Pol Probe Advisor Agent Skill

Select the right Proof of Life (PoL) probe based on hypothesis, risk, and resources.

Context cost
5.3k tokensestimated from the bundle, loaded when it triggers
Bundle
1 file · 21.2 kBtext throughout, nothing executable
Licence
Source-availablethe author’s own terms
Last change
—no release on file
Servers it uses
Noneruns standalone

What it does

Select the right Proof of Life (PoL) probe based on hypothesis, risk, and resources. Use this to match the validation method to the real learning goal, not tooling comfort.

What this skill changes about the agent has not been set out here as a list. Its SKILL.md, shown below, says it in the author’s own words.

productivity

The skill itself

A skill is instructions the model reads, so you can see what you are getting: below is the start of its SKILL.md. The front matter loads with every session, the body loads when the skill triggers, and the whole file comes with the install.

SKILL.md21.2 kB · preview
--- name: pol-probe-advisor argument-hint: "[hypothesis or risk]" intent: >- Guide product managers through selecting the right **Proof of Life (PoL) probe** type (of 5 flavors) based on their hypothesis, risk, and available resources. Use this when you need to eliminate a specific risk or test a narrow hypothesis, but aren't sure which validation method to use. This interactive skill ensures you match the cheapest prototype to the harshest truth—not the prototype you're most comfortable building. type: interactive best_for: - "Choosing the cheapest useful validation method for a risky idea" - "Matching a hypothesis to the right Proof of Life probe" - "Avoiding overbuilding before learning the harsh truth" scenarios: - "Which Proof of Life probe should I use to test demand for this idea?" - "Help me pick the right validation method for an onboarding hypothesis" - "I have a risky AI concept. What PoL probe should I run first?" theme: validation-experiments estimated_time: "15-20 min" ---
20## Purpose
21
22Guide product managers through selecting the right **Proof of Life (PoL) probe** type (of 5 flavors) based on their hypothesis, risk, and available resources. Use this when you need to eliminate a specific risk or test a narrow hypothesis, but aren't sure which validation method to use. This interactive skill ensures you match the cheapest prototype to the harshest truth—not the prototype you're most comfortable building.
23
24This is **not** a tool for deciding *if* you should validate (you should). It's a decision framework for choosing *how* to validate most effectively.
25
26## Input
27
28**Works best with:** The hypothesis you want to validate or the risk you want to eliminate.
29**Also useful:** Your resources (time, budget, engineering access), audience access, and what failure would cost.
30
31Anything supplied with the invocation itself — text after the skill name, a pasted context dump, or an appended ARGUMENTS: line — counts as answers already given. Use it and skip whatever it covers; don't re-ask.
32
33**Arriving empty-handed? That works too.** The advisor opens by asking what you're trying to learn, then matches you to one of the 5 probe flavors.
34
35**Example invocation:** Which probe fits? Hypothesis: mid-market HR teams will trust AI-drafted job descriptions enough to publish them; 2 weeks, no eng support.
36
37## Key Concepts
38
This is a preview of SKILL.md. Download or install the skill to get the whole thing.
In the file
SKILL.md3,036 words
Files1
LicenceSource-available
Why you can read it

Nothing in a skill executes. The client loads the text and the model follows it, so a skill can be audited the way a runbook is — by reading it.

What it costs in context

Skills are not billed by the call. They are paid for in context: every token the instructions occupy is a token your code, your diff and your conversation cannot use. Here is what this one takes and when it takes it.

≈300
always loaded
The name and description, so the model knows the skill exists and when to reach for it.
5,000
on trigger
The instruction body, read only when the skill fires.
2.6%
of a 200k window
Ten skills this size would take about 27% of the window before you open a file.
050k100k150k200k context window

5.3k tokens, estimated from the bundle at four bytes to the token, held for the rest of the session once it triggers. Heavy. Teams tend to install this one per project rather than globally, and load it only when the job comes up.

Servers bill, skills cost

A server charges by the month. A skill charges once per session, in context, and then keeps charging it for as long as the session lives.

Before and after

The same question, put to the same model twice: once as it comes, and once with these instructions loaded.

No worked example has been published for this skill yet.

The procedure it runs

The procedure has not been set out here step by step. It is in the body of its SKILL.md: the start of it is shown above, and the whole file comes with the install.

Prose, not code

These steps are written for a model to follow, not executed by a runtime. It can still be told to skip one, and it will say so when it does.

Servers it uses

None. This skill calls no MCP servers at all.

Everything it needs is in the instructions, so it works in a project with nothing connected — the model reads the file and changes how it works with what it can already reach.

Its SKILL.md does not declare which tools it asks the agent for, so what it touches is whatever the instructions themselves ask for — read them before you install it.

What it asks for
Writes filesnot declared
Network accessnot declared

This SKILL.md carries no allowed-tools line, so neither is declared. A skill grants no permissions of its own — it can only ask for tools your client already has.

What it will not do

Every skill is narrow, and the useful ones say where they stop. These are the jobs this one is the wrong tool for.

What this skill is not for has not been published here. Nothing is implied by that: it is a section the author has not filled in.

What is in the bundle

1 file, 21.2 kB on disk. A bundle is text throughout: the instructions the model reads, plus the templates it fills in.

  • SKILL.md21.2 kB
What is not in it

No dependencies and nothing executable: a skill is text the agent reads, so the bundle is 1 file you can review in full before installing. The Source-available licence covers the templates and examples as well as the instructions.

Install

Installing copies the bundle into your project. Nothing runs at install time — the files sit on disk until the model reads them.

# Pol Probe Advisor · 5.3k tokens when loaded · macOS, Linux mkdir -p .claude/skills && t=$(mktemp -d) && curl -fsSL -o "$t/bundle.tar.gz" https://mcprush.com/api/skills/pol-probe-advisor/bundle.tar.gz && tar -xzf "$t/bundle.tar.gz" -C "$t" && [ -d "$t/pol-probe-advisor" ] && { [ ! -e .claude/skills/pol-probe-advisor ] || { mv .claude/skills/pol-probe-advisor "$t/.previous" && echo "Previous copy moved to $t/.previous"; }; } && mv "$t/pol-probe-advisor" .claude/skills/ && echo "Installed .claude/skills/pol-probe-advisor"
On Windows, or any OS with Node 20+
npx mcprush@latest skill add deanpeters/pol-probe-advisor

Windows PowerShell says 'running scripts is disabled on this system'? Run Set-ExecutionPolicy -Scope CurrentUser RemoteSigned once, or type npx.cmd instead of npx (codex.cmd, gemini.cmd, grok.cmd likewise). PowerShell 7 needs neither. Writes to .claude/skills/pol-probe-advisor/ in the current project. For every project instead, run mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && t=$(mktemp -d) && curl -fsSL -o "$t/bundle.tar.gz" https://mcprush.com/api/skills/pol-probe-advisor/bundle.tar.gz && tar -xzf "$t/bundle.tar.gz" -C "$t" && [ -d "$t/pol-probe-advisor" ] && { [ ! -e ~/.claude/skills/pol-probe-advisor ] || { mv ~/.claude/skills/pol-probe-advisor "$t/.previous" && echo "Previous copy moved to $t/.previous"; }; } && mv "$t/pol-probe-advisor" ~/.claude/skills/ && echo "Installed ~/.claude/skills/pol-probe-advisor" (macOS, Linux) — or add --global to the npx line. The curl line replaces .claude/skills/pol-probe-advisor/ only after the download succeeds, so files left there by another skill of the same name, or by an older release, do not mix in. A copy already there is moved aside, not deleted, and the line prints where.

Which clients pick it up on their own

A skill is a folder of text. Most of these read a skills folder and pick it up without being told; the rest take the same folder another way — an upload in the app, a parameter on an API call — and then choose it by its description just the same.

Claude Code.claude/skills/
Claude DesktopCustomize › Skills
ChatGPTSkills › Create › Upload
Cursor.cursor/skills/
VS Code.github/skills/
Codex CLI.agents/skills/
Gemini CLI.gemini/skills/
Grok Build.grok/skills/
Microsoft CopilotSkills › Upload a skill
PerplexityComputer › Skills › Upload a skill
DeepSeek Harness.dsh/skills/
Zed.agents/skills/
Devin Desktop.devin/skills/
Windsurf (legacy).windsurf/skills/
OpenAI Agents SDKInstructions or sandbox Skills
HTTP / APIa request parameter
This release
Versionnot versioned
Publishedno release date on file
PriceFree
Referencedeanpeters/pol-probe-advisor

Versions

Its author publishes no version number, so there is nothing here to pin to: what you install is the folder as it stands today. Instructions change more often than APIs do — a skill can be rewritten entirely without anything it depends on moving.

Pinning

Nothing to pin to: this skill carries no version number of its own. What you install is what the folder holds on the day you install it.

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