TDD
pietheinstrengholt/rssmonster
Test-driven development. An agent skill from pietheinstrengholt/rssmonster.
Unified TDD skill with three input modes — from spec, from task, or from description.
Install Test Driven Development
$ npx skills add mikeyobrien/ralph-orchestrator --skill test-driven-development -a claude-codeProject install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.
$ gh skill install mikeyobrien/ralph-orchestrator test-driven-development --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/mikeyobrien/ralph-orchestrator.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/.claude/skills/test-driven-development .claude/skills/test-driven-development && 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 "test-driven-development" agent skill from https://github.com/mikeyobrien/ralph-orchestrator/tree/main/.claude/skills/test-driven-development into .claude/skills/test-driven-development/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "test-driven-development", 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/mikeyobrien/ralph-orchestrator/tree/main/.claude/skills/test-driven-developmentType 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 mikeyobrien/ralph-orchestrator --skill test-driven-development -a codexProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.codex/skills/.
$ gh skill install mikeyobrien/ralph-orchestrator test-driven-development --agent codexProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/mikeyobrien/ralph-orchestrator.git skills-src && mkdir -p .agents/skills && cp -r skills-src/.claude/skills/test-driven-development .agents/skills/test-driven-development && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.agents/skills/ instead of .agents/skills for a personal install.
Codex skills documentation · loads skills from .agents/skills/
Install the "test-driven-development" agent skill from https://github.com/mikeyobrien/ralph-orchestrator/tree/main/.claude/skills/test-driven-development into .agents/skills/test-driven-development/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "test-driven-development", 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 mikeyobrien/ralph-orchestrator --skill test-driven-development -a cursorProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.cursor/skills/.
$ gh skill install mikeyobrien/ralph-orchestrator test-driven-development --agent cursorProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/mikeyobrien/ralph-orchestrator.git skills-src && mkdir -p .cursor/skills && cp -r skills-src/.claude/skills/test-driven-development .cursor/skills/test-driven-development && 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 "test-driven-development" agent skill from https://github.com/mikeyobrien/ralph-orchestrator/tree/main/.claude/skills/test-driven-development into .cursor/skills/test-driven-development/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "test-driven-development", 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/mikeyobrien/ralph-orchestrator.git --path .claude/skills/test-driven-development--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 mikeyobrien/ralph-orchestrator --skill test-driven-development -a gemini-cliProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.gemini/skills/.
$ gh skill install mikeyobrien/ralph-orchestrator test-driven-development --agent gemini-cliProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/mikeyobrien/ralph-orchestrator.git skills-src && mkdir -p .gemini/skills && cp -r skills-src/.claude/skills/test-driven-development .gemini/skills/test-driven-development && 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 "test-driven-development" agent skill from https://github.com/mikeyobrien/ralph-orchestrator/tree/main/.claude/skills/test-driven-development into .gemini/skills/test-driven-development/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "test-driven-development", 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 mikeyobrien/ralph-orchestrator test-driven-developmentInstalls 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 mikeyobrien/ralph-orchestrator --skill test-driven-development -a github-copilotProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.copilot/skills/.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/mikeyobrien/ralph-orchestrator.git skills-src && mkdir -p .github/skills && cp -r skills-src/.claude/skills/test-driven-development .github/skills/test-driven-development && 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 "test-driven-development" agent skill from https://github.com/mikeyobrien/ralph-orchestrator/tree/main/.claude/skills/test-driven-development into .github/skills/test-driven-development/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "test-driven-development", 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 mikeyobrien/ralph-orchestrator --skill test-driven-development -a opencodeOpenCode documents no install command of its own. Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.config/opencode/skills/.
$ gh skill install mikeyobrien/ralph-orchestrator test-driven-development --agent opencodeProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/mikeyobrien/ralph-orchestrator.git skills-src && mkdir -p .opencode/skills && cp -r skills-src/.claude/skills/test-driven-development .opencode/skills/test-driven-development && 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 "test-driven-development" agent skill from https://github.com/mikeyobrien/ralph-orchestrator/tree/main/.claude/skills/test-driven-development into .opencode/skills/test-driven-development/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "test-driven-development", 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
test-driven-development- GitHub stars
- 3.2k
- Token cost
- ~1.1k tokens
- SKILL.md length
- 464 words
- Files
- 1
- Skills in repo
- 16
- Repo updated
- First seen
- Licence
- MIT
At a glance
Unified TDD skill with three input modes — from spec, from task, or from description.
- Works in 3 steps: RED — Failing Tests → GREEN — Minimal Implementation → REFACTOR — Clean Up
- Tasks that involve Test-driven development
- SKILL.md covers Overview, Input Modes, Pattern Discovery and TDD Cycle, plus 4 more sections
- Calls rg and cargo
What it does
Test Driven Development is an agent skill from mikeyobrien/ralph-orchestrator. Unified TDD skill with three input modes — from spec, from task, or from description. Enforces test-first development using repository patterns, with proptest guidance and backpressure integration.
Its SKILL.md is about 1.1k 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 Testing & QA, covering Test-driven development. The repository describes itself as: An improved implementation of the Ralph Wiggum technique for autonomous AI agent orchestration. The licence is MIT.
When your agent uses it
- Tasks that involve Test-driven development
Example prompts
- “/test-driven-development”
Workflow steps
3 steps, taken from the step headings in SKILL.md.
What it can do on your machine
Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit edc2b32. 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
Shell commands in SKILL.md call:
rgcargo
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
Test Driven Development loads about 1.1k tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 55 tokens; SKILL.md has 464 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
The full file from mikeyobrien/ralph-orchestrator at commit edc2b32, republished under its MIT licence (© mikeyobrien). 464 words, ~1,130 tokens.
Download SKILL.mdSave it as
.claude/skills/test-driven-development/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder).- name
- test-driven-development
- description
- Unified TDD skill with three input modes — from spec, from task, or from description. Enforces test-first development using repository patterns, with proptest guidance and backpressure integration.
- type
- anthropic-skill
- version
- 1.0
- metadata.internal
- true
Test-Driven Development
Overview
One skill for all TDD workflows. Enforces test-first development using existing repository patterns. Three input modes handle different entry points — specs, task files, or ad-hoc descriptions — but the core cycle is always RED → GREEN → REFACTOR.
Input Modes
Detect the input type and follow the corresponding mode:
Mode A: From Spec (.spec.md)
Use when the input references a .spec.md file with Given/When/Then acceptance criteria.
- Locate and parse the spec file — extract all Given/When/Then triples
- Generate one test stub per criterion with
todo!()bodies:rust /// Spec: <spec-file> — Criterion #<N> /// Given <given text> /// When <when text> /// Then <then text> #[test] fn <spec_name>_criterion_<N>_<slug>() { todo!("Implement: <then text>"); } - Verify stubs compile but fail:
cargo test --no-run -p <crate> - Proceed to the TDD Cycle to make stubs pass
Programmatic support: ralph_core::preflight::{extract_acceptance_criteria, extract_criteria_from_file, extract_all_criteria} can parse criteria from spec files.
Mode B: From Task (.code-task.md)
Use when the input references a .code-task.md file or a specific implementation task.
- Read the task and identify acceptance criteria or requirements
- Discover patterns (see Pattern Discovery)
- Design test scenarios covering normal operation, edge cases, and error conditions
- Write failing tests for all requirements before any implementation
- Proceed to the TDD Cycle
Mode C: From Description
Use for ad-hoc tasks without a spec or task file.
- Clarify requirements from the description
- Discover patterns (see Pattern Discovery)
- Write failing tests targeting the described behavior
- Proceed to the TDD Cycle
Pattern Discovery
Before writing tests, discover existing conventions:
rg --files -g "crates/*/tests/*.rs"
rg -n "#\[cfg\(test\)\]" crates/Read 2-3 relevant test files near the target code. Mirror:
- Test module layout, naming, and assertion style
- Fixture helpers and test utilities
- Use of
tempfile, scenarios, or harnesses
TDD Cycle
Show full SKILL.md (205 more words)Show less
1) RED — Failing Tests
- Write tests for the exact behavior required
- Run tests to confirm failure for the right reason
- If tests pass without implementation, the test is wrong
2) GREEN — Minimal Implementation
- Write the minimum code to make tests pass
- No extra features or refactoring during this step
3) REFACTOR — Clean Up
- Improve implementation and tests while keeping tests green
- Align with surrounding codebase conventions
- Re-run tests after every change
Proptest Guidance
Use proptest only when ALL of:
- Function is pure (no I/O, no time, no globals)
- Deterministic output for given input
- Non-trivial input space or edge cases
proptest! {
#[test]
fn round_trip(input in "[a-z0-9]{0,32}") {
let encoded = encode(input.as_str());
let decoded = decode(&encoded).expect("should decode");
prop_assert_eq!(decoded, input);
}
}Don't introduce proptest as a new dependency without strong justification.
Backpressure Integration
Include coverage evidence in completion events:
ralph emit "build.done" "tests: pass, lint: pass, typecheck: pass, audit: pass, coverage: pass (82%)"Run cargo tarpaulin --out Html --output-dir coverage --skip-clean when feasible. If coverage cannot be run, state why and include targeted test evidence instead.
Test Location Rules
- Spec maps to a single module → inline
#[cfg(test)]tests - Spec spans multiple modules → integration test in
crates/<crate>/tests/ - CLI behavior →
crates/ralph-cli/tests/ - Follow existing patterns in the target crate
Anti-Patterns
- Writing implementation before tests
- Generating tests that pass without implementation
- Copying tests from other crates without adapting to local patterns
- Adding proptest when a simple example test suffices
- Emitting completion events without coverage evidence
© mikeyobrien, 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 .claude/skills/test-driven-development of mikeyobrien/ralph-orchestrator.
Open the folder on GitHubat commit edc2b32
Compare with similar skills
Test Driven Development 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test Driven Development this skillmikeyobrien/ralph-orchestrator | 3.2k | — | ~1.1k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| TDDpietheinstrengholt/rssmonster | 564 | 30 repos | ~906 | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| TDD WorkflowhellangleZ/burn-in-cceverywhere-ralph | 112 | 11 repos | ~2.4k | Automated safety check: Pass | None | |
| TDDsanity-io/sanity | 6.4k | 20 repos | ~1k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Test Driven Developmentfarm-fe/farm | 5.6k | 51 repos | ~2.5k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Tapd Story PipelineTencentBlueKing/bk-bcs | 841 | — | ~2.6k | Automated safety check: Pass | Custom licence |
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Categories
Questions about Test Driven Development
What does Test Driven Development do?
Unified TDD skill with three input modes — from spec, from task, or from description. Test Driven Development is an agent skill from mikeyobrien/ralph-orchestrator. Unified TDD skill with three input modes — from spec, from task, or from description.
When should I use Test Driven Development?
Test Driven Development fits situations like: tasks that involve Test-driven development.
How do I install Test Driven Development in Claude Code?
Run `npx skills add mikeyobrien/ralph-orchestrator --skill test-driven-development -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (.claude/skills/test-driven-development in mikeyobrien/ralph-orchestrator) into .claude/skills/test-driven-development in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.
How do I install Test Driven Development in Codex?
Run `npx skills add mikeyobrien/ralph-orchestrator --skill test-driven-development -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (.claude/skills/test-driven-development in mikeyobrien/ralph-orchestrator) into .agents/skills/test-driven-development in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.
Can I use Test Driven Development 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 mikeyobrien/ralph-orchestrator --skill test-driven-development -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/test-driven-development, .gemini/skills/test-driven-development, .github/skills/test-driven-development and .opencode/skills/test-driven-development in your project.
What does Test Driven Development need to run?
Going by SKILL.md and its folder, Test Driven Development needs the command-line tools its instructions call (rg and cargo).
Does Test Driven Development 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 Test Driven Development 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 Test Driven Development use?
Test Driven Development 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 Test Driven Development use?
About 1.1k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 4.5k 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 Test Driven Development?
Skills that share tags, products or a category with Test Driven Development: TDD (pietheinstrengholt/rssmonster, 564 stars), TDD Workflow (hellangleZ/burn-in-cceverywhere-ralph, 112 stars), TDD (sanity-io/sanity, 6.4k stars) and Test Driven Development (farm-fe/farm, 5.6k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.
Who maintains Test Driven Development?
mikeyobrien (a GitHub user) maintains it in mikeyobrien/ralph-orchestrator, which has 3,169 GitHub stars. The repository holds 16 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on October 5, 2026.
Source: mikeyobrien/ralph-orchestrator on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.