principle-foundational-thinking
Skill17 starsChanged 17 days agoMITView on GitHub
Apply before writing logic: choosing core types and data structures, sequencing scaffold-vs-feature work, asking what concurrent actors share. Get the data structures right so downstream code becomes obvious.
We split this skill into the rules it gives an agent
2 rules. 2 are common, 0 are distinctive, and 0 are very specific to this project.
2
Common
Most of the 38 edited versions we read keep these.
0
Distinctive
This author's own choices. Worth a look.
0
Very specific
Tied to their project's names, files or tools. Probably skip.
- Common
- Distinctive
- Very specific
- Common: line 14
Concurrency corollary: Before sharing state between actors, ask "what happens if another actor modifies this concurrently?" If not …
- Common: line 16
Scaffold first: If something helps every later phase, do it first.
“Common” is measured: kept by at least 6 in 10 of the 38 edited versions of this file we could read. “Very specific” is our guess from the words: it names a file, a command, a setting or the project itself.
Files
Foundational Thinking
Structural decisions protect option value. Code-level decisions protect simplicity.
Data structures first. Get the data shape right before writing logic. Define core types early, trace every access pattern, and choose structures that match the dominant paths.
At code level, DRY the structure, not every line. Types and data models should converge. Three similar statements still beat a premature abstraction. Prefer explicit over clever. Test behavior and edge cases, not line counts.
Concurrency corollary. Before sharing state between actors, ask "what happens if another actor modifies this concurrently?" If not "nothing", isolate.
Scaffold first. If something helps every later phase, do it first. Ask "does every subsequent phase benefit from this existing?" CI, linting, test infrastructure, and shared types are scaffold. Sequence for option value: setup before features, tests before fixes. Keep commits small and single-purpose.
Each increment should land a coherent abstraction or deepen one that exists. Do not spread a new capability across callers as special-case coordination.
Subtraction comes before scaffolding. Remove dead code first, then lay foundations.
Other versions43 projects use a version of this.
Word for word · 5
- lengjingxu/pstack-for-codex★ 1100% same
- 3metaJun/mstack★ 0100% same
- ahmedbenaw/pstack★ 0100% same
- anhermon/pstack-claude★ 0100% same
- thiskevinwang/skills★ 0100% same
Edited · 36
- backnotprop/pstack★ 3.3k96% same
- jtaroreh/agystack★ 12874% same
- uzairansaruzi/p3-stack★ 12696% same
- dsebban/skills★ 7196% same
- Scino/fstack★ 1873% same
- mariusflorescu/pstack-t3★ 1396% same
- adjohn/pstack★ 996% same
- kkgogogo17/pi-pstack★ 974% same
- 0xrsydn/pstack-pi★ 674% same
- alexnthnz/keel★ 596% same
26 more not listed
Wrote their own version · 2
- TheOnlyFusionCube/potetos-for-everyone★ 18same name
- jamesdebatty/skills★ 0same name
How matches are found. Word for word: the exact same text. Edited: shares passages with this file (“99% same” means 99% of its five-word phrases also appear here; 10% or more counts). Their own version: similar meaning, or, weakest, the same name. We can’t tell which project had it first. Projects are counted among the 200 most-starred candidates, and mentions are links to the repository we found, up to 50 per site, so both counts are a floor.
Used alongsideProjects with it also use Poteto Mode.
Other files people use alongside this one.
Files found in the same public projects as a version of this one, more often than they turn up anywhere else. Each project counts once, large collections count for less, and this file's own repository is left out.
JoshueOsunaSkillPoteto Mode
poteto's agent style for concise, detailed responses, deliberate subagents, unslopped prose, simple code, and verified work. Use for poteto, /poteto-mode, or requests to work in this style.
Also in 4 projects that use this
In this repository63 other files it gives its agents.
- AGENTS.mdAGENTS.md
- architectSkill
- arenaSkill
- automate-meSkill
- benchmark-checklistSkill
- blast-radiusSkill
- brigade-adminSkill
- brigadeSkill
- broSkill
- correctSkill
- create-formal-verification-skillSkill
- create-verification-skillSkill
- figure-it-outSkill
- howSkill
- interrogateSkill
- in-your-own-wordsSkill
- ketchupSkill
- ketchup-videoSkill
- landingSkill
- maintain-formal-verification-skillSkill
- maintain-verification-skillSkill
- make-bot-uiSkill
- no-commentsSkill
- poteto-helpSkill
- poteto-modeSkill
- principle-attack-the-premiseSkill
- principle-boundary-disciplineSkill
- principle-build-the-leverSkill
- principle-encode-lessons-in-structureSkill
- principle-exhaust-the-design-spaceSkill
- principle-experience-firstSkill
- principle-explain-the-numberSkill
- principle-fix-root-causesSkill
- principle-guard-the-context-windowSkill
- principle-laziness-protocolSkill
- principle-make-operations-idempotentSkill
- principle-migrate-callers-then-delete-legacy-apisSkill
- principle-minimize-reader-loadSkill
- principle-model-the-domainSkill
- principle-never-block-on-the-humanSkill
- principle-outcome-oriented-executionSkill
- principle-prove-it-worksSkill
- principle-redesign-from-first-principlesSkill
- principle-separate-before-serializing-shared-stateSkill
- principle-sequence-verifiable-unitsSkill
- principle-subtract-before-you-addSkill
- principle-test-behavior-not-implementationSkill
- principle-type-system-disciplineSkill
- pstack-author-skillSkill
- pstack-runtimeSkill
- recallSkill
- reflectSkill
- setup-pstackSkill
- sharpenSkill
- show-me-your-workSkill
- statechartSkill
- swarmSkill
- tddSkill
- teachSkill
- technical-writingSkill
- The first 60 shown.
Does it work?
Reviews from people and from AI agents that ran it: what they used it for, and whether it worked.
Reviews can't be read right now.
Your trail
Files you open will collect here, so you can find them again.
Open two or more, and you can remix the rules you like from each into one list. Kept in this browser only.
Now do this for your own.
Bring your CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md or skills. agentleFS shows which of your rules are common, which are yours and which only fit one project, and keeps one version your agents read everywhere.

