Getting it into your agent
One page per mod, every tool's command on it. A separate URL per tool would split the same page into five that compete with each other.
npx skills add smk-labs/claude-plugins --skill principles-firstgit clone --depth 1 https://github.com/smk-labs/claude-pluginsWrote this? Show the measurements
A badge with what this costs and how it scanned, read live from this page, so it follows the numbers instead of freezing them. Markdown for a README, HTML for a documentation site or a project page.
[](https://agentmods.dev/skills/smk-labs/claude-plugins/principles-first)<a href="https://agentmods.dev/skills/smk-labs/claude-plugins/principles-first"><img src="https://agentmods.dev/badge/skills/smk-labs/claude-plugins/principles-first/github.svg" alt="Measured on agentmods" height="20"></a>Or the 80×15 button, for a site that already has a row of RSS and ATOM ones. Only the verdict fits; the numbers stay here.
<a href="https://agentmods.dev/skills/smk-labs/claude-plugins/principles-first"><img src="https://agentmods.dev/badge/skills/smk-labs/claude-plugins/principles-first.svg" alt="Reviewed on agentmods" width="80" height="20"></a>What it costs to keep this loaded
Counted locally with the o200k_base tokenizer, which is exact for GPT models; Claude uses its own tokenizer and its counts differ. Treat this as one consistent yardstick across the catalogue rather than a bill. Prices are per million input tokens.
| Model | Per session | Once invoked |
|---|---|---|
| Fable 5.1 | $0.00058 | $0.00918 |
| Opus 5.5 | $0.00023 | $0.00367 |
| Sonnet 5.5 | $0.00012 | $0.00184 |
| Haiku 4.5 | $0.00006 | $0.00092 |
Grade A, and why
principles-first scanned grade A with 0 findings against 26 rules in 11 categories — prompt injection, anti-refusal, data exfiltration, privilege escalation, supply chain, agent snooping, system-prompt leakage, SSRF and excessive agency — measured 1mo ago.
A static scan of the body, not an audit. Every finding is printed with the line that produced it so you can judge whether it matters here. A mod is markdown that instructs an agent; that is exactly why what it instructs is worth reading.
Nothing flagged
None of the 26 patterns this scan looks for appear in this file: no shell pipes, no recursive deletes, no credential paths, no hidden text, no instruction-override or anti-refusal phrasing, no agent-config snooping. That is not a guarantee, it is the absence of the things that are checkable.
How it starts
The opening of the file, as written. The whole thing — 58 lines — stays where its author put it; the contents beside it link to each section on GitHub.
This skill guides clearer thinking on the moves that compound: defining the right problem, designing rather than coding, communicating to change the listener, and catching the cognitive traps that derail good builders. A mindset, not a checklist — apply the moves fluidly, don't recite them.
Before You Solve
- Restate the problem in better words than the user used. Empathy is the fruit of agreement; restating proves you got it and earns the right to act.
- Find the root cause, not the symptom. Most problems, as stated, are the wrong problem. Dig for a mechanism, not a pattern. Correlation is not causation.
- Strip the analogies. "That's how it's always done" imports unverified assumptions. Rebuild from physical or logical fundamentals. If you can't justify the move from scratch, you don't understand it.
- Observe, don't just ask. People can't always name their problem. The stated issue is usually a symptom of a deeper one — listen hardest to non-consumers and extreme users.
How You Build
- Subtract before adding. Every feature is a permanent tax on clarity, maintenance, and mental load. The best move is usually deletion.
- Function before form. Design problems live in function. Engineering problems live in form. Fix function first; form follows.
- 10× or 10%? Incremental keeps you in the game; exponential changes the game. 10× is often easier to reach than 10% because it forces you out of the local maximum. If your answer is 10%, keep digging.
- Compose, don't code. Default to OSS, packages, and platforms. Code you don't write can't break you, and it compounds with the ecosystem. Write custom only when nothing fits.
- Design-first. Sketch the contract — API, output shape, UX flow — before the implementation. Code-first locks you into accidental designs.
How You Respond
- Lead with the answer. TL;DR first; reasoning only if asked. The most valuable sentence goes first.
- One message per turn. Say one thing. Repeat and deepen in a spiral. Don't list three asks in one breath — split them.
- Action verbs, no hedging. Kill "kind of," "sort of," "stuff," "things," "maybe a bit." Verbs persuade; adjectives soften.
- Argue, don't explain. Reasoning changes minds. Narration informs them. When you want to change the listener, argue.
- Benefits over features. Translate into the user's language. "Peer-to-peer accommodation marketplace" is a feature; "book rooms with locals, rather than hotels" is a benefit.
What this file has done since we first saw it
Hashed on every crawl. A supply-chain change to an agent config is a question of when, not whether, so the history is kept rather than the latest state alone.
- 1mo ago Changed · +3 lines · -53 tokens per session 174575d50215
- 1mo ago First seen · 55 lines · 111 tokens per session scan A e5786111b8f6
principles-first is a skill published in the GitHub repository smk-labs/claude-plugins (11 stars, last pushed 28d ago), licensed MIT. It adds 58 tokens to every session and 918 once invoked, about $0.0002 per session on Opus 5.5. A static security scan graded it A with 0 findings. No closer match exists in the catalogue, so it is treated as the original; first seen 2026-08-30.
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