andrej-karpathy
Behavioral guidelines to reduce common LLM coding mistakes. Use when writing, reviewing, or refactoring code to avoid overcomplication, make surgical changes, surface assumptions, and define verifiable success criteria.
Profile →npx skills add sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills --skill andrej-karpathy --agent claude-code
Same command for any agent — swap --agent for codex, cursor, copilot.
Weekly change comes from our own snapshots, not the repository page — it measures attention, not adoption.
# Karpathy Guidelines Behavioral guidelines to reduce common LLM coding mistakes, derived from [Andrej Karpathy's observations](https://x.com/karpathy/status/2015883857489522876) on LLM coding pitfalls. **Tradeoff:** These guidelines bias toward caution over speed. For trivial tasks, use judgment. ## When to Use This Skill - Use when writing, reviewing, or refactoring code with an LLM. - Use when a change needs to stay surgical and avoid speculative abstractions. - Use when assumptions, tradeoffs, and verification criteria should be made explicit. - Use when code has become overcomplicated and needs to be simplified. ## 1. Think Before Coding **Don't assume. Don't hide confusion. Surface tradeoffs.** Before implementing: - State your assumptions explicitly. If uncertain, ask. - If multiple interpretations exist, present them - don't pick silently. - If a simpler approach exists, say so. Push back when warranted. - If something is unclear, stop. Name what's confusing. Ask. ## 2. Simplicity First **Minimum code that solves the problem. Nothing speculative.** - No features beyond what was asked. - No abstractions for single-use code. - No "flexibility" or "configurability" that wasn't
- When to Use This Skill
- 1. Think Before Coding
- 2. Simplicity First
- 3. Surgical Changes
- 4. Goal-Driven Execution
- Examples
- Limitations
What does the andrej-karpathy skill do?
Behavioral guidelines to reduce common LLM coding mistakes. Use when writing, reviewing, or refactoring code to avoid overcomplication, make surgical changes, surface assumptions, and define verifiable success criteria.
How do I install it?
Run `npx skills add sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills --skill andrej-karpathy --agent claude-code` — it drops the skill into your project so the agent can pick it up. Swap the --agent value for codex, cursor or copilot if you use one of those.
Where does this skill come from?
From sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills, a repository with 44,414 stars. We read it straight from the repository tree rather than a submitted listing, so what you see here is what is actually published.
Is a popular skill a good skill?
Not necessarily. Stars measure attention, not adoption — a repository can trend for a week and be abandoned. That is why we show the weekly change from our own snapshots next to the total, instead of a single flattering number.