python-best-practices SKILL.md skillA
python-best-practices from jkitchin/knowhow is an agent skill: a SKILL.md folder an AI agent loads when a task calls for it.
mdr add jkitchin/knowhow/python-best-practices@git:20260307.3e74b2fPins git:20260307.3e74b2f in mdr.lock. Pin the fingerprint instead.
- Audit grade
- A, 17 of 17 checks passed
- Kind
- SKILL.md skill
- Repository
- jkitchin/knowhow
- Path
skills/programming/python-best-practices/SKILL.md- Versions recorded
- 2
- Latest version
- git:20260307.3e74b2f, committed Mar 7, 2026
- First version recorded
- Nov 6, 2025
- Size
- 20,345 bytes
- Repository stars
- 42
- License
- MIT
Expert guidance for writing professional Python code following industry best practices including PEP 8 compliance, testing, type hints, error handling, and modern tooling. Use this skill when writing new Python code, refactoring existing code, setting up Python projects, implementing tests, or ensuring code quality and maintainability. Emphasizes: PEP 8, modularity, DRY principle, TDD, virtual environments (uv), and modern tooling (Ruff, Black, Mypy).
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
# Python Best Practices Skill This skill provides expert guidance for writing professional, maintainable Python code that follows industry best practices and standards. ## When to Use This Skill Use this skill when: - Writing new Python functions, classes, or modules - Refactoring existing Python code for better quality - Setting up a new Python project with proper structure - Implementing unit tests or adopting TDD - Adding type hints for better code clarity - Configuring linting, formatting, and type checking tools - Managing dependencies and virtual environments - Improving code readability and maintainability - Following PEP 8 style guidelines ## Core Principles ### 1. PEP 8: Style Guide for Python Code **Key Guidelines:** - **Indentation**: Use 4 spaces per indentation level (never tabs) - **Line Length**: Limit lines to 79 characters (99 for code, 72 for docstrings/comments) - **Blank Lines**: 2 blank lines between top-level functions/classes, 1 within classes - **Imports**: - One import per line - Order: standard library, third-party, local (each group separated by blank line) - Avoid wildcard imports (`from module import *`) - **Naming Conventions**: …
Read the whole file at its exact version.
How to install
mdr add jkitchin/knowhow/python-best-practices@sha256:7a6fca873f2707a8The line at the top of this page pins the label git:20260307.3e74b2f, 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_wxpnnr6mnzcqoxdm)
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Versions
The registry has recorded 2 versions of this file, between Nov 6, 2025 and Mar 7, 2026, about one every 122 days.
| version | committed | commit | size | audit | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| git:20260307.3e74b2f latest | 2026-03-07 | 3e74b2f | 20,345 B | A | view · diff |
| git:20251106.3079452 | 2025-11-06 | 3079452 | 20,362 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 (20345 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
jkitchin/knowhow · 42 stars · license MIT · pushed 2026-11-02 · branch main
API
GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/artifacts/art_wxpnnr6mnzcqoxdm GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/resolve?ref=jkitchin/knowhow/python-best-practices GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/blob/7a6fca873f2707a8b11057fcc639050812de5c692d7a37fac8aac13b90a3d2fe
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.
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