Guidelines
akash-network/node
Behavioral guidelines to reduce common LLM coding mistakes. An agent skill from akash-network/node.
Behavioral guidelines to reduce common LLM coding mistakes. An agent skill from sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills.
Install Andrej Karpathy
$ npx skills add sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills --skill andrej-karpathy -a claude-codeProject install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.
$ gh skill install sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills andrej-karpathy --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/sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/andrej-karpathy .claude/skills/andrej-karpathy && 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 "andrej-karpathy" agent skill from https://github.com/sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills/tree/main/skills/andrej-karpathy into .claude/skills/andrej-karpathy/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "andrej-karpathy", 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/sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills/tree/main/skills/andrej-karpathyType 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 sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills --skill andrej-karpathy -a codexProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.codex/skills/.
$ gh skill install sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills andrej-karpathy --agent codexProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .agents/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/andrej-karpathy .agents/skills/andrej-karpathy && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.agents/skills/ instead of .agents/skills for a personal install.
Codex skills documentation · loads skills from .agents/skills/
Install the "andrej-karpathy" agent skill from https://github.com/sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills/tree/main/skills/andrej-karpathy into .agents/skills/andrej-karpathy/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "andrej-karpathy", 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 sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills --skill andrej-karpathy -a cursorProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.cursor/skills/.
$ gh skill install sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills andrej-karpathy --agent cursorProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .cursor/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/andrej-karpathy .cursor/skills/andrej-karpathy && 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 "andrej-karpathy" agent skill from https://github.com/sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills/tree/main/skills/andrej-karpathy into .cursor/skills/andrej-karpathy/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "andrej-karpathy", 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/sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills.git --path skills/andrej-karpathy--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 sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills --skill andrej-karpathy -a gemini-cliProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.gemini/skills/.
$ gh skill install sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills andrej-karpathy --agent gemini-cliProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .gemini/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/andrej-karpathy .gemini/skills/andrej-karpathy && 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 "andrej-karpathy" agent skill from https://github.com/sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills/tree/main/skills/andrej-karpathy into .gemini/skills/andrej-karpathy/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "andrej-karpathy", 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 sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills andrej-karpathyInstalls 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 sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills --skill andrej-karpathy -a github-copilotProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.copilot/skills/.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .github/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/andrej-karpathy .github/skills/andrej-karpathy && 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 "andrej-karpathy" agent skill from https://github.com/sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills/tree/main/skills/andrej-karpathy into .github/skills/andrej-karpathy/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "andrej-karpathy", 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 sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills --skill andrej-karpathy -a opencodeOpenCode documents no install command of its own. Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.config/opencode/skills/.
$ gh skill install sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills andrej-karpathy --agent opencodeProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .opencode/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/andrej-karpathy .opencode/skills/andrej-karpathy && 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 "andrej-karpathy" agent skill from https://github.com/sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills/tree/main/skills/andrej-karpathy into .opencode/skills/andrej-karpathy/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "andrej-karpathy", 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
andrej-karpathy- GitHub stars
- 47k
- Used in
- 1 other repo
- Token cost
- ~1k tokens
- SKILL.md length
- 385 words
- Files
- 1
- Skills in repo
- 1,497
- Repo updated
- First seen
- Licence
- MIT
At a glance
Behavioral guidelines to reduce common LLM coding mistakes. An agent skill from sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills.
- Works in 4 steps: Think Before Coding → Simplicity First → Surgical Changes → …
- Refactoring code to avoid overcomplication
- SKILL.md covers When to Use This Skill, 1. Think Before Coding, 2. Simplicity First and 3. Surgical Changes, plus 3 more sections
- Instructions only: no scripts, shell commands, URLs or credentials in SKILL.md
What it does
Andrej Karpathy is an agent skill from sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills. Behavioral guidelines to reduce common LLM coding mistakes. Use when writing, reviewing, or refactoring code to avoid overcomplication, make surgical changes, surface assumptions, and define verifiable success criteria.
Its SKILL.md is about 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 Development, covering Refactoring. The repository describes itself as: AAS Core is the local, agent-first control plane for complete catalog discovery, agent-owned selection, stack validation, and planning, backed by 2,400+ agentic skills. Includes… The licence is MIT.
When your agent uses it
- Refactoring code to avoid overcomplication
- Make surgical changes
- Surface assumptions
- Define verifiable success criteria
Example prompts
- “/andrej-karpathy”
Workflow steps
4 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 b84d35a. 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
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
Andrej Karpathy loads about 1k tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 59 tokens; SKILL.md has 385 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 sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills at commit b84d35a, republished under its MIT licence (© sickn33). 385 words, ~1,037 tokens.
Download SKILL.mdSave it as
.claude/skills/andrej-karpathy/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder).- name
- andrej-karpathy
- description
- Behavioral guidelines to reduce common LLM coding mistakes. Use when writing, reviewing, or refactoring code to avoid overcomplication, make surgical changes, surface assumptions, and define verifiable success criteria.
- risk
- safe
- source
- community
- source_repo
- multica-ai/andrej-karpathy-skills
- source_type
- community
- license
- MIT
- license_source
- https://github.com/multica-ai/andrej-karpathy-skills/blob/main/skills/karpathy-guidelines/SKILL.md
- date_added
- 2026-03-06
- author
- renat
- tags
- coding-guidelines, code-review, llm-coding, simplicity
- tools
- claude-code, antigravity, cursor, gemini-cli, codex-cli
Karpathy Guidelines
Behavioral guidelines to reduce common LLM coding mistakes, derived from Andrej Karpathy's observations on LLM coding pitfalls.
Tradeoff: These guidelines bias toward caution over speed. For trivial tasks, use judgment.
When to Use This Skill
- Use when writing, reviewing, or refactoring code with an LLM.
- Use when a change needs to stay surgical and avoid speculative abstractions.
- Use when assumptions, tradeoffs, and verification criteria should be made explicit.
- Use when code has become overcomplicated and needs to be simplified.
1. Think Before Coding
Don't assume. Don't hide confusion. Surface tradeoffs.
Before implementing:
- State your assumptions explicitly. If uncertain, ask.
- If multiple interpretations exist, present them - don't pick silently.
- If a simpler approach exists, say so. Push back when warranted.
- If something is unclear, stop. Name what's confusing. Ask.
2. Simplicity First
Minimum code that solves the problem. Nothing speculative.
- No features beyond what was asked.
- No abstractions for single-use code.
- No "flexibility" or "configurability" that wasn't requested.
- No error handling for impossible scenarios.
- If you write 200 lines and it could be 50, rewrite it.
Ask yourself: "Would a senior engineer say this is overcomplicated?" If yes, simplify.
Show full SKILL.md (195 more words)Show less
3. Surgical Changes
Touch only what you must. Clean up only your own mess.
When editing existing code:
- Don't "improve" adjacent code, comments, or formatting.
- Don't refactor things that aren't broken.
- Match existing style, even if you'd do it differently.
- If you notice unrelated dead code, mention it - don't delete it.
When your changes create orphans:
- Remove imports/variables/functions that YOUR changes made unused.
- Don't remove pre-existing dead code unless asked.
The test: Every changed line should trace directly to the user's request.
4. Goal-Driven Execution
Define success criteria. Loop until verified.
Transform tasks into verifiable goals:
- "Add validation" -> "Write tests for invalid inputs, then make them pass"
- "Fix the bug" -> "Write a test that reproduces it, then make it pass"
- "Refactor X" -> "Ensure tests pass before and after"
For multi-step tasks, state a brief plan:
1. [Step] -> verify: [check]
2. [Step] -> verify: [check]
3. [Step] -> verify: [check]Strong success criteria let you loop independently. Weak criteria such as "make it work" require constant clarification.
Examples
User request: "Add validation to this form."
Better response:
1. Assumption: validation should run before submit and show inline errors.
2. Plan: add a small validator, add tests for invalid inputs, then verify existing submit behavior.
3. Scope: only touch the form component and its test file.User request: "Refactor this service."
Better response:
1. Ask what behavior must remain unchanged.
2. Identify a concrete smell, such as duplicated parsing logic.
3. Make the smallest refactor and run the existing service tests.Limitations
- These guidelines are behavioral guardrails, not a replacement for project-specific architecture or style rules.
- For emergency fixes, prioritize the smallest verified correction over extensive planning.
- For exploratory prototypes, some caution can be relaxed, but assumptions and verification should still be explicit.
© sickn33, 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 skills/andrej-karpathy of sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills.
Open the folder on GitHubat commit b84d35a
Used in 1 other repository
We found 5 copies of this SKILL.md (exact, near-identical or edited) in other folders, from 1 other GitHub owner. This page covers the copy in sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills, which our catalogue first saw on October 7, 2026.
Compare with similar skills
Andrej Karpathy 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andrej Karpathy this skillsickn33/agentic-awesome-skills | 47k | 1 repos | ~1k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Guidelinesakash-network/node | 1.1k | 20 repos | ~577 | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Migrate Core Code to Submodulestinyhumansai/openhuman | 42k | — | ~2.6k | Automated safety check: Pass | GPL-3.0 | |
| Component Refactoringlangflow-ai/langflow | 155k | — | ~3.5k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Ponytail Lazy Developer ModeDietrichGebert/ponytail | 160k | 1 repos | ~873 | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| ast-grep Structural Searchcode-yeongyu/oh-my-openagent | 70k | — | ~3.3k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT |
Similar skills
Migrate Core Code to Submodules
tinyhumansai/openhuman
Plans and carries out moving non-host-specific code and its tests from the OpenHuman core into vendored tiny submodule libraries, then releases the submodule and re-pins the host.
Component Refactoring
langflow-ai/langflow
Refactor high-complexity React components in Langflow frontend.
Ponytail Lazy Developer Mode
DietrichGebert/ponytail
Makes the agent pick the laziest solution that works: skip unneeded work, reuse what exists, prefer the standard library and platform features, and keep diffs small.
ast-grep Structural Search
code-yeongyu/oh-my-openagent
Searches and rewrites code by syntax-tree shape across 25 languages with ast-grep, for codemods, structural queries and YAML lint rules, using a Python wrapper script.
Systematic Code Refactoring
luongnv89/claude-howto
Guides refactoring in phases based on Martin Fowler's method: research, test coverage check, planning and small tested steps, with your approval at each phase.
More from sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills
All 1,497 skills in this repoLiuguang Banlan UI
sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills
Implements an interface in one of two named color modes, iridescent white or colorful black, from a parameterized starter that reports measured color intensity.
User Thoughts Memory
sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills
Saves a user's project decisions, rules and preferences into a project-local mdbase so later sessions and other agents can recover the intent.
Using LWC Memory and Graphs
sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills
Keeps project decisions, research and verified results available across coding-agent sessions through LWC memory, a document Wiki graph and a CodeGraph code index.
Find Complementary Founders
sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills
Guides an agent through assessing its own owner for cofounder fit, publishing an approved profile, and ranking complementary profiles other agents published for their owners.
Whatsapp Cloud API
sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills
Integracao com WhatsApp Business Cloud API (Meta). An agent skill from sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills.
Cline Pilot
sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills
Acts as a proxy for the Cline CLI, dispatching coding tasks one at a time, monitoring runs by hard evidence, relaying decisions to you and learning per-project preferences.
Related
Categories
Questions about Andrej Karpathy
What does Andrej Karpathy do?
Behavioral guidelines to reduce common LLM coding mistakes. An agent skill from sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills. Andrej Karpathy is an agent skill from sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills. Behavioral guidelines to reduce common LLM coding mistakes.
When should I use Andrej Karpathy?
Andrej Karpathy fits situations like: refactoring code to avoid overcomplication; make surgical changes; surface assumptions; define verifiable success criteria.
How do I install Andrej Karpathy in Claude Code?
Run `npx skills add sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills --skill andrej-karpathy -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/andrej-karpathy in sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills) into .claude/skills/andrej-karpathy in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.
How do I install Andrej Karpathy in Codex?
Run `npx skills add sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills --skill andrej-karpathy -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/andrej-karpathy in sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills) into .agents/skills/andrej-karpathy in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.
Can I use Andrej Karpathy 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 sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills --skill andrej-karpathy -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/andrej-karpathy, .gemini/skills/andrej-karpathy, .github/skills/andrej-karpathy and .opencode/skills/andrej-karpathy in your project.
What does Andrej Karpathy need to run?
SKILL.md names no scripts, command-line tools or credentials: Andrej Karpathy is instructions for the agent only.
Does Andrej Karpathy 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 Andrej Karpathy 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 Andrej Karpathy use?
Andrej Karpathy is published under the MIT licence (declared in SKILL.md). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.
How many tokens does Andrej Karpathy use?
About 1k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 4.1k 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 Andrej Karpathy?
Skills that share tags, products or a category with Andrej Karpathy: Guidelines (akash-network/node, 1.1k stars), Migrate Core Code to Submodules (tinyhumansai/openhuman, 42k stars), Component Refactoring (langflow-ai/langflow, 155k stars) and Ponytail Lazy Developer Mode (DietrichGebert/ponytail, 160k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.
Who maintains Andrej Karpathy?
sickn33 (a GitHub user) maintains it in sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills, which has 47,405 GitHub stars. The repository holds 1,497 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on October 9, 2026.
Source: sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.