Agent skill

Spike

Run throwaway prototypes to validate feasibility, compare approaches, and report a verdict.

MITAuto-check passedDevelopment

Install Spike

skills CLI

$ npx skills add openclaw/openclaw --skill spike -a claude-code

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

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install openclaw/openclaw spike --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/openclaw/openclaw.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/spike .claude/skills/spike && 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 "spike" agent skill from https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/tree/main/skills/spike into .claude/skills/spike/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "spike", 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/openclaw/openclaw/tree/main/skills/spike

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 openclaw/openclaw --skill spike -a codex

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

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install openclaw/openclaw spike --agent codex

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

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw.git skills-src && mkdir -p .agents/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/spike .agents/skills/spike && 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 "spike" agent skill from https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/tree/main/skills/spike into .agents/skills/spike/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "spike", 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 openclaw/openclaw --skill spike -a cursor

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

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install openclaw/openclaw spike --agent cursor

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

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw.git skills-src && mkdir -p .cursor/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/spike .cursor/skills/spike && 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 "spike" agent skill from https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/tree/main/skills/spike into .cursor/skills/spike/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "spike", 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/openclaw/openclaw.git --path skills/spike

--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 openclaw/openclaw --skill spike -a gemini-cli

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

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install openclaw/openclaw spike --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/openclaw/openclaw.git skills-src && mkdir -p .gemini/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/spike .gemini/skills/spike && 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 "spike" agent skill from https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/tree/main/skills/spike into .gemini/skills/spike/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "spike", 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 openclaw/openclaw spike

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 openclaw/openclaw --skill spike -a github-copilot

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

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw.git skills-src && mkdir -p .github/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/spike .github/skills/spike && 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 "spike" agent skill from https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/tree/main/skills/spike into .github/skills/spike/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "spike", 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 openclaw/openclaw --skill spike -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 openclaw/openclaw spike --agent opencode

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

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw.git skills-src && mkdir -p .opencode/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/spike .opencode/skills/spike && 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 "spike" agent skill from https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/tree/main/skills/spike into .opencode/skills/spike/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "spike", 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: spike
GitHub stars: 392k
Used in: 1 other repo
Token cost: ~473 tokens
SKILL.md length: 211 words
Files: 1
Skills in repo: 93
Repo updated: Oct 8, 2026
First seen: Oct 8, 2026
Licence: MIT

At a glance

Run throwaway prototypes to validate feasibility, compare approaches, and report a verdict.

Works in 5 steps: Question: state the concrete feasibility… → Research: read enough docs/source to… → Build: create the smallest runnable… → …
Tasks that involve Prototyping
Instructions only: no scripts, shell commands, URLs or credentials in SKILL.md

What it does

Spike is an agent skill from openclaw/openclaw. Run throwaway prototypes to validate feasibility, compare approaches, and report a verdict.

Its SKILL.md is about 470 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 Prototyping. The repository describes itself as: The AI that really does things. Any OS. Any Platform. The lobster way. 🦞. The licence is MIT.

When your agent uses it

Tasks that involve Prototyping

Example prompts

“/spike”

Requirements

Docker

Workflow steps

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

Question: state the concrete feasibility question.
Research: read enough docs/source to choose credible approach.
Build: create the smallest runnable artifact that validates or invalidates the idea.
Stress: try one edge case or failure mode.
Verdict: VALIDATED, PARTIAL, or INVALIDATED.

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 1eb5970. 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 (its code samples are markdown).
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

Spike loads about 473 tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 24 tokens; SKILL.md has 211 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it: ~24
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches: ~473

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 openclaw/openclaw at commit 1eb5970, republished under its MIT licence (© openclaw). 211 words, ~473 tokens.

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

name: spike
description: Run throwaway prototypes to validate feasibility, compare approaches, and report a verdict.

Spike

Use when the user wants to test an idea before committing to a real build: "spike this", "quick prototype", "is this possible", "compare A/B", "before we build".

Do not use when reading docs/code can answer the question, or when the user clearly asked for production implementation.

Loop

Question: state the concrete feasibility question.
Research: read enough docs/source to choose credible approach.
Build: create the smallest runnable artifact that validates or invalidates the idea.
Stress: try one edge case or failure mode.
Verdict: VALIDATED, PARTIAL, or INVALIDATED.

Output shape

Default workspace: .tmp/openclaw-spikes/<slug> unless user asks for a tracked repo-local path.
Repo-local option: spikes/<NNN-slug>/ with README.md and minimal code.
Prefer runnable CLI, tiny HTML, one endpoint, or focused test.
Avoid package sprawl, Docker, env files, app frameworks, and production cleanup.

Multi-spike ideas

Split into 2-5 independent questions.
Run the riskiest question first.
For A/B comparisons, keep inputs equal and measure the same dimensions.
Ask before building all variants if the work is more than a small prototype.

Verdict format

markdown

## Verdict: VALIDATED | PARTIAL | INVALIDATED

Question: ...
Evidence: exact command/output/measurement.
What worked: ...
What failed or surprised us: ...
Recommendation: ship / adjust / avoid, with the next production step.

Rules

An invalidated spike is useful when it rules out a path with evidence.
Do not merge spike code into production without rewriting it normally.
If external dependencies are evaluated, check health: recent release/commit, docs, license, install friction.

Files

Just SKILL.md in skills/spike of openclaw/openclaw.

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 1eb5970

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 openclaw/openclaw, which our catalogue first saw on October 8, 2026.

Kevin100202/Rocket-Design-and-Manufacturing-Automation-Program-from-Shenzhen22highschoolskills/spike

Compare with similar skills

Spike 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.

Spike compared with similar skills
Skill	Stars	Used in	Tokens	Auto-check	Licence	Repo updated
Spike this skillopenclaw/openclaw	392k	1 repos	~473	Automated safety check: Pass	MIT	today
Native Feel Cross Platform Desktopyetone/native-feel-skill	1.9k	1 repos	~1.5k	Automated safety check: Pass	MIT	4 mo ago
Compound Engineering PrototypeEveryInc/compound-engineering-plugin	25k	—	~1.9k	Automated safety check: Pass	MIT	today
Collaborating With CodexGuDaStudio/collaborating-with-codex	132	1 repos	~712	Automated safety check: Pass	MIT	9 mo ago
Digikeyaklofas/kicad-happy	1.4k	1 repos	~4.5k	Automated safety check: Pass	MIT	2 days ago
Collaborating With Antigravityappautomaton/agent-designer	131	1 repos	~2.4k	Automated safety check: Pass	None	25 days ago

Similar skills

Native Feel Cross Platform Desktop
yetone/native-feel-skill
A skill your agent uses when the user is designing, prototyping, or rewriting a desktop app that must run on multiple OSes (macOS + Windows, optionally Linux) AND feel indistinguishable from a…
1.9k GitHub starsUsed in 1 repo~1.5k tokens
DevelopmentAuto-check passed
Compound Engineering Prototype
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Builds a throwaway prototype at just the fidelity needed to settle a specific how-it-should-work-or-feel question, before committing to an approach other work will treat as fixed.
25k GitHub stars~1.9k tokensUpdated today
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Collaborating With Codex
GuDaStudio/collaborating-with-codex
Delegates coding tasks to Codex CLI for prototyping, debugging, and code review.
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Digikey
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Search DigiKey for electronic components and download datasheets — primary source for prototype orders and the preferred API method for fetching datasheets.
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Collaborating With Antigravity
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Questions about Spike

What does Spike do?

Run throwaway prototypes to validate feasibility, compare approaches, and report a verdict. Spike is an agent skill from openclaw/openclaw. Run throwaway prototypes to validate feasibility, compare approaches, and report a verdict.

When should I use Spike?

Spike fits situations like: tasks that involve Prototyping.

How do I install Spike in Claude Code?

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

How do I install Spike in Codex?

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

Can I use Spike 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 openclaw/openclaw --skill spike -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/spike, .gemini/skills/spike, .github/skills/spike and .opencode/skills/spike in your project.

What does Spike need to run?

SKILL.md names no scripts, command-line tools or credentials: Spike is instructions for the agent only. Our summary lists: Docker.

Does Spike 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 Spike 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 Spike use?

Spike 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 Spike use?

About 473 tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 1.9k 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 Spike?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Spike: Native Feel Cross Platform Desktop (yetone/native-feel-skill, 1.9k stars), Compound Engineering Prototype (EveryInc/compound-engineering-plugin, 25k stars), Collaborating With Codex (GuDaStudio/collaborating-with-codex, 132 stars) and Digikey (aklofas/kicad-happy, 1.4k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Spike?

openclaw (a GitHub organization) maintains it in openclaw/openclaw, which has 391,610 GitHub stars. The repository holds 93 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on October 8, 2026.

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

Spike

Install Spike

Facts

At a glance

What it does

When your agent uses it

Example prompts

Requirements

Workflow steps

What it can do on your machine

Tool permissions

Runs code

Network

Credentials

Context cost

Safety

SKILL.md

Spike

Files

Used in 1 other repository

Compare with similar skills

Similar skills

Native Feel Cross Platform Desktop

Compound Engineering Prototype

Collaborating With Codex

Digikey

Collaborating With Antigravity

Collaborating With Gemini

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Questions about Spike

Install Spike

Facts

At a glance

What it does

When your agent uses it

Example prompts

Requirements

Workflow steps

What it can do on your machine

Tool permissions

Runs code

Network

Credentials

Context cost

Safety

SKILL.md

Spike

Files

Used in 1 other repository

Compare with similar skills

Similar skills

More from openclaw/openclaw

Related

Questions about Spike