narrow-the-scope SKILL.md skillA
narrow-the-scope from edbertchan/catstack is an agent skill: a SKILL.md folder an AI agent loads when a task calls for it.
mdr add edbertchan/catstack/narrow-the-scope@git:20260909.4c717cfPins git:20260909.4c717cf in mdr.lock. Pin the fingerprint instead.
- Audit grade
- A, 17 of 17 checks passed
- Kind
- SKILL.md skill
- Repository
- edbertchan/catstack
- Path
product/skills/narrow-the-scope/SKILL.md- Versions recorded
- 4
- Latest version
- git:20260909.4c717cf, committed Sep 9, 2026
- First version recorded
- Aug 25, 2026
- Size
- 5,307 bytes
- Repository stars
- 6
- License
- none declared
Notice live, mid-session, when repeated attempts at one problem aren't converging — the same error recurring, several edit-and-guess cycles on the same file or area, or a fix that keeps growing instead of landing — and say so out loud instead of quietly grinding on. Usually means the attempted scope is bigger than what's actually been verified to work; the fix is a smaller, checkable slice, not another full-scope guess. Trigger on: the same error text recurring across attempts, three or more…
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
# Narrow the Scope Repeated failure on one problem is a sizing signal, not just a persistence problem. When the same error keeps coming back, or a file has been edited several times with nothing verified in between, that's usually evidence the change being attempted is bigger than the piece that's actually understood — not a reason to try harder at the same size. **Why:** Guessing again at full scope after a failed attempt burns the same budget on the same blind spot. A smaller, verified slice turns up the actual constraint (the real error, the real edge case) in one cheap step instead of costing another full attempt to rediscover it. ## Mechanical trigger The "three edits to one file with no check between" trigger is counted for you by a PostToolUse hook, `engine/hooks/narrow-the-scope/` (installed by `install.sh`). It injects a one-line reminder at the third edit and resets on any test/build/lint command. When you see that reminder, this skill applies: run the check, say it plainly, propose the smaller slice. ## Detect it live, don't eyeball it …
Read the whole file at its exact version.
How to install
mdr add edbertchan/catstack/narrow-the-scope@sha256:d378882a9aa2a14cThe line at the top of this page pins the label git:20260909.4c717cf, 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_vbeu2xl6nptyey2a)
1 badge image fetches in 30 days. What the badge shows.
Versions
The registry has recorded 4 versions of this file, between Aug 25, 2026 and Sep 9, 2026, about one every 5 days.
| version | committed | commit | size | audit | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| git:20260909.4c717cf latest | 2026-09-09 | 4c717cf | 5,307 B | A | view · diff |
| git:20260903.a49c4d6 | 2026-09-03 | a49c4d6 | 5,151 B | A | view · diff |
| git:20260828.e3fdb82 | 2026-08-28 | e3fdb82 | 4,764 B | A | view · diff |
| git:20260825.847374d | 2026-08-25 | 847374d | 4,400 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 (5307 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
edbertchan/catstack · 6 stars · license none declared · pushed 2026-10-22 · branch main
API
GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/artifacts/art_vbeu2xl6nptyey2a GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/resolve?ref=edbertchan/catstack/narrow-the-scope GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/blob/d378882a9aa2a14c778389c1d922fd4d757a0c918324fc2ca68ef84b01e71b2a
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.