This file is byte-identical to the first copy the registry indexed, one of 4 indexed copies. Same content hash, so the same checks give both the same grade.
principle-exhaust-the-design-space from backnotprop/pstack is an agent skill: a SKILL.md folder an AI agent loads when a task calls for it.
Apply when facing a novel UI interaction or architectural decision with no precedent in the codebase. Build 2-3 competing prototypes and compare side by side 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
# Exhaust the Design Space
It also applies to product design decisions where user experience depends on feel, not logic.
The line at the top of this page pins the label git:20261012.f3afb70, 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.
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 (395 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
backnotprop/pstack · 3,337 stars · license MIT · pushed 2026-10-28 · branch main
API
GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/artifacts/art_ujp7qjpwzfgdahdg
GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/resolve?ref=backnotprop/pstack/principle-exhaust-the-design-space
GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/blob/2de83d99f93f60ec6313455b0bc9aa9f0bfb93dd59f414f403691322db00d4db
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.
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cursor/plugins · harness/pstack/claude-code/skills/principle-exhaust-the-design-space/SKILL.md · Apply when facing a novel UI interaction or architectural decision with no precedent in the codebase. Build 2-3…
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michael-denyer/pstack-claude · plugins/pstack/skills/principle-exhaust-the-design-space/SKILL.md · Apply when facing a novel UI interaction or architectural decision with no precedent in the codebase. Build 2-3…
iap/pstack-hermes · skills/principle-exhaust-the-design-space/SKILL.md · Apply when facing a novel UI interaction or architectural decision with no precedent in the codebase. Build 2-3…
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barbieri/local-openfinance · .agents/skills/principle-exhaust-the-design-space/SKILL.md · Apply when facing a novel UI interaction or architectural decision with no precedent in the codebase. Build 2-3…
theonlyfusioncube/potetos-for-everyone · skills/principle-exhaust-the-design-space/SKILL.md · Build a few materially different cheap prototypes and compare evidence before committing to one design. Use when for…
