent uses it
- Starting a new unit
- Redesigning an existing one from standards
Example prompts
- “/backwards-design-unit-planner”
Workflow steps
3 steps, taken from the step headings in SKILL.md.
- Desired Results
- Assessment Evidence
- Learning Plan
What it can do on your machine
Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 6bbbce4. 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
Backwards Design Unit Planner loads about 5.4k tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 54 tokens; SKILL.md has 1,842 words of instructions outside code blocks.
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
Its licence (Custom licence) doesn't allow us to republish the file, so here is its outline and opening line. It has 1,842 words (~5,432 tokens).
“Generates a complete Stage 1–2–3 Understanding by Design unit structure from a teacher's desired outcomes: Stage 1 defines enduring understandings, essential questions, and target knowledge/skills; Stage 2 designs the assessment evidence that will demonstrate understanding (before any activities are planned)…”
- name
- backwards-design-unit-planner
- disable-model-invocation
- false
- user-invocable
- true
- effort
- medium
- skill_id
- curriculum-assessment/backwards-design-unit-planner
- skill_name
- Backwards Design Unit Planner
- domain
- curriculum-assessment
- version
- 1.0
- evidence_strength
- strong
- evidence_sources
- Wiggins & McTighe (1998, 2005) — Understanding by Design, Wiggins & McTighe (2011) — The Understanding by Design Guide to Creating High-Quality Units…
- output_schema.type
- object
Files
Just SKILL.md in skills/curriculum-assessment/backwards-design-unit-planner of GarethManning/education-agent-skills.
Open the folder on GitHubat commit 6bbbce4
Compare with similar skills
Backwards Design Unit Planner 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.
| Skill | Stars | Used in | Tokens | Auto-check | Licence | Repo updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Backwards Design Unit Planner this skillGarethManning/education-agent-skills | 837 | — | ~5.4k | Automated safety check: Pass | Custom licence | |
| DeepTutor CLIHKUDS/DeepTutor | 41k | — | ~2.8k | Automated safety check: Pass | Apache-2.0 | |
| AI Engineering Placement Quizrohitg00/ai-engineering-from-scratch | 66k | — | ~2k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Deep Reading Analystginobefun/deep-reading-analyst-skill | 353 | 4 repos | ~3.6k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| OpenMAIC Setup and ExtensionTHU-MAIC/OpenMAIC | 40k | — | ~1.7k | Automated safety check: Notes | MIT | |
| Codebase to Coursezarazhangrui/codebase-to-course | 5.7k | — | ~4.4k | Automated safety check: Pass | None |
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Related
Categories
Questions about Backwards Design Unit Planner
What does Backwards Design Unit Planner do?
Plan a unit using backwards design from desired outcomes through assessment evidence to learning activities. Backwards Design Unit Planner is an agent skill from GarethManning/education-agent-skills. Plan a unit using backwards design from desired outcomes through assessment evidence to learning activities.
When should I use Backwards Design Unit Planner?
Backwards Design Unit Planner fits situations like: starting a new unit; redesigning an existing one from standards.
How do I install Backwards Design Unit Planner in Claude Code?
Run `npx skills add GarethManning/education-agent-skills --skill backwards-design-unit-planner -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/curriculum-assessment/backwards-design-unit-planner in GarethManning/education-agent-skills) into .claude/skills/backwards-design-unit-planner in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.
How do I install Backwards Design Unit Planner in Codex?
Run `npx skills add GarethManning/education-agent-skills --skill backwards-design-unit-planner -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/curriculum-assessment/backwards-design-unit-planner in GarethManning/education-agent-skills) into .agents/skills/backwards-design-unit-planner in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.
Can I use Backwards Design Unit Planner 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 GarethManning/education-agent-skills --skill backwards-design-unit-planner -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/backwards-design-unit-planner, .gemini/skills/backwards-design-unit-planner, .github/skills/backwards-design-unit-planner and .opencode/skills/backwards-design-unit-planner in your project.
What does Backwards Design Unit Planner need to run?
SKILL.md names no scripts, command-line tools or credentials: Backwards Design Unit Planner is instructions for the agent only.
Does Backwards Design Unit Planner 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 Backwards Design Unit Planner 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 Backwards Design Unit Planner use?
Backwards Design Unit Planner has a licence file (the repository's licence) that doesn't match a standard licence. Read it on GitHub before reusing the skill.
How many tokens does Backwards Design Unit Planner use?
About 5.4k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 22k 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 Backwards Design Unit Planner?
Skills that share tags, products or a category with Backwards Design Unit Planner: DeepTutor CLI (HKUDS/DeepTutor, 41k stars), AI Engineering Placement Quiz (rohitg00/ai-engineering-from-scratch, 66k stars), Deep Reading Analyst (ginobefun/deep-reading-analyst-skill, 353 stars) and OpenMAIC Setup and Extension (THU-MAIC/OpenMAIC, 40k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.
Who maintains Backwards Design Unit Planner?
GarethManning (a GitHub user) maintains it in GarethManning/education-agent-skills, which has 837 GitHub stars. The repository holds 160 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on August 28, 2026.
Source: GarethManning/education-agent-skills on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.