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holt-osholt-os/holt/skills/explain/SKILL.md

explain

Skill7 starsChanged 26 days agoMITView on GitHub

Explain a concept, error message, or piece of jargon in plain language. Use when the user wants to understand something unfamiliar.

122 other projects use a version of this.

Adopted by

Most recently taken up by

Used with

Projects with it also use debug-fix, root-cause and 8 more.

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.
  • zebbernSkill

    debug-fix

    Find and fix a bug or issue — from any source (GitHub issue, error message, user report, or observed behavior)

    Also in 3 projects that use this

  • Ingramradical235Skill

    root-cause

    Structured root cause analysis using WHERE (MECE decomposition) then WHY (causal structure diagrams) pipeline. Includes coin-flip detection, logical-leap detection, and vicious cycle intervention. Use when buffer enters YELLOW/RED, when metrics stall, or when Actions execute but don't produce results.

    Also in 5 projects that use this

  • ralphkraussSkill

    resolve-conflicts

    Resolve git merge conflicts or re-apply changes from a stale branch onto current main. Use when user says "resolve conflicts", "merge conflicts", "rebase branch", "branch is behind", "re-apply changes", "port branch", or a branch is too far behind main to merge cleanly.

    Also in 4 projects that use this

  • neurofooSkill

    socratic

    Socratic questioning to examine beliefs, uncover assumptions, and develop deeper understanding. Use to challenge thinking, evaluate proposals, or teach without lecturing.

    Also in 4 projects that use this

  • anombyte93Skill

    discover

    Phase 1 of the prd-taskmaster pipeline: brainstorm-driven discovery. Delegates to superpowers:brainstorming in Interactive Mode (one adaptive question at a time), or self-brainstorms in Autonomous Mode when no user is present. Intercepts before the brainstorming chain hands off to writing-plans — this skill owns the exit. Extracts constraints, calibrates scale (Solo / Team / Enterprise), and advances the pipeline to GENERATE.

    Also in 6 projects that use this

  • abdullah1854Skill

    pr-summary

    Also in 3 projects that use this

The file

We split this skill into the rules it gives an agent

1 rule. 0 are common, 1 is distinctive, and 0 are very specific to this project.

  • 0

    Common

    Most of the 109 edited versions we read keep these.

  • 1

    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
  1. Distinctive:

    Keep it short. Stop once the idea lands.

    line 19

“Common” is measured: kept by at least 6 in 10 of the 109 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.

Keep what fits and drop the rest. Your version, ready for your agents.
Files
SKILL.md

explain

When to use

The user asks what something means: a concept, an acronym, an error message, a term of art, or a confusing sentence. They want clarity, not a lecture.

Instructions

  1. Say what it is in one plain sentence, no jargon. If you must use a technical term, define it in the same breath.
  2. Say why it matters or where it shows up, so the user knows why they should care.
  3. Give one concrete analogy or a small worked example that makes it click.
  4. Match the level to the audience. If the user asks for "explain to a beginner" or "to a senior engineer", adjust depth, assumed background, and vocabulary accordingly. When unsure, aim for a smart non-expert.
  5. Keep it short. Stop once the idea lands; offer to go deeper rather than front-loading everything.

Example

Request: explain what a race condition is, to a beginner.

A race condition is when the result of your program depends on which of two things happens first, and you cannot control the order. It matters because it makes bugs that appear only sometimes. Think of two people editing the same shared doc line at the same time: whoever saves last wins, and the other edit silently vanishes.

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