> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://kindling.birklid.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Karpathy Skills

> A CLAUDE.md skill distilling Andrej Karpathy's observations on the most common LLM coding failures — minimalism over boilerplate.

<div style={{display: "flex", gap: "8px", marginBottom: "1.5rem", flexWrap: "wrap"}}>
  <Badge>Open Source</Badge>
  <Badge color="#F97316">Applications Layer</Badge>
</div>

# Karpathy Skills

**A single CLAUDE.md file that nudges AI coding agents toward minimal, goal-driven code — based on Andrej Karpathy's public observations on LLM failure modes.**

<Frame>
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/tumbleweedlabs/QT0SlrwbzlJBSMcS/images/og-karpathy-skills.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=QT0SlrwbzlJBSMcS&q=85&s=ead0d6b57dc029578459459c3e97bcff" alt="Karpathy Skills GitHub" width="1200" height="600" data-path="images/og-karpathy-skills.png" />
</Frame>

<CardGroup cols={4}>
  <Card title="Type" icon="code-branch">Open Source (MIT)</Card>
  <Card title="Stack Layer" icon="browsers">Applications</Card>
  <Card title="Language" icon="code">Markdown</Card>
  <Card title="Stars" icon="star">121k+</Card>
</CardGroup>

## What it is

This is a CLAUDE.md plugin — a single Markdown file — that distills Andrej Karpathy's publicly shared observations about the most common failure modes in LLM-generated code: unfounded assumptions, unnecessary edits, over-engineering, and vague success criteria. Drop it into any Claude Code project (or install as a plugin) and the model adjusts its behavior toward more disciplined, minimal code generation.

The skill is notable for its simplicity and reach: 121k+ stars make it one of the most-starred Claude Code resources on GitHub. It doesn't add tools or workflows — it just changes how the model approaches problems, making it compatible with any project or existing skill setup.

<Tip>
  **Use this when** Claude keeps adding boilerplate, making unjustified architectural choices, or editing code that wasn't in scope — this acts as a behavioral constraint across any project you add it to.
</Tip>

## Get started

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="GitHub ↗" icon="github" href="https://github.com/forrestchang/andrej-karpathy-skills">
    Install as a CLAUDE.md plugin or drop directly into your project.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

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  </Card>
</CardGroup>