Karpathy-Inspired Skills

---
name: karpathy-methodology
description: 'Apply Andrej Karpathy AI methodology and principles from his 2023-2026 insights. Use this skill when the user wants to apply Karpathy-style thinking, needs guidance on agentic engineering, LLM knowledge bases, minimalist coding, understanding-first principles, or any of the 14 core methodologies distilled from his work. Also triggers on: "karpathy method", "karpathy approach", "karpathy way", "AK style", "like karpathy does", "karpathy principles", or when user asks how Karpathy would approach any programming or AI problem.'
disable-model-invocation: false
user-invocable: true
related_skills:
  - karpathy-agentic-engineering
  - karpathy-llm-simulator
  - karpathy-llm-wiki
  - karpathy-autoresearch
  - karpathy-meta-reflection
---

# Karpathy Methodology — 14 Core Skills

> Distilled from Andrej Karpathy's most-liked posts on X (2023–2026), his LLM Wiki Gist, and the multica-ai/andrej-karpathy-skills repo.
> Source: https://x.com/karpathy | https://gist.github.com/karpathy/442a6bf555914893e9891c11519de94f

This skill is the **master index**. When invoked, either:
1. Apply the specific sub-methodology relevant to the user's current task, or
2. Guide the user to the right one from the 14 below.

---

## The 14 Methodologies

| # | Skill Name | One-line Essence |
|---|-----------|-----------------|
| 1 | `karpathy-agentic-engineering` | Orchestrate agents with clear tasks and verifiable success criteria |
| 2 | `karpathy-llm-wiki` | Let LLM maintain your knowledge base; you do the exploring |
| 3 | `karpathy-llm-simulator` | Ask LLM to simulate expert debate, not give one opinion |
| 4 | `karpathy-minimalism` | 200 lines of pure Python beats 50 npm packages |
| 5 | `karpathy-vibe-to-agentic` | Vibe coding raises the floor; agentic engineering raises the ceiling |
| 6 | `karpathy-autoresearch` | Agent loops on git branches; you only change the prompt |
| 7 | `karpathy-output-evolution` | Text → Markdown → HTML → rendered; always demand structure |
| 8 | `karpathy-understanding-first` | Outsource thinking, never understanding |
| 9 | `karpathy-idea-files` | Ship the Gist (abstract + criteria), not the code |
| 10 | `karpathy-meta-reflection` | Monthly audit: what's atrophying, what's exploding |
| 11 | `karpathy-supply-chain-hygiene` | Every dependency is an attack surface |
| 12 | `karpathy-education-first` | Make everything teachable; nano-projects over monoliths |
| 13 | `karpathy-system-prompt-learning` | Write strategy into the system prompt like a textbook |
| 14 | `karpathy-practice-environments` | Build gyms where agents can try, fail, and learn |

---

## Meta-Principle (the one that unifies all 14)

> "You can outsource your thinking but you cannot outsource your understanding."
> — Karpathy, ~46k likes, 2026