Individual skill

the-pragmatic-programmer

Apply Hunt and Thomas-inspired pragmatic programming rules when improving engineering judgment, feedback loops, DRY knowledge, orthogonality, automation, or adaptability.

the-pragmatic-programmer/SKILL.md

Read pinned source

Source commit 893a88a6fce3a80c565bf39ac65021b43a8b2990

What was checked

Matches the observed repository HEAD: Yes
Scanner rules are current: Yes
Repository scan complete: Yes
Skill scan complete: Yes
Observed behavior: Instructions only
Last checked: Nov 9, 2026

These are observations at the recorded commit, not a guarantee of safety. Review the source before running it.

Install this skill

Choose an agent in your Stack or copy a command below. Commands fetch the pinned commit and copy only this skill directory. Existing destinations are refused. Copying a command does not install anything.

Claude Code

Destination .claude/skills/the-pragmatic-programmer

(
  set -euo pipefail
  destination='./.claude/skills/the-pragmatic-programmer'
  if [ -e "$destination" ] || [ -L "$destination" ]; then printf '%s\n' 'Destination already exists; nothing overwritten.' >&2; exit 1; fi
  work=$(mktemp -d)
  trap 'rm -rf -- "$work"' EXIT
  git clone --filter=blob:none --no-checkout -- 'https://github.com/ciembor/agent-rules-books.git' "$work/repo"
  git -C "$work/repo" checkout --detach 893a88a6fce3a80c565bf39ac65021b43a8b2990
  git -C "$work/repo" archive --format=tar '893a88a6fce3a80c565bf39ac65021b43a8b2990:the-pragmatic-programmer' > "$work/skill.tar"
  mkdir -p -- './.claude/skills'
  mkdir -- "$destination"
  tar -xf "$work/skill.tar" -C "$destination"
)

Codex

Destination .agents/skills/the-pragmatic-programmer

(
  set -euo pipefail
  destination='./.agents/skills/the-pragmatic-programmer'
  if [ -e "$destination" ] || [ -L "$destination" ]; then printf '%s\n' 'Destination already exists; nothing overwritten.' >&2; exit 1; fi
  work=$(mktemp -d)
  trap 'rm -rf -- "$work"' EXIT
  git clone --filter=blob:none --no-checkout -- 'https://github.com/ciembor/agent-rules-books.git' "$work/repo"
  git -C "$work/repo" checkout --detach 893a88a6fce3a80c565bf39ac65021b43a8b2990
  git -C "$work/repo" archive --format=tar '893a88a6fce3a80c565bf39ac65021b43a8b2990:the-pragmatic-programmer' > "$work/skill.tar"
  mkdir -p -- './.agents/skills'
  mkdir -- "$destination"
  tar -xf "$work/skill.tar" -C "$destination"
)

Cursor

Destination .cursor/skills/the-pragmatic-programmer

(
  set -euo pipefail
  destination='./.cursor/skills/the-pragmatic-programmer'
  if [ -e "$destination" ] || [ -L "$destination" ]; then printf '%s\n' 'Destination already exists; nothing overwritten.' >&2; exit 1; fi
  work=$(mktemp -d)
  trap 'rm -rf -- "$work"' EXIT
  git clone --filter=blob:none --no-checkout -- 'https://github.com/ciembor/agent-rules-books.git' "$work/repo"
  git -C "$work/repo" checkout --detach 893a88a6fce3a80c565bf39ac65021b43a8b2990
  git -C "$work/repo" archive --format=tar '893a88a6fce3a80c565bf39ac65021b43a8b2990:the-pragmatic-programmer' > "$work/skill.tar"
  mkdir -p -- './.cursor/skills'
  mkdir -- "$destination"
  tar -xf "$work/skill.tar" -C "$destination"
)

Gemini CLI

Destination .gemini/skills/the-pragmatic-programmer

(
  set -euo pipefail
  destination='./.gemini/skills/the-pragmatic-programmer'
  if [ -e "$destination" ] || [ -L "$destination" ]; then printf '%s\n' 'Destination already exists; nothing overwritten.' >&2; exit 1; fi
  work=$(mktemp -d)
  trap 'rm -rf -- "$work"' EXIT
  git clone --filter=blob:none --no-checkout -- 'https://github.com/ciembor/agent-rules-books.git' "$work/repo"
  git -C "$work/repo" checkout --detach 893a88a6fce3a80c565bf39ac65021b43a8b2990
  git -C "$work/repo" archive --format=tar '893a88a6fce3a80c565bf39ac65021b43a8b2990:the-pragmatic-programmer' > "$work/skill.tar"
  mkdir -p -- './.gemini/skills'
  mkdir -- "$destination"
  tar -xf "$work/skill.tar" -C "$destination"
)

GitHub Copilot

Destination .github/skills/the-pragmatic-programmer

(
  set -euo pipefail
  destination='./.github/skills/the-pragmatic-programmer'
  if [ -e "$destination" ] || [ -L "$destination" ]; then printf '%s\n' 'Destination already exists; nothing overwritten.' >&2; exit 1; fi
  work=$(mktemp -d)
  trap 'rm -rf -- "$work"' EXIT
  git clone --filter=blob:none --no-checkout -- 'https://github.com/ciembor/agent-rules-books.git' "$work/repo"
  git -C "$work/repo" checkout --detach 893a88a6fce3a80c565bf39ac65021b43a8b2990
  git -C "$work/repo" archive --format=tar '893a88a6fce3a80c565bf39ac65021b43a8b2990:the-pragmatic-programmer' > "$work/skill.tar"
  mkdir -p -- './.github/skills'
  mkdir -- "$destination"
  tar -xf "$work/skill.tar" -C "$destination"
)

OpenCode

Destination .opencode/skills/the-pragmatic-programmer

(
  set -euo pipefail
  destination='./.opencode/skills/the-pragmatic-programmer'
  if [ -e "$destination" ] || [ -L "$destination" ]; then printf '%s\n' 'Destination already exists; nothing overwritten.' >&2; exit 1; fi
  work=$(mktemp -d)
  trap 'rm -rf -- "$work"' EXIT
  git clone --filter=blob:none --no-checkout -- 'https://github.com/ciembor/agent-rules-books.git' "$work/repo"
  git -C "$work/repo" checkout --detach 893a88a6fce3a80c565bf39ac65021b43a8b2990
  git -C "$work/repo" archive --format=tar '893a88a6fce3a80c565bf39ac65021b43a8b2990:the-pragmatic-programmer' > "$work/skill.tar"
  mkdir -p -- './.opencode/skills'
  mkdir -- "$destination"
  tar -xf "$work/skill.tar" -C "$destination"
)

Repository context

Repository stars (not skill ratings): 3,231
Repository last updated: Sep 10, 2026
License: MIT

Observed agent integration: No specific integration evidence. Standard SKILL.md installation does not imply verified compatibility.

agents-md Repository topic
agent-rules Repository topic
agent-skills Repository topic
code-quality Repository topic
refactoring Repository topic
domain-driven-design Repository topic
programming-books Repository topic
ai-agent Repository topic
ai-skills Repository topic
claude-code Repository topic
engineering Derived category

Files and excerpt

File metadata and permitted, redacted excerpts come from the recorded scan. Source links are pinned to that commit.

Browse files

SKILL.mdcore · 748 bytes
the-pragmatic-programmer.mddoc · 13,398 bytes
the-pragmatic-programmer.mini.mddoc · 7,165 bytes
the-pragmatic-programmer.nano.mddoc · 2,263 bytes

Read excerpt


# The Pragmatic Programmer Skill

Use this skill when a task involves pragmatic engineering judgment, responsibility, DRY at the knowledge level, orthogonality, automation, prototyping, fast feedback, or adaptable design.

Before making design or code decisions, read and apply [the-pragmatic-programmer.mini.md](the-pragmatic-programmer.mini.md). Use [the-pragmatic-programmer.md](the-pragmatic-programmer.md) only as a deeper reference when the mini rules are not enough for the current engineering tradeoff.