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Official agent skill

Minimal Rigorous Work

by microsoft in microsoft/ArgusAgent

A skill your agent uses for Argus implementation, research, document, planning, review, and orchestration work that must stay evidence-driven and lean.

OfficialMITAuto-check passedAgent Workflows

Install Minimal Rigorous Work

skills CLI
$ npx skills add microsoft/ArgusAgent --skill minimal-rigorous-work -a claude-code

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

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install microsoft/ArgusAgent minimal-rigorous-work --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/microsoft/ArgusAgent.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/.agents/skills/minimal-rigorous-work .claude/skills/minimal-rigorous-work && 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
minimal-rigorous-work
GitHub stars
135
Token cost
~447 tokens
SKILL.md length
212 words
Files
1
Skills in repo
6
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
MIT

At a glance

A skill your agent uses for Argus implementation, research, document, planning, review, and orchestration work that must stay evidence-driven and lean.

  • Argus implementation
  • Instructions only: no scripts, shell commands, URLs or credentials in SKILL.md
  • Orchestration work that must stay evidence-driven and lean

What it does

Minimal Rigorous Work is an agent skill from microsoft/ArgusAgent, published by the product's own GitHub organization. Use for Argus implementation, research, document, planning, review, and orchestration work that must stay evidence-driven and lean.

Its SKILL.md is about 450 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 Agent Workflows. The repository describes itself as: A persistent, reviewed multi-agent runtime for long-horizon research and engineering. The licence is MIT.

When your agent uses it

  • Argus implementation
  • Orchestration work that must stay evidence-driven and lean

Example prompts

  • “/minimal-rigorous-work”

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 746f76b. 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

Minimal Rigorous Work loads about 447 tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 38 tokens; SKILL.md has 212 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~38
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~447

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 microsoft/ArgusAgent at commit 746f76b, republished under its MIT licence (© microsoft). 212 words, ~447 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/minimal-rigorous-work/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder).
name
minimal-rigorous-work
description
Use for Argus implementation, research, document, planning, review, and orchestration work that must stay evidence-driven and lean.

Minimal rigorous work

Solve the current task completely with the shortest clear control path.

  • Start from the requested behavior, the real entry point, and observable evidence. Do not fix a bug that cannot be reproduced on the current commit.
  • Reuse existing contracts and helpers. Do not add unrelated features, refactors, dependencies, roles, layers, configuration, or artifacts.
  • Validate external input, authority, persistence, security, money, citations, and irreversible actions. Trust established internal invariants.
  • Unless a demonstrated requirement needs them, do not add hashes, UUIDs, random identifiers, retries, backoff, fallback chains, duplicate guards, speculative locks, compatibility layers, wrappers, factories, or placeholder interfaces.
  • Keep errors explicit. Do not hide defects behind broad catches, empty results, default values, or success-shaped degradation.
  • Use tokens by reducing uncertainty and repeated context: carry one canonical task contract, inspect unchanged inputs once, act when evidence is sufficient, and run one decisive check per claim. Do not hard-code token caps, truncate required context, or add token-shortening functions.
  • Record a reusable lesson only when reproduced evidence shows it generalizes. Scope the lesson narrowly; do not create ceremonial Skills, Wiki entries, or validation-only turns.
  • Review independently and read-only. Verify the changed user-visible path; broaden checks only when the blast radius is broad.
  • Report BLOCKED or UNTESTED honestly. Stop when the requested outcome is complete.

© microsoft, 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 .agents/skills/minimal-rigorous-work of microsoft/ArgusAgent.

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 746f76b

Compare with similar skills

Minimal Rigorous Work 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.

Minimal Rigorous Work compared with similar skills
SkillStarsUsed inTokensAuto-checkLicenceRepo updated
Minimal Rigorous Work this skillmicrosoft/ArgusAgent135—~447Automated safety check: PassMIT
MCP Server Builderanthropics/skills180k62 repos~2.3kAutomated safety check: PassApache-2.0
Hook Development for Claude Code Pluginsanthropics/claude-plugins-official37k11 repos~4.1kAutomated safety check: NotesApache-2.0
Using Superpowersfarm-fe/farm5.6k34 repos~1.4kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Executing Plans Inlineobra/superpowers296k2 repos~5.1kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Claude Code Agent Developmentanthropics/claude-plugins-official37k8 repos~2.8kAutomated safety check: PassApache-2.0

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Categories

Questions about Minimal Rigorous Work

What does Minimal Rigorous Work do?

A skill your agent uses for Argus implementation, research, document, planning, review, and orchestration work that must stay evidence-driven and lean. Minimal Rigorous Work is an agent skill from microsoft/ArgusAgent, published by the product's own GitHub organization. Use for Argus implementation, research, document, planning, review, and orchestration work that must stay evidence-driven and lean.

When should I use Minimal Rigorous Work?

Minimal Rigorous Work fits situations like: argus implementation; orchestration work that must stay evidence-driven and lean.

How do I install Minimal Rigorous Work in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add microsoft/ArgusAgent --skill minimal-rigorous-work -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (.agents/skills/minimal-rigorous-work in microsoft/ArgusAgent) into .claude/skills/minimal-rigorous-work in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Minimal Rigorous Work in Codex?

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

Can I use Minimal Rigorous Work 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 microsoft/ArgusAgent --skill minimal-rigorous-work -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/minimal-rigorous-work, .gemini/skills/minimal-rigorous-work, .github/skills/minimal-rigorous-work and .opencode/skills/minimal-rigorous-work in your project.

What does Minimal Rigorous Work need to run?

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

Does Minimal Rigorous Work 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 Minimal Rigorous Work 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 Minimal Rigorous Work use?

Minimal Rigorous Work 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 Minimal Rigorous Work use?

About 447 tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 1.8k 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 Minimal Rigorous Work?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Minimal Rigorous Work: MCP Server Builder (anthropics/skills, 180k stars), Hook Development for Claude Code Plugins (anthropics/claude-plugins-official, 37k stars), Using Superpowers (farm-fe/farm, 5.6k stars) and Executing Plans Inline (obra/superpowers, 296k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Minimal Rigorous Work?

microsoft (a GitHub organization, an official publisher) maintains it in microsoft/ArgusAgent, which has 135 GitHub stars. The repository holds 6 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on October 2, 2026.

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