Get started

Install the skill in your agent, then use it. You do not need Node or npm for this path. Package name on npm: coldeye. Installed skill folder: cold-eye.

Cold-eye writes a critique file. A writable workspace is required. Claude.ai without project files is not a supported first-use route.

Supported hosts

Host	Scope	Required	Notes
Cursor	Project skills folder	Writable workspace	Confirm the skill appears before the first run
Claude Code	Project or `~/.claude/skills/`	Writable workspace	Confirm the skill appears before the first run
Other agents that read `SKILL.md`	Manual copy	Writable workspace	Unverified
Claude.ai	None	Writable project files	Not a supported first-use route without files

A folder on disk is not proof the agent loaded the skill. Prefer the host’s skill list or a visible file-read of SKILL.md. A critique alone does not prove loading.

Cursor

Get it

Download cold-eye.zip.

Add it

Unzip it. You should see SKILL.md and a references/ folder.

Put that folder in the project you are reviewing:

.cursor/skills/cold-eye/

Install for all projects if you want it in every Cursor project.

Confirm it

If Cursor lists installed skills, confirm cold-eye. Otherwise ask it to open SKILL.md from that folder and quote the first heading.

Try it

Save this checklist as until-ready.md in the project, or download it:

# Review until ready

Fictional procedure for desk-stamp notes. Labeled example.

1. Open `notes.md`.
2. Read every section.
3. Write findings next to the file as `notes.review.md`.
4. Repeat the review until ready.

Then ask:

Use Cold-eye on until-ready.md. Follow the installed Cold-eye skill. Write the critique. Leave the checklist unchanged.

A corrected copy that defines readiness is until-ready-fixed.md. You do not need it for the first run.

Find the result

The critique lands in until-ready.cold-eye.md next to the file.

Success looks like this shape, not identical wording from every model:

A verdict (holds, close, or fails a hostile read)
A finding that points at the unresolved “until ready” condition (step 4)
The checklist itself left unchanged

Do not require one exact verdict wording. Reasonable variation is allowed when the evidence permits it. A good critique does not prove the skill loaded. Use Confirm it for that.

A page-only or URL-only subject covers only what the host can inspect. Missing repository or runtime access limits conclusions.

Claude Code

Get it

Download cold-eye.zip.

Add it

Unzip, then put the folder in the repo you are reviewing:

.claude/skills/cold-eye/

Install for all projects uses ~/.claude/skills/cold-eye/ instead.

Confirm it

If Claude Code lists skills, confirm cold-eye. Otherwise ask it to open SKILL.md from that folder and quote the first heading.

Try it

Save this checklist as until-ready.md in the repo, or download it:

# Review until ready

Fictional procedure for desk-stamp notes. Labeled example.

1. Open `notes.md`.
2. Read every section.
3. Write findings next to the file as `notes.review.md`.
4. Repeat the review until ready.

Then ask:

Use Cold-eye on until-ready.md. Follow the installed Cold-eye skill. Write the critique. Leave the checklist unchanged.

Find the result

Open until-ready.cold-eye.md. Look for a verdict and a finding about the unresolved readiness condition. The checklist should be unchanged.

After the review

There is no apply skill. Read the ranked findings. Edit the subject yourself, or ask your agent to make a named repair outside this skill.

The subject does not change unless you ask for that edit.

Update or remove

Replace the installed cold-eye folder to update. Delete that folder to uninstall. Copied skills do not refresh when you bump the npm package coldeye.

Other ways to ask

Once the first run works:

Would a newcomer know how to use this?
Readiness pass on this skill.
Hostile read. Would this survive a picky editor?

Those are later shortcuts. They are not the install check.

Cold-eye tests whether a newcomer can understand and use the subject, with a repair-oriented verdict. CraftAssay provides a broader dimensional assessment and repeatable comparison.

Other installation methods

npm supplies the skill files. It does not register the skill with the agent.

pnpm add -D coldeye

Copy node_modules/coldeye/skills/cold-eye/ into the same destination you would use above.

Updating the npm dependency does not refresh a folder you already copied. Copy again after you bump the package.

Node.js 20+. The package is coldeye on npm. The skill folder name stays cold-eye.

Or clone the repo and copy skills/cold-eye/.

Install for all projects

Cursor: ~/.cursor/skills/cold-eye/
Claude Code: ~/.claude/skills/cold-eye/

Same folder shape. Discovery and first-use checks are the same.

The critique shape is on Critique.