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a-philosophy-of-software-design

@ciembor⭐ 2.9k stars

Apply John Ousterhout-inspired software design rules when reducing complexity, designing module boundaries, or reviewing APIs and abstractions.

Choose how to use this skill

You do not need every option. Choose the path your AI client supports. The stable page stays the same; versioned files are immutable.

Adopt or update this skill from https://proskills.md/skills/other/ciembor-agent-rules-books-a-philosophy-of-software-design. First identify the installation path supported by this platform, detect whether it is already installed, compare the installed version with the latest stable release, show me what will change, and only then install or update it. If no native installer is available, use the complete package or source fallback described on the page.

1. Native installer

This listing has no registered native installer command. Use the complete package or source fallback below, depending on what your client supports.

Do not guess an installer command or replace an existing version without reviewing the diff.

2. Complete package recommended

Download the ZIP when available. It includes SKILL.md plus the references, security notes and version metadata.

No complete ProSkills package is published for this listing yet.

3. Prompt-only

Copy the prompt above when the agent can read the stable page or when you want to adopt the workflow without installing a skill.

Need only the instruction file?

Download SKILL.md only if your client requires a single file. The complete ZIP is safer for a full installation because it preserves the references and release context.

No path installs or executes anything by itself. Your agent still needs access to the project files. Before updating, compare the installed version and review the diff.

6.9/10

Verified

Oct 12, 2026

// RATINGS

⭐GitHub Stars

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 2.9k on GitHubGitHub ↗

Very popular

🟢ProSkills ScoreAI Verified

6.9/10

📍

Not yet listed on ClawHub or SkillsMP

// README

About

MIT licensed universal project rules for coding agents.

This repository contains ready-to-use rule sets inspired by well-known books on software design, architecture, refactoring, legacy code, reliability, and data-intensive systems.

For editor-specific setup in Codex, Claude Code, and Cursor, see USAGE.md. It covers always-on vs on-demand usage, skills, scoped rules, and the preferred setup for each editor.

Each rule set is released in three tool-agnostic Markdown versions:

mini: the recommended version for most real task use
nano: the compact fallback for very tight context budgets
full: the canonical complete source and reference version

For constructive criticism from Reddit, see CRITICISM.md.

For release history, see CHANGELOG.md.

Installation as Skills

Prerequisite: install Node.js with npm. You can run the Skills CLI through npx without installing skills separately.

Install all book skills with the open Agent Skills CLI:

npx skills add ciembor/agent-rules-books --all

List available skills without installing:

npx skills add ciembor/agent-rules-books --list

Install one selected skill:

npx skills add ciembor/agent-rules-books --skill refactoring

Every book directory contains a standard SKILL.md entrypoint. The skill loads the corresponding mini rule set by default and keeps the full file available as deeper reference material.

If you prefer another setup, see USAGE.md for manual, scoped, always-on, and editor-specific installation patterns.

Release Matrix

Metrics:

lines: physical line count from wc -l
rules: Markdown list items counted with the deterministic release convention
size: raw bytes from wc -c

Rule Set	Full file	Full lines	Full rules	Full size	Mini file	Mini lines	Mini rules	Mini size	Nano file	Nano lines	Nano rules	Nano size
A Philosophy of Software Design	full	370	177	13561 B	mini	46	28	5774 B	nano	35	17	2258 B
Clean Architecture	full	515	289	17782 B	mini	49	31	5486 B	nano	36	18	2254 B
Clean Code	full	297	220	13851 B	mini	47	29	3804 B	nano	32	14	1235 B
Code Complete	full	354	180	12407 B	mini	56	38	6717 B	nano	41	23	2544 B
Designing Data-Intensive Applications	full	393	205	16084 B	mini	55	37	6949 B	nano	34	16	2575 B
Domain-Driven Design	full	979	523	42424 B	mini	48	30	5683 B	nano	39	21	2266 B
Domain-Driven Design Distilled	full	317	158	11351 B	mini	56	38	6438 B	nano	41	23	2535 B
Implementing Domain-Driven Design	full	337	177	12848 B	mini	57	39	7333 B	nano	37	19	2723 B
Patterns of Enterprise Application Architecture	full	404	196	15501 B	mini	54	36	8099 B	nano	35	17	2823 B
Refactoring	full	433	242	17866 B	mini	49	31	5167 B	nano	37	19	1986 B
Release It!	full	382	204	13542 B	mini	48	30	6372 B	nano	38	20	2205 B
The Pragmatic Programmer	full	359	179	13398 B	mini	65	47	7165 B	nano	44	26	2263 B
Working Effectively with Legacy Code	full	371	193	13817 B	mini	50	32	5707 B	nano	35	17	1792 B
Refactoring.Guru	full	765	478	62561 B	mini	64	46	6287 B	nano	41	23	2593 B

Books List

A Philosophy of Software Design

Author: John Ousterhout

The book focuses on fighting complexity through deep modules, simple interfaces, information hiding, and design choices that reduce cognitive load. This rule set is especially useful for API design, modul

// HOW IT'S BUILT

KEY FILES

a-philosophy-of-software-design/SKILL.mdREADME.md

// REPO STATS

2.9k stars

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