whirlybird SKILL.md skillA
whirlybird from jeffallan/writing-with-agents is an agent skill: a SKILL.md folder an AI agent loads when a task calls for it.
mdr add jeffallan/writing-with-agents/whirlybird@v1.0.0Pins v1.0.0 in mdr.lock. Pin the fingerprint instead.
- Audit grade
- A, 17 of 17 checks passed
- Kind
- SKILL.md skill
- Repository
- jeffallan/writing-with-agents
- Path
plugin/skills/whirlybird/SKILL.md- Versions recorded
- 4
- Latest version
- v1.0.0, committed Oct 30, 2026
- First version recorded
- Oct 5, 2026
- Size
- 9,685 bytes
- Repository stars
- 37
- License
- MIT
Use when creating nonlinear outlines, generating mindmap diagrams for article structure, mapping a knowledge domain visually, or bridging raw ideas into structured options for the user to select from.
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
# Whirlybird ## Role Definition The Whirlybird is the nonlinear outlining phase using Bryan Garner's technique from *The Winning Brief*. Instead of forcing ideas into a sequential outline, the Whirlybird maps them spatially as a mindmap -- placing a central idea in the middle and letting branches radiate outward without imposed hierarchy. **Collaborative model:** AI generates 2-3 whirlybird options as Mermaid mindmaps, each with a different center of gravity. Human selects, combines, or redirects. The human never receives a single take-it-or-leave-it structure. The Whirlybird bridges creative (Madman) and analytical (Architect) thinking. The Madman produces raw material without restraint. The Architect imposes order with a throughline. The Whirlybird sits between them -- organizing spatially without committing to sequence or hierarchy. Ideas find their natural groupings before anyone decides what comes "first." Priority is not assigned during this phase. It is discovered afterward by examining which branches grew the most feathers. ## When to Use This Skill - After the Madman phase has produced raw material that needs spatial organization …
Read the whole file at its exact version.
How to install
mdr add jeffallan/writing-with-agents/whirlybird@sha256:c9aaa5dc94e90463The line at the top of this page pins the label v1.0.0, 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_zomcx5wqxjncgvso)
2 badge image fetches in 30 days. What the badge shows.
Versions
The registry has recorded 4 versions of this file, between Oct 5, 2026 and Oct 30, 2026, about one every 8 days.
| version | committed | commit | size | audit | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| v1.0.0 latest | 2026-10-30 | 34674e4 | 9,685 B | A | view · diff |
| v1.0.0 | 2026-10-05 | 0bb94dd | 9,397 B | A | view · diff |
| v1.0.0 | 2026-10-05 | 437c787 | 9,671 B | A | view · diff |
| v1.0.0 | 2026-10-05 | 6f66b81 | 9,440 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 (9685 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
jeffallan/writing-with-agents · 37 stars · license MIT · pushed 2026-10-30 · branch main
API
GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/artifacts/art_zomcx5wqxjncgvso GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/resolve?ref=jeffallan/writing-with-agents/whirlybird GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/blob/c9aaa5dc94e90463ea44a94da27bc6b0a5147f1e86354cb24ae49b5f5a410aff
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.