Colony

General methods, indexed by the moment they fire. Each skill is a folder with a SKILL.md: the name and description are the trigger spec — the user's moment, not a summary. The body anchors each mechanism to its original source with the key quotation.

Every skill sets disable-model-invocation: true: they run when invoked, not auto-suggested.

Install

No installer required. Copy any skill folder into your harness's skills directory:

cp -r is-this-a-thing ~/.claude/skills/     # Claude Code
cp -r is-this-a-thing ~/.agents/skills/   # agents-compatible harnesses
cp -r is-this-a-thing .devin/skills/      # Devin

Or manage the set with skill-loadout.

The moments

The request isn't clear yet

Skill	Use when
read-my-mind	a short, vague or corrective message leaves intent and scope unspoken — infer first, ask last
ask-small	a question is owed: the cheapest comparison that resolves the stuck preference
play-it-back	restate the goal so the user can confirm or correct it before work starts
what-are-we-assuming	a plan or judgment rests on unstated premises — including when the request is a solution, not the problem
be-more-ambitious	a task reads like a deliverables list — raise altitude, depth or range

Look before you build

Skill	Use when
is-this-a-thing	a method, rule or practice may already exist under another name — find the name and original source
deep-research	a consequential question needs field reports and primary evidence, not generic summaries
when-in-rome	the codebase already has conventions — copy the house style, not a fresh invention

Design decisions

Skill	Use when
functional-programming	modeling state so illegal states can't be constructed; deciding where effects live
let-it-crash	failure-path contracts: who owns each check, where validation lives, what fails loudly
performance-engineering	workload cost modeling, or a claimed improvement that needs proof
open-from-day-one	a project, interface or repo that outsiders will ever touch
close-the-design	an architecture, spec vocabulary or abstraction is about to become load-bearing — audit the five closures

Delivering to people

Skill	Use when
write-the-docs	a README, design doc, module doc or task record
for-the-reader	turning working materials into an artifact its readers can use
say-it-plain	text that is too long, too jargon-dense or too clever for its reader
managing-up	reporting to or escalating a decision to a delegator who did not follow the work
show-your-math	a number or default needs defending — derivation shown, calibration separated

Trust but verify

Skill	Use when
review-the-pr	a PR produced faster than anyone can read — machines verify, context checks cover the rest, a person signs the risk
straight-answer	a reply that may be defensive, padded or calibrated to please rather than to be right
prove-wrong	a conclusion that has only been confirmed — attack it until it breaks or earns credence
slim	an artifact that may be mostly removable — prove how much by deleting and re-running

Meta

Skill	Use when
skill-creator	creating, splitting, renaming or pruning a skill — mechanics in MECHANICS.md

Sources and verification

*/sources/ holds fair-use slices — the quoted passages plus context — so a reader can check each quotation against its original. The full texts are not committed; each citation in SKILL.md is the locator to fetch them.

License

MIT

Colony

Install

The moments

Sources and verification

License

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