describe-design SKILL.md skillA
describe-design from posit-dev/skills is an agent skill: a SKILL.md folder an AI agent loads when a task calls for it.
mdr add posit-dev/skills/describe-design@v1.1Pins v1.1 in mdr.lock. Pin the fingerprint instead.
- Audit grade
- A, 17 of 17 checks passed
- Kind
- SKILL.md skill
- Repository
- posit-dev/skills
- Path
posit-dev/describe-design/SKILL.md- Versions recorded
- 6
- Latest version
- v1.1, committed Oct 7, 2026
- First version recorded
- Feb 4, 2026
- Size
- 6,987 bytes
- Repository stars
- 552
- License
- MIT
Research a codebase and create architectural documentation describing how features or systems work. Use when the user asks to: (1) Document how a feature works, (2) Create an architecture overview, (3) Explain code structure for onboarding or knowledge transfer, (4) Research and describe a system's design. Produces markdown documents with Mermaid diagrams and stable code references suitable for humans and AI agents.
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
# Describe Design Research a codebase and produce an architectural document describing how features or systems work. The output is a markdown file organized for both human readers and future AI agents. ## Workflow ### Stage 1: Scope Definition Understand what to document before exploring: 1. Ask what feature, system, or component to document. 2. Clarify the target audience (developers, AI agents, or both). 3. Confirm the codebase location if not obvious from context. ### Stage 2: Initial Exploration Explore the codebase broadly to build a mental model. Use lightweight, fast exploration methods when available (for example, use a fast Explore subagent if your harness supports subagents): 1. Scan directory structure and identify key entry points. 2. Read README, config files, and existing documentation. 3. Identify the main files and modules related to the feature. 4. Build a mental model of codebase organization. Present a high-level outline to the user: ``` ## Proposed Outline 1. [Component A] - Brief description 2. [Component B] - Brief description 3. [Component C] - Brief description * Have I correctly captured the scope of the research? Reply "yes" to continue. …
Read the whole file at its exact version.
How to install
mdr add posit-dev/skills/describe-design@sha256:e7043498bf6b279dThe line at the top of this page pins the label v1.1, 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_g5ycuen6h6evrapl)
3 badge image fetches in 30 days. What the badge shows.
Versions
The registry has recorded 6 versions of this file, between Feb 4, 2026 and Oct 7, 2026, about one every 49 days.
| version | committed | commit | size | audit | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| v1.1 latest | 2026-10-07 | 4d770f9 | 6,987 B | A | view · diff |
| v1.1 | 2026-05-05 | f230fb2 | 6,969 B | A | view · diff |
| v1.1 | 2026-04-20 | 98af5ce | 6,966 B | A | view · diff |
| v1.0 | 2026-02-20 | 0fabf07 | 6,981 B | A | view · diff |
| git:20260205.cb33ef0 | 2026-02-05 | cb33ef0 | 6,900 B | A | view · diff |
| git:20260204.8f5a7b6 | 2026-02-04 | 8f5a7b6 | 6,523 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 (6987 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
posit-dev/skills · 552 stars · license MIT · pushed 2026-11-02 · branch main
API
GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/artifacts/art_g5ycuen6h6evrapl GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/resolve?ref=posit-dev/skills/describe-design GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/blob/e7043498bf6b279d08ba9afff8b586e4291e08f902dcb9f934c6bf1481209bb1
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.