Field guide · AI coding skills

The map is not the territory

Eleven skills for recovering context, making diagrams, working safely while you're away, and closing the gap between what you planned and what actually happens — one for plain-language answers, one for recall, one for visualising, one for working a queue, two for autonomous runs, one before you start, one for mid-build, three for when you think you're done. Built after reading Thariq's field guide to Fable.

blind-spot-pass deviation-log spot-check merge-quiz pitch-me PRE DURING POST

install all eleven

for s in 1by1 blind-spot-pass deviation-log spot-check merge-quiz pitch-me; do
  mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills/$s
  curl -fLsS https://mrcoder.github.io/skills/$s/SKILL.md -o ~/.claude/skills/$s/SKILL.md
done

# no-bs is one skill; renhua is its backwards-compatible alias.
for s in no-bs renhua; do
  mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills/$s
  curl -fLsS https://mrcoder.github.io/skills/$s/SKILL.md -o ~/.claude/skills/$s/SKILL.md
done

dest=~/.claude/skills/diagram
base=https://mrcoder.github.io/skills/diagram
mkdir -p "$dest/references"
for f in SKILL.md references/diagram-rules.md references/mermaid-syntax.md references/zenuml-syntax.md; do
  curl -fLsS "$base/$f" -o "$dest/$f"
done

(
  set -e
  dest=~/.claude/skills
  tmp=$(mktemp -d)
  trap 'rm -rf "$tmp"' EXIT
  base=https://mrcoder.github.io/downloads/search-conversation-history.zip
  curl -fLsS "$base" -o "$tmp/search-conversation-history.zip"
  curl -fLsS "$base.sha256" -o "$tmp/search-conversation-history.zip.sha256"
  (cd "$tmp" && shasum -a 256 -c search-conversation-history.zip.sha256)
  mkdir -p "$dest"
  unzip -oq "$tmp/search-conversation-history.zip" -d "$dest"
  python3 "$dest/search-conversation-history/scripts/history.py" index
)

dest=~/.claude/skills/unattended
base=https://mrcoder.github.io/skills/unattended
mkdir -p "$dest/scripts" "$dest/templates"
for f in SKILL.md READINESS.md LOOP.md scripts/run_guard.py templates/PLAN.md templates/REPORT.html templates/state.json; do
  curl -fLsS "$base/$f" -o "$dest/$f"
done

mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills/overnight
curl -fLsS https://mrcoder.github.io/skills/overnight/SKILL.md \
  -o ~/.claude/skills/overnight/SKILL.md

— clarify · anytime

no-bs

Cuts jargon and irrelevant detail, then leads with the conclusion and next steps. It currently rewrites answers in plain Chinese. Use renhua as an alias.

  • /no-bs or $no-bs
  • /renhua or $renhua
  • "说人话"

Download ZIP · SHA-256 checksum. The archive contains sibling no-bs and renhua folders; unzip it into your skills root (for example ~/.claude/skills) so both files install in place. Codex users can use ~/.codex/skills instead.

# no-bs is canonical; renhua is its backwards-compatible alias.
mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills/no-bs ~/.claude/skills/renhua
curl -fLsS https://mrcoder.github.io/skills/no-bs/SKILL.md \
  -o ~/.claude/skills/no-bs/SKILL.md
curl -fLsS https://mrcoder.github.io/skills/renhua/SKILL.md \
  -o ~/.claude/skills/renhua/SKILL.md

— recall · anytime

search-conversation-history

Reconstructs decisions across Codex, Claude Code, and Cursor when the session is unknown, the question crosses sources, or an approach evolved over time. Use a targeted rg search when you already know the file and one keyword. The package includes the native history CLI (with optional MCP support), a CLI launcher, and a Python fallback. Indexing and search run locally without an API key. Setup requires Python 3.11+; Apple Silicon Macs use the bundled executable. Other platforms build the included source with Rust/Cargo and a C compiler.

The search footer reports elapsed time (including any refresh) and cache-separated uncached input, cached input, and output, with cache writes separately when nonzero. Counters stop at the latest usage event before the final response; unavailable values stay unavailable. Benchmark mode is $search-conversation-history benchmark <question> (Claude also accepts /search-conversation-history benchmark <question>).

  • "search conversation history"
  • "how did we handle this before?"
  • "find the earlier discussion about X"

Download ZIP · SHA-256 checksum · Install guide. The command below installs the full package and creates the local index. The skill uses the CLI directly: no MCP configuration or client restart is needed. For Codex, change dest to ~/.codex/skills. The Apple Silicon path has been verified; other platforms require a source build.

(
  set -e
  dest=~/.claude/skills
  tmp=$(mktemp -d)
  trap 'rm -rf "$tmp"' EXIT
  base=https://mrcoder.github.io/downloads/search-conversation-history.zip
  curl -fLsS "$base" -o "$tmp/search-conversation-history.zip"
  curl -fLsS "$base.sha256" -o "$tmp/search-conversation-history.zip.sha256"
  (cd "$tmp" && shasum -a 256 -c search-conversation-history.zip.sha256)
  mkdir -p "$dest"
  unzip -oq "$tmp/search-conversation-history.zip" -d "$dest"
  python3 "$dest/search-conversation-history/scripts/history.py" index
)

— make · anytime

diagram

Generates sequence diagrams as ZenUML and other diagram types as Mermaid, with optional image rendering. SVG diagrams — generated or improved — follow a fidelity contract: preserve the business structure, route connectors with deterministic geometry, and verify the rendered result instead of silently redesigning it.

  • "draw a diagram"
  • "show me the flow"
  • "improve this SVG"
dest=~/.claude/skills/diagram
base=https://mrcoder.github.io/skills/diagram
mkdir -p "$dest/references"
for f in SKILL.md references/diagram-rules.md references/mermaid-syntax.md references/zenuml-syntax.md; do
  curl -fLsS "$base/$f" -o "$dest/$f"
done

— queue · anytime

1by1

Turns a list into a sequence — re-verify the item, check it is still worth doing, recommend the one action you judge correct, then act within the existing authorization. A batch of twelve worktrees or open PRs stops being twelve parallel guesses and becomes twelve decisions you can redirect mid-stream. No option menu: you already chose to work the list, so the skill does not hand that decision back.

  • "one by one"
  • "go through these one at a time"
  • after any listing step — worktrees, PRs, findings
mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills/1by1
curl -fLsS https://mrcoder.github.io/skills/1by1/SKILL.md \
  -o ~/.claude/skills/1by1/SKILL.md

— run · away

unattended

Keeps useful work moving for a bounded time while you're away. It starts slow CI, builds, and browser checks early, limits itself to two workstreams, guards token allowance before every dispatch, and leaves a live evidence-backed HTML report. Missing credentials or telemetry narrow the run; they do not waste it, and a temporary lack of authorized work leaves the run idle rather than complete.

  • "work on this unattended"
  • "keep going while I'm AFK"
  • "work on this for two hours"
dest=~/.claude/skills/unattended
base=https://mrcoder.github.io/skills/unattended
mkdir -p "$dest/scripts" "$dest/templates"
for f in SKILL.md READINESS.md LOOP.md scripts/run_guard.py templates/PLAN.md templates/REPORT.html templates/state.json; do
  curl -fLsS "$base/$f" -o "$dest/$f"
done

— run · all night

overnight

Extends unattended work into an eight-hour all-night profile. It checks that credentials, browsers, runners, long waits, and the machine itself can survive until morning, then applies the same bounded allowance and evidence rules and writes a morning report.

  • "work on this overnight"
  • "run this all night"
  • "have this ready by morning"
dest=~/.claude/skills/unattended
base=https://mrcoder.github.io/skills/unattended
mkdir -p "$dest/scripts" "$dest/templates"
for f in SKILL.md READINESS.md LOOP.md scripts/run_guard.py templates/PLAN.md templates/REPORT.html templates/state.json; do
  curl -fLsS "$base/$f" -o "$dest/$f"
done

mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills/overnight
curl -fLsS https://mrcoder.github.io/skills/overnight/SKILL.md \
  -o ~/.claude/skills/overnight/SKILL.md

— pre

blind-spot-pass

Surfaces what you don't know to ask before you start. Give it your experience level and it greps the codebase's own history — commit messages, docs, past incidents — for the landmines you can't see yet.

  • "blind spot pass"
  • "unknown unknowns"
  • "what am I missing"
mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills/blind-spot-pass
curl -fLsS https://mrcoder.github.io/skills/blind-spot-pass/SKILL.md \
  -o ~/.claude/skills/blind-spot-pass/SKILL.md

— during

deviation-log

A live log of every place the plan met an edge case it didn't account for. Picks the conservative option, writes down why, keeps building — so the deviation is visible instead of buried in a diff.

  • "keep a deviation log"
  • "track deviations"
mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills/deviation-log
curl -fLsS https://mrcoder.github.io/skills/deviation-log/SKILL.md \
  -o ~/.claude/skills/deviation-log/SKILL.md

— post

spot-check

Confirms the behavior actually works — drives a live browser or CLI against a deployed site, not a local fixture. Writes the pass/fail plan before touching anything, then observes a real signal for each check. Ephemeral by design: no new spec file, no green test that proves nothing.

  • "spot check this fix"
  • "verify on staging"
  • "does it actually work in prod"
mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills/spot-check
curl -fLsS https://mrcoder.github.io/skills/spot-check/SKILL.md \
  -o ~/.claude/skills/spot-check/SKILL.md

— post

merge-quiz

Requires a one-at-a-time, numbered quiz on your own change before merging, unless the user explicitly skips it. Reading a diff isn't the same as understanding the behavior it produces — a focused re-quiz is required only when every answer is wrong.

  • auto-triggers before land-pr / ship-branch
  • any non-trivial logic change
mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills/merge-quiz
curl -fLsS https://mrcoder.github.io/skills/merge-quiz/SKILL.md \
  -o ~/.claude/skills/merge-quiz/SKILL.md

— post

pitch-me

Packages the prototype, the plan, and the deviation log into one self-contained HTML page for the person who wasn't in the room — leads with the demo, answers the objections a reviewer would already have.

  • "pitch me"
  • "buy-in doc"
  • "write this up for review"
mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills/pitch-me
curl -fLsS https://mrcoder.github.io/skills/pitch-me/SKILL.md \
  -o ~/.claude/skills/pitch-me/SKILL.md