ml4t-research-operator SKILL.md skillA
ml4t-research-operator from ml4t/skills is an agent skill: a SKILL.md folder an AI agent loads when a task calls for it.
mdr add ml4t/skills/ml4t-research-operator@git:20260901.c415df0Pins git:20260901.c415df0 in mdr.lock. Pin the fingerprint instead.
- Audit grade
- A, 17 of 17 checks passed
- Kind
- SKILL.md skill
- Repository
- ml4t/skills
- Path
advanced-ai/research-operator/SKILL.md- Versions recorded
- 2
- Latest version
- git:20260901.c415df0, committed Sep 1, 2026
- First version recorded
- May 28, 2026
- Size
- 3,335 bytes
- Repository stars
- 41
- License
- Apache-2.0
Thin autonomous research operator pattern for ML4T experiments. Use when an agent should inspect artifacts, read skills, run scripts, and produce an auditable recommendation.
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
# Research Operator
A research operator is a thin loop around general tools. The methodology should live in skills, the math in libraries, and the case-study logic in project code.
## The Problem
Hard-coding every possible research move into an agent framework creates a brittle demo. Giving the model unrestricted shell and file access creates an unauditable production risk. The useful middle ground is a narrow operator: expose a small set of typed tools, require skill discovery before implementation, sandbox writes, and stop with an evidence-backed recommendation.
## The Pattern
### WRONG
```python
prompt = f"""
You are a quant researcher. Use any files and commands you need.
Try improving the case study and tell me what worked.
Task: {task}
"""
print(llm(prompt))
```
### CORRECT
```python
TOOLS = {
"list_skills": tool_list_skills,
"read_skill": tool_read_skill,
"read_file": sandbox_read_file,
"query_registry": readonly_sql_query,
"read_parquet": sandbox_read_parquet,
"run_bash": sandbox_run_bash,
"edit_file": sandbox_edit_file,
"done": finish_with_summary,
}
SYSTEM_PROMPT = """
…Read the whole file at its exact version.
How to install
mdr add ml4t/skills/ml4t-research-operator@sha256:8601231ce1c9a651The line at the top of this page pins the label git:20260901.c415df0, 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.
[](https://markdownregistry.com/a/art_dwhvlgc4citstzof)
2 badge image fetches in 30 days. What the badge shows.
Versions
The registry has recorded 2 versions of this file, between May 28, 2026 and Sep 1, 2026, about one every 96 days.
| version | committed | commit | size | audit | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| git:20260901.c415df0 latest | 2026-09-01 | c415df0 | 3,335 B | A | view · diff |
| git:20260528.303089e | 2026-05-28 | 303089e | 3,339 B | A | view |
Audit of the latest version
- pass: Frontmatter block present
- pass: Frontmatter declares a name
- pass: Frontmatter declares a description
- pass: Size between 200 bytes and 200 KB (3335 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
ml4t/skills · 41 stars · license Apache-2.0 · pushed 2026-11-08 · branch main
API
GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/artifacts/art_dwhvlgc4citstzof GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/resolve?ref=ml4t/skills/ml4t-research-operator GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/blob/8601231ce1c9a651194d8090c34c983167b96279f6cc4bc2689101969dcd49aa
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.