principle-prove-it-works SKILL.md skillA

This file is byte-identical to the first copy the registry indexed, one of 5 indexed copies. Same content hash, so the same checks give both the same grade.

principle-prove-it-works from backnotprop/pstack is an agent skill: a SKILL.md folder an AI agent loads when a task calls for it.

mdr add backnotprop/pstack/principle-prove-it-works@git:20261004.c0c3f13

Pins git:20261004.c0c3f13 in mdr.lock. Pin the fingerprint instead.

Audit grade

A, 17 of 17 checks passed

Kind

SKILL.md skill

Repository

backnotprop/pstack

Path

skills/principle-prove-it-works/SKILL.md

Versions recorded

3

Latest version

git:20261004.c0c3f13, committed Oct 4, 2026

First version recorded

May 27, 2026

Size

1,371 bytes

Repository stars

3,337

License

MIT

Apply after completing a task, before declaring done. Verify against the real artifact (run the feature, read the actual value, inspect the diff), not a proxy, self-report, or 'it compiles.'.

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

# Prove It Works

Verify every task output by checking the real thing directly. Do not infer from proxies, self-reports, or "it compiles."

**Why:** Unverified work has unknown correctness. Indirect verification (file mtimes, output freshness, agent self-reports, cached screenshots) feels cheaper than direct observation. Acting on a wrong inference costs far more than checking the source.

Check the real thing, not a proxy:
- Check process liveness directly, not indirectly through derived state
- Read the actual value, not a cached or derived representation
- When verification fails, suspect the observation method before suspecting the system

## Script the check when you can

The strongest proof is a deterministic script that re-runs the same comparison, not a one-time eyeball. Write the script, run it, and keep its output as an artifact a reviewer can re-run instead of trusting your word.

Keep the artifact visible for the human. Commit it only for large or complex work where the trail has to be auditable later, like a big port or migration (the **show-me-your-work** skill).

Read the whole file at its exact version.

How to install

mdr add backnotprop/pstack/principle-prove-it-works@sha256:ec79a15025bac8d3

[![mdr](https://markdownregistry.com/badge/art_zwlsryl63plxtrhq.svg)](https://markdownregistry.com/a/art_zwlsryl63plxtrhq)

Versions

The registry has recorded 3 versions of this file, between May 27, 2026 and Oct 4, 2026, about one every 65 days.

Audit of the latest version

Source

API

GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/artifacts/art_zwlsryl63plxtrhq
GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/resolve?ref=backnotprop/pstack/principle-prove-it-works
GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/blob/ec79a15025bac8d33d62011c54f3b612733fd2a024e623b531b3637aa75070e2

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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