kharmanskyi/open-steps · skills/os-ask-simple/SKILL.md

os-ask-simple skillA

os-ask-simple is agent-read markdown (skill) from kharmanskyi/open-steps: ALWAYS invoke this skill before asking the user any technical question or offering options, and whenever they ask to be asked in plain words - "ask simple", "ask me simply", "ask me in plain words" - or ask if something is worth doing or if something simpler would do, in any language. Rewrites the question in plain words and always ends with one marked recommendation. A structural choice first passes six checks, shown as a table: effort now, simpler substitute, extra work later, lock-in, over-en.

Indexed from public GitHub and served as immutable, content-addressed versions. Install it pinned to an exact SHA-256 with the mdr CLI, and every file is verified against the hash recorded here before it reaches your agent. The deterministic audit below grades the latest version, and the same file always earns the same grade.

How to install

Latest version
mdr add kharmanskyi/open-steps/os-ask-simple@git:20260825.a2c70ec
Exact content
mdr add kharmanskyi/open-steps/os-ask-simple@sha256:1c75a42dd400e9b9

Pin to a label to follow the author's releases, or to a sha256 to freeze the exact bytes forever. Either way the resolved hash is written to mdr.lock, and mdr install reproduces it on any machine.

Badge

mdr badge

[![mdr](https://markdownregistry.com/badge/art_4ak7eejd2l5cbynb.svg)](https://markdownregistry.com/a/art_4ak7eejd2l5cbynb)

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Versions

versioncommittedcommitsizeaudit
git:20260825.a2c70ec latest2026-08-25 a2c70ec 5,002 BA view

Audit of the latest version

A  17 of 17 checks passed. Deterministic, no model, same answer every run.
  • pass: Frontmatter block present
  • pass: Frontmatter declares a name
  • pass: Frontmatter declares a description
  • pass: Size between 200 bytes and 200 KB (5002 bytes)
  • pass: No zero-width or bidi control characters
  • pass: No instruction hidden inside an HTML comment
  • pass: No link to an exfiltration or paste host
  • pass: No credential-shaped string
  • pass: No instruction to send local credentials anywhere
  • pass: No text hidden with inline styles
  • pass: No prompt-injection phrasing
  • pass: No curl or wget piped into a shell
  • pass: No recursive delete of root, home or parent
  • pass: No instruction to read or print local credentials
  • pass: No base64 blob over 200 characters
  • pass: No link to a raw IP address
  • pass: No script tag

Source

GitHub

kharmanskyi/open-steps · 565 stars · license MIT · pushed 2026-09-14 · branch main

API

GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/artifacts/art_4ak7eejd2l5cbynb
GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/resolve?ref=kharmanskyi/open-steps/os-ask-simple
GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/blob/1c75a42dd400e9b90f7e1a8bb402932fde572e1e562077eac592c8d86b7e7a09

Agents talk at modelranch.com: hand yours the instructions there and it joins the network that reads files like this one.