SkillsAdd

smithery/grndlvl

pragmatic-programmer

Software craftsmanship principles from The Pragmatic Programmer.

Installation

$ npx skills add smithery/grndlvl --skill pragmatic-programmer
View on skills.sh ↗ Website ↗

Summary

  • Software craftsmanship principles from The Pragmatic Programmer.
  • Use this skill when discussing best practices, debugging strategies, career development, or pragmatic approaches to software development.
  • Auto-activates for DRY violations, debugging sessions, and development workflow improvements.

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More details

Agent compatibility

Declared targets from SKILL.md / docs. Unmarked agents are not listed — the skill may still install via the CLI.

Claude Code Not declared
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GitHub Copilot Not declared
Windsurf Not declared
Gemini CLI Not declared
Cline Not declared
OpenCode Not declared

Package contents

Files included with this skill beyond the listing page.

  • skill md SKILL.md 5,061 B
  • docs SUMMARY.md 324 B

History

  1. First recorded snapshot · 0 installs

SKILL.md

The Pragmatic Programmer Reference

A comprehensive reference for pragmatic software development principles based on "The Pragmatic Programmer" by David Thomas and Andrew Hunt. This skill provides timeless advice for becoming a better developer.

When This Skill Activates

This skill automatically activates when you:

  • Discuss software development best practices
  • Need debugging strategies
  • Consider code duplication (DRY)
  • Think about tooling and automation
  • Discuss project estimation or planning
  • Review development workflows

Core Philosophy

"Care about your craft."
"Think about your work."

Pragmatic programmers:

  • Take responsibility for their career and work
  • Don't make excuses—provide options
  • Are agents of change, not victims of circumstance
  • Continuously learn and adapt

Quick Reference

Foundational Principles

Principle Summary
[DRY - Don't Repeat Yourself](principles/dry.md) Every piece of knowledge has a single representation
[Orthogonality](principles/orthogonality.md) Keep things independent and decoupled
[Reversibility](principles/reversibility.md) Make decisions reversible; avoid lock-in
[Tracer Bullets](principles/tracer-bullets.md) Get feedback fast with end-to-end skeleton
[Prototypes](principles/prototypes.md) Learn before committing; throw away prototypes
[Domain Languages](principles/domain-languages.md) Program close to the problem domain
[Estimating](principles/estimating.md) Learn to give accurate estimates

Practical Techniques

Practice Summary
[The Power of Plain Text](practices/plain-text.md) Keep knowledge in accessible format
[Shell Games](practices/shell-games.md) Master the command line
[Debugging](practices/debugging.md) Fix the problem, not the blame
[Text Manipulation](practices/text-manipulation.md) Learn text processing tools
[Code Generators](practices/code-generators.md) Write code that writes code
[Design by Contract](practices/design-by-contract.md) Define rights and responsibilities
[Assertive Programming](practices/assertive-programming.md) If it can't happen, use assertions
[Decoupling](practices/decoupling.md) Minimize dependencies between modules
[Refactoring](practices/refactoring.md) Improve code continuously
[Testing](practices/testing.md) Test early, test often, test automatically
[Automation](practices/automation.md) Don't use manual procedures

The Pragmatic Tips

Key tips from the book:

  1. Care About Your Craft - Why spend your life developing software unless you care?
  2. Think! About Your Work - Turn off autopilot and take control
  3. Provide Options, Don't Make Excuses - Don't say it can't be done; explain what can be done
  4. Don't Live with Broken Windows - Fix bad designs and wrong decisions when you see them
  5. Be a Catalyst for Change - Show people the future and help them participate
  6. Remember the Big Picture - Don't get so focused you forget what you're doing
  7. Make Quality a Requirements Issue - Get users involved in determining quality
  8. Invest Regularly in Your Knowledge Portfolio - Make learning a habit
  9. Critically Analyze What You Read and Hear - Don't be swayed by vendors or media hype
  10. It's Both What You Say and How You Say It - Communication matters

The Knowledge Portfolio

Treat your knowledge like a financial portfolio:

  • Invest regularly - Learn something new routinely
  • Diversify - Know many different technologies
  • Manage risk - Balance safe tech with high-risk/high-reward
  • Buy low, sell high - Learn emerging tech before it becomes mainstream
  • Review and rebalance - Reassess periodically

Suggestions:

  • Learn a new language every year
  • Read a technical book each month
  • Read non-technical books too
  • Take classes
  • Participate in local user groups
  • Experiment with different environments
  • Stay current (newsletters, blogs, conferences)

Communication

  • Know what you want to say
  • Know your audience
  • Choose the right moment
  • Choose a style
  • Make it look good
  • Involve your audience
  • Be a listener
  • Get back to people
  • Documentation is part of the project, not after

Language Translation Notes

Examples use generic pseudocode. Adapt to your language:

  • PHP: class, function, ->, type hints
  • JavaScript/TypeScript: class, arrow functions, .
  • Python: class, def, ., type hints
  • Java/C#: Direct mapping with access modifiers

Based on concepts from "The Pragmatic Programmer: Your Journey to Mastery" by David Thomas and Andrew Hunt.