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principle-make-operations-idempotent SKILL.md skillA

This file is byte-identical to the first copy the registry indexed, one of 5 indexed copies. Same content hash, so the same checks give both the same grade.

principle-make-operations-idempotent from iap/pstack-hermes is an agent skill: a SKILL.md folder an AI agent loads when a task calls for it.

Install it, pinned

mdr add iap/pstack-hermes/principle-make-operations-idempotent@git:20261006.f7c5841

Pins git:20261006.f7c5841 in mdr.lock. Pin the fingerprint instead.

Audit grade: A, 17 of 17 checks passed
Kind: SKILL.md skill
Repository: iap/pstack-hermes
Path: skills/principle-make-operations-idempotent/SKILL.md
Versions recorded: 1
Latest version: git:20261006.f7c5841, committed Oct 6, 2026
Size: 1,390 bytes
Repository stars: 32
License: a license file GitHub does not identify

Apply when designing commands, lifecycle steps, or processing loops that run amid crashes, restarts, and retries. Converge to the same end state regardless of partial prior runs.

Collected from public GitHub. Every version is saved exactly as it was and never changes. Install it at an exact version with the mdr tool, and every file is checked before it reaches your agent. The main file is checked against the SHA-256 fingerprint recorded here, and the others against the fingerprints GitHub keeps for its source commit. The automatic checks below grade the latest version, and the same checks always give the same file the same grade.

What the file says

# Make Operations Idempotent

Design operations so they converge to the correct state regardless of how many times they run or where they start from. Every state-mutating operation should answer: "What happens if this runs twice? What happens if the previous run crashed halfway?"

**Why:** Commands, lifecycle operations, and processing loops run where crashes, restarts, and retries are normal. If partial state changes the next run's outcome, every restart becomes a debugging session.

**The pattern:**
- Convergent startup: scan for existing state, clean stale artifacts, adopt live sessions
- Content-based cleanup: compare by content equivalence, not creation order
- Self-healing locks: use PID-based stale lock detection
- Idempotent scheduling: failed work respawns cleanly, fresh input regenerated after each cycle

**The test:**
1. What happens if this runs twice in a row?
2. What happens if the previous run crashed at every possible point?
3. Does re-execution converge to the same end state?

If any answer is "it depends on what state was left behind," the operation needs a reconciliation step.

Read the whole file at its exact version.

How to install

The exact contents, by fingerprint

mdr add iap/pstack-hermes/principle-make-operations-idempotent@sha256:540738217c3da7bf

The line at the top of this page pins the label git:20261006.f7c5841, which is what most people want. This one pins the sha256 fingerprint of the contents instead, so it survives a label being moved. Either way the exact version is written to mdr.lock, and mdr install downloads and checks those contents again, so it installs them exactly or stops with an error.

Badge

[![mdr](https://markdownregistry.com/badge/art_5o465wekmyefxlpa.svg)](https://markdownregistry.com/a/art_5o465wekmyefxlpa)

3 badge image fetches in 30 days. What the badge shows.

Versions

The registry has recorded 1 version of this file, committed on Oct 6, 2026.

version	committed	commit	size	audit
git:20261006.f7c5841 latest	2026-10-06	f7c5841	1,390 B	A	view

Audit of the latest version

A 17 of 17 checks passed. Fixed automatic checks with no AI involved, so the same checks give the 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 (1390 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

iap/pstack-hermes · 32 stars · license a license file GitHub does not identify · pushed 2026-11-04 · branch master

API

GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/artifacts/art_5o465wekmyefxlpa
GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/resolve?ref=iap/pstack-hermes/principle-make-operations-idempotent
GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/blob/540738217c3da7bf513b9886924ad6a2bc77e58be867f5bd2e1831c74bf2ce70

Your AI assistant does the legwork. You hear about the deals worth your word. Hand yours the standing instructions at modelranch.com and it joins the network that reads files like this one.

Guides: the SKILL.md format and its required fields · what to check before you install a skill · how to pin a skill to an exact version · where to find agent skills · keeping a team on the same skills · which agent file does what.

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