lean-mode SKILL.md skillA
lean-mode from tmusser/ai-engineering-skills is an agent skill: a SKILL.md folder an AI agent loads when a task calls for it.
mdr add tmusser/ai-engineering-skills/lean-mode@git:20261005.a4c4424Pins git:20261005.a4c4424 in mdr.lock. Pin the fingerprint instead.
- Audit grade
- A, 17 of 17 checks passed
- Kind
- SKILL.md skill
- Repository
- tmusser/ai-engineering-skills
- Path
skills/lean-mode/SKILL.md- Versions recorded
- 3
- Latest version
- git:20261005.a4c4424, committed Oct 5, 2026
- First version recorded
- Jun 3, 2026
- Size
- 3,982 bytes
- Repository stars
- 6
- License
- MIT
Compress routine agent responses to reduce token usage while preserving commands, file paths, assumptions, risks, verification details, and next actions.
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
# Lean Mode ## Purpose Reduce token usage without losing operational clarity. Compress prose, not meaning. ## When to use Use when: - the user says "lean mode", "save tokens", "be terse", "compress", "short replies", or invokes `/lean-mode` - the task is execution-oriented - the user already understands the domain - the conversation is long and token budget matters - the agent is giving routine status, next steps, commands, or implementation guidance Do not use when: - the user asks for teaching or explanation - the user asks for nuanced trade-off analysis - ambiguity is high - safety, security, privacy, legal, medical, or financial reasoning is needed - the user asks for polished writing - compression would hide uncertainty or risk ## Persistence Once enabled, stay in lean mode for routine replies until the user says: - "stop lean mode" - "normal mode" - "full reasoning" - "explain more" Switch temporarily to fuller prose when correctness requires nuance. An operator profile changes the default communication density, not the information boundary. `Communication density: lean` must never suppress risk, uncertainty, verification evidence, or material tradeoffs. …
Read the whole file at its exact version.
How to install
mdr add tmusser/ai-engineering-skills/lean-mode@sha256:98499a82695d2c9bThe line at the top of this page pins the label git:20261005.a4c4424, 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_zguiqp4oquxjgkiq)
4 badge image fetches in 30 days. What the badge shows.
Versions
The registry has recorded 3 versions of this file, between Jun 3, 2026 and Oct 5, 2026, about one every 62 days.
| version | committed | commit | size | audit | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| git:20261005.a4c4424 latest | 2026-10-05 | a4c4424 | 3,982 B | A | view · diff |
| git:20260604.8dee4f7 | 2026-06-04 | 8dee4f7 | 3,451 B | A | view · diff |
| git:20260603.803c4cb | 2026-06-03 | 803c4cb | 3,451 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 (3982 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
tmusser/ai-engineering-skills · 6 stars · license MIT · pushed 2026-11-01 · branch main
API
GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/artifacts/art_zguiqp4oquxjgkiq GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/resolve?ref=tmusser/ai-engineering-skills/lean-mode GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/blob/98499a82695d2c9ba5b0ba7c074291a5361bf2710b3374eb60543e47137f564e
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.