Viral CLAUDE.md Coding Rules
A viral one-file CLAUDE.md, 120K+ GitHub stars, that embeds disciplined coding principles as Claude's always-on personality.
Before & after
Same prompt, same agent — the only difference is the skill.
That's a common frustration. Generally, you want to think before coding, make surgical edits instead of rewriting files, focus on the specific problem at hand, and avoid gold-plating. Being more deliberate about scoping your changes helps. You might try defining the exact change before you code, reviewing diffs carefully, and staying goal-driven.
Installs a one-file markdown that upgrades Claude Code default behavior: THINK FIRST: reasoning before code, SURGICAL EDITS: targeted replacements, not rewrites, GOAL-DRIVEN WORK: solve the stated problem, skip nice-to-haves, ALTITUDE CHECK: is this at the right layer, SIMPLICITY BIAS: fewer lines win, ASSUMPTION AUDIT: verify before coding, and CHANGE MINIMALISM: edit one file, make one change. The rules are always-on once installed, unlike triggered skills. Merges cleanly with existing CLAUDE.md files. Side-by-side tests show cleaner diffs and more focused edits. Pairs well with other coding disciplines. For any Claude Code user.
About this skill
name: andrej-karpathy-skills description: Use when A viral one-file CLAUDE.md, 120K+ GitHub stars, that embeds the original author coding principles as Claude always-on personality.
Viral CLAUDE.md Coding Rules
This CLAUDE.md instructs Claude to think before coding, favor simplicity, make surgical edits instead of sprawling diffs, and stay goal-driven rather than assumption-driven. Always active once installed (unlike a triggered skill); merges cleanly with existing CLAUDE.md files. original author-skills
What you get
- A single markdown file that upgrades Claude Code default coding behavior.
Customize your output
- Strip/merge sections when combining with an existing CLAUDE.md
- pairs well with Superpowers and G-Stack.
Example output
Side-by-side tests show cleaner, simpler diffs and more targeted edits with the file installed vs without.
Best for
Any Claude Code user frustrated with over-engineered or sprawling AI-generated changes.
SKILL.md preview
---
name: andrej-karpathy-skills
description: Use this skill when a project needs an always-on CLAUDE.md that enforces disciplined coding habits, such as thinking before coding and making surgical edits.
version: 1.0.0
category: Development / Coding Discipline
author: AgentVolt
license: proprietary
tags:
- development
- coding-discipline
- standard
---
# Viral CLAUDE.md Coding Rules
Installs a single, always-on CLAUDE.md shaping project-wide coding behavior: think before writing code, favor simplicity, make surgical diffs, and stay goal-driven instead of assumption-driven.
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