Agent skill

Karpathy Education First

by LearnPrompt in LearnPrompt/andrej-karpathy-skills

Apply the education-first mindset — make everything you build teachable, create nano-project explanations, write for beginners.

MITAuto-check passedWriting & Content

Install Karpathy Education First

skills CLI
$ npx skills add LearnPrompt/andrej-karpathy-skills --skill karpathy-education-first -a claude-code

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

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install LearnPrompt/andrej-karpathy-skills karpathy-education-first --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/LearnPrompt/andrej-karpathy-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/karpathy-education-first .claude/skills/karpathy-education-first && 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
karpathy-education-first
GitHub stars
110
Token cost
~1.8k tokens
SKILL.md length
185 words
Files
1
Skills in repo
15
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
MIT

At a glance

Apply the education-first mindset — make everything you build teachable, create nano-project explanations, write for beginners.

  • The user wants to explain a project to beginners
  • SKILL.md covers Core Principle, The Teaching Version Prompt, The Nano-Project Pattern and The "Explain Like Karpathy"…, plus 7 more sections
  • Instructions only: no scripts, shell commands, URLs or credentials in SKILL.md
  • Create a tutorial from code

What it does

Karpathy Education First is an agent skill from LearnPrompt/andrej-karpathy-skills. Apply the education-first mindset — make everything you build teachable, create nano-project explanations, write for beginners. Use this skill when the user wants to explain a project to beginners, create a tutorial from code, write documentation that teaches (not just documents), make a concept accessible, or says "make this teachable", "explain like im a beginner", "nano project version", "teaching version", "explain from scratch", "blog post about this". Based on Karpathy 243-line GPT and Eureka Labs posts.

Its SKILL.md is about 1.8k 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 Writing & Content, covering Blog and article writing. The repository describes itself as: Karpathy-inspired Agent Skills collection. The licence is MIT.

When your agent uses it

  • The user wants to explain a project to beginners
  • Create a tutorial from code
  • Write documentation that teaches (not just documents)
  • Make a concept accessible

Example prompts

  • “make this teachable”
  • “explain like im a beginner”
  • “nano project version”
  • “/karpathy-education-first”

Requirements

  • Python 3

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 9e46dec. 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

    Links to these hosts (documentation or services it may open):

    • x.com

    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

Karpathy Education First loads about 1.8k tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 135 tokens; SKILL.md has 185 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~135
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~1.8k

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 LearnPrompt/andrej-karpathy-skills at commit 9e46dec, republished under its MIT licence (© LearnPrompt). 185 words, ~1,761 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/karpathy-education-first/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder).
name
karpathy-education-first
description
Apply the education-first mindset — make everything you build teachable, create nano-project explanations, write for beginners. Use this skill when the user wants to explain a project to beginners, create a tutorial from code, write documentation that teaches (not just documents), make a concept accessible, or says "make this teachable", "explain like im a beginner", "nano project version", "teaching version", "explain from scratch", "blog post about this". Based on Karpathy 243-line GPT and Eureka Labs posts.
disable-model-invocation
false
user-invocable
true
related_skills
karpathy-output-evolution, karpathy-practice-environments, karpathy-llm-wiki, karpathy-autoresearch

Skill 12: Education-First Mindset(教育至上)

Source: https://x.com/karpathy/status/2021694437152157847 | https://x.com/karpathy/status/2056753169888334312 243-line pure Python GPT | "education热情不变" even at Anthropic

Core Principle

If you can't teach it, you don't own it. Make everything a nano-project.

Karpathy's signature move: take a complex system and reimplement it from scratch in minimal, readable code with maximal explanation. Not for production. For understanding.

The 243-line GPT wasn't the fastest implementation. It was the most comprehensible implementation. That's the goal.

The Teaching Version Prompt

After completing any project, generate its teaching version:

I just built [PROJECT/CONCEPT]. Now create a teaching version of it.

[PASTE CODE OR DESCRIBE PROJECT]

Teaching version requirements:
1. Target audience: curious beginner who knows [PREREQUISITE LEVEL]
2. Start with: "Here's what we're building and why it matters" (2 paragraphs)
3. Walk through the code line-by-line in the most important sections
4. For every non-obvious decision: add a comment explaining WHY, not just WHAT
5. Add a "Try this yourself" section at the end with 3 small exercises
6. Maximum complexity rule: if a beginner would say "wait, what?" — add an explanation

Output: the teaching version as a complete annotated script or tutorial.

The Nano-Project Pattern

Karpathy's approach to making anything understandable:

Create a nano-project that demonstrates [COMPLEX CONCEPT].

Rules:
- Under 200 lines of code (pure Python / stdlib preferred)
- Zero external dependencies
- Every line earns its place
- Annotated: inline comments explain the key insight of each section
- Complete: runs from scratch, shows meaningful output
- Pedagogical: the code's structure mirrors the concept's structure

The concept to demonstrate: [CONCEPT]
What should the reader understand after running this? [LEARNING GOAL]

Also provide:
- 3-sentence explanation at the top of the file
- What to try next (3 suggestions for extending it)

The "Explain Like Karpathy" Prompt

For explaining any technical concept:

Explain [CONCEPT] the way Karpathy would explain it — clear, direct, minimal jargon, example-first.

Format:
1. The one-sentence intuition (what it IS, not what it does)
2. The simplest possible concrete example (with actual numbers or code)
3. Why it matters (1-2 sentences, no hype)
4. The common misconception most people have about it
5. If you want to go deeper: [3 resources, ordered by accessibility]

Audience: [DESCRIBE YOUR READER]

Documentation That Teaches

Transform technical documentation from reference to tutorial:

Rewrite this documentation to be educational, not just informational.

Current docs:
[PASTE DOCUMENTATION]

Rewrite rules:
1. Lead with a concrete example, not with definitions
2. Explain each parameter with: what it does + why you'd change it + what the default is and why
3. Add a "Common patterns" section showing 3 real use cases
4. Add a "Common mistakes" section showing 3 errors people make and how to fix them
5. Keep all technical accuracy; only improve pedagogical structure
6. Add: "After reading this, you should be able to [LEARNING GOAL]" at the top

The Blog Post Generator

For turning any project into a shareable piece of teaching content:

Write a technical blog post about [PROJECT/INSIGHT].

Style: Karpathy-style — direct, precise, example-driven, opinionated.

Structure:
1. Hook: why does this matter RIGHT NOW? (1-2 punchy sentences)
2. The core insight: one thing that changes how you think about [topic]
3. Show, don't tell: working code example that demonstrates the insight
4. What I tried that didn't work (builds credibility + saves readers time)
5. What I learned: 3-5 concrete takeaways, actionable
6. What's next: 2-3 things worth exploring

Tone:
- First person, direct
- Specific (exact line counts, benchmark numbers, actual errors)
- Skeptical of hype, enthusiastic about substance
- Never say "in conclusion" or "in summary" — just end when you're done

Audience: [WHO WILL READ THIS]
Length: [~1000 words for blog / ~500 for Twitter thread / ~300 for Gist]

Making Complex Research Accessible

For distilling papers or research into teachable content:

Distill this [paper/research/concept] into a teachable explainer.

Source: [PASTE ABSTRACT OR KEY SECTIONS]

Output:
1. ELI5 version: explain to a smart non-expert in 3 sentences
2. Key insight: what's the one thing this paper figured out?
3. The method in plain language: how did they do it? (no equations, just logic)
4. Why it matters: what does this enable that wasn't possible before?
5. The catch: what are the limitations or assumptions?
6. Nano-project idea: how could someone understand this by building a tiny version?

Teaching Code Review Checklist

When reviewing code with education-first lens:

markdown
Is this code teachable?
- [ ] Can a motivated beginner understand what it does in 5 minutes?
- [ ] Does each function have a comment explaining WHY, not just what?
- [ ] Are variable names descriptive enough to read like documentation?
- [ ] Is there a README that explains how to run it from scratch?
- [ ] Does it have at least one worked example in the comments?
- [ ] Are the non-obvious parts explained?

If any box is unchecked: the code isn't done yet.

Workflow

属于工作流:研究到发布(终点)+ 工作流:月度体检(终点)

位置上游下游
B的第4步karpathy-output-evolution(包装完成后)发布/分享
D的第4步karpathy-practice-environments(练习后)教程输出

研究到发布链路:autoresearch → llm-wiki → output-evolution → education-first 月度体检链路:meta-reflection → understanding-first → practice-environments → education-first

Prompt Contract

text
Convert <PROJECT_OR_CONCEPT> into a teaching version for beginners. Produce: 1) Core concept in one sentence, 2) Minimal runnable example (< 300 lines, no hidden deps), 3) Step-by-step walkthrough (explain WHY not just WHAT), 4) 3-5 progressive exercises (easy→hard), 5) Common misconceptions and how to check if you fell into them.

Verification Checklist

  • 核心概念用一句话能说清
  • 最小可运行示例确实能跑(< 300 行,无隐藏依赖)
  • walkthrough 解释了 WHY,不只是 WHAT
  • 练习题有递进难度
  • 常见误区有自检方法
  • 零基础读者能在 5 分钟内理解第一步

© LearnPrompt, 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 karpathy-education-first of LearnPrompt/andrej-karpathy-skills.

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 9e46dec

Compare with similar skills

Karpathy Education First 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.

Karpathy Education First compared with similar skills
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Figurevectorize-io/hindsight48k—~1.9kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
SepiaNanako0129/sepia3.1k—~3.6kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Blog Post Draftingluongnv89/claude-howto42k—~2.1kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Notion To Blogwasp-lang/wasp19k—~922Automated safety check: PassMIT

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Questions about Karpathy Education First

What does Karpathy Education First do?

Apply the education-first mindset — make everything you build teachable, create nano-project explanations, write for beginners. Karpathy Education First is an agent skill from LearnPrompt/andrej-karpathy-skills. Apply the education-first mindset — make everything you build teachable, create nano-project explanations, write for beginners.

When should I use Karpathy Education First?

Karpathy Education First fits situations like: the user wants to explain a project to beginners; create a tutorial from code; write documentation that teaches (not just documents); make a concept accessible.

How do I install Karpathy Education First in Claude Code?

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

How do I install Karpathy Education First in Codex?

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

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

What does Karpathy Education First need to run?

SKILL.md names no scripts, command-line tools or credentials: Karpathy Education First is instructions for the agent only. Our summary lists: Python 3.

Does Karpathy Education First access the network?

SKILL.md names 1 domain. As links in the text: x.com. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Karpathy Education First 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 Karpathy Education First use?

Karpathy Education First 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 Karpathy Education First use?

About 1.8k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 7k 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 Karpathy Education First?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Karpathy Education First: Khazix WeChat Article Writer (KKKKhazix/khazix-skills, 21k stars), Figure (vectorize-io/hindsight, 48k stars), Sepia (Nanako0129/sepia, 3.1k stars) and Blog Post Drafting (luongnv89/claude-howto, 42k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Karpathy Education First?

LearnPrompt (a GitHub user) maintains it in LearnPrompt/andrej-karpathy-skills, which has 110 GitHub stars. The repository holds 15 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on July 10, 2026.

Source: LearnPrompt/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.