spike SKILL.md skillA
spike from metaspartan/cybara is an agent skill: a SKILL.md folder an AI agent loads when a task calls for it.
mdr add metaspartan/cybara/spike@git:20260624.52cbbd6Pins git:20260624.52cbbd6 in mdr.lock. Pin the fingerprint instead.
- Audit grade
- A, 17 of 17 checks passed
- Kind
- SKILL.md skill
- Repository
- metaspartan/cybara
- Path
skills/spike/SKILL.md- Versions recorded
- 1
- Latest version
- git:20260624.52cbbd6, committed Jun 24, 2026
- Size
- 1,676 bytes
- Repository stars
- 32
- License
- MIT
Run a throwaway spike/prototype to validate feasibility or compare approaches, then report a clear verdict. Use when the user is unsure an approach works and wants a quick proof before committing.
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
# Spike
A spike is a time-boxed, throwaway investigation. Its output is a **decision**, not production code.
## When to use
- "Will approach X even work?" / "Can we do Y with Z?"
- Comparing 2+ approaches and needing empirical data, not opinion.
- De-risking an unknown (an API, a library, a perf claim) before building the real thing.
## Procedure
1. **State the question precisely.** What must be true for the approach to be viable? ("Can library X parse a 1GB file in <2s without OOM?")
2. **Set a time/effort box.** Spikes are short — if it's taking long, narrow the question.
3. **Write the minimum code** to answer the question. Use `exec`/`write` in an isolated scratch path (e.g. `spike/`). Don't worry about quality.
4. **Measure the actual thing.** Run it; capture timing/output/errors. Don't extrapolate.
5. **Report a verdict:**
- **Verdict:** VIABLE / NOT VIABLE / NEEDS-MORE-INFO
- **Evidence:** concrete numbers, snippet, or the failure mode observed.
- **Recommendation:** proceed with X / avoid X because / next probe needed.
6. **Clean up** the scratch code (or move it aside) unless it's promoted to real code.
## Anti-patterns
…Read the whole file at its exact version.
How to install
mdr add metaspartan/cybara/spike@sha256:26daab3652dfaf5aThe line at the top of this page pins the label git:20260624.52cbbd6, 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_nllzlgle3si7tkws)
3 badge image fetches in 30 days. What the badge shows.
Versions
The registry has recorded 1 version of this file, committed on Jun 24, 2026.
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 (1676 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
metaspartan/cybara · 32 stars · license MIT · pushed 2026-10-20 · branch main
API
GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/artifacts/art_nllzlgle3si7tkws GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/resolve?ref=metaspartan/cybara/spike GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/blob/26daab3652dfaf5ae1631768b3ab0071d11a608e399065fc0e1e43ee7abebc49
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.
More from metaspartan/cybara
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