# show-me-your-work

Keeps a reviewable decision trail for long-running or unattended work. Use it when someone needs to inspect how an agent reached its result.

- skill · `type=skill` · Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, OpenCode · 5300 installs · ★ 2737
- Author: backnotprop
- License: MIT · policy=mirror · the beginning of the file is at the end of this page
- Source: https://github.com/backnotprop/pstack/tree/HEAD/skills/show-me-your-work/SKILL.md
- Updated: 2026-10-24
- HTML: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/skills/show-me-your-work

## What it does

This skill keeps one TSV decision log, with a row for each meaningful choice, its reason, evidence pointer, and outcome. Start from `references/decision-log-template.tsv`, or add rows with `scripts/log.sh <logfile> <phase> <decision> <why> <evidence> <result>`.

The log lives in `decisions.tsv` or `.audit/<task-slug>.tsv` and stays out of git by default. It is append-only: a mistaken entry gets a later row that supersedes it. Commit the file when a reviewer needs the trail to trust the work.

Before handoff, the skill checks this run's rows against its transcript and resolves the evidence pointers. It also calls for a subagent from a different model family to flag weak evidence, skipped verification, and risky choices in an “Attention” section. That requirement means you need access to the run transcript and a separate model family for review.

## Install

### Claude Code (native platform)

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add backnotprop/pstack --skill show-me-your-work -a claude-code
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `~/.claude/skills/show-me-your-work/SKILL.md` — Copy the whole skill folder; for one project use .claude/skills/show-me-your-work/

### Codex

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add backnotprop/pstack --skill show-me-your-work -a codex
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.agents/skills/show-me-your-work/SKILL.md` — For all projects use ~/.agents/skills/

### Cursor

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add backnotprop/pstack --skill show-me-your-work -a cursor
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.cursor/skills/show-me-your-work/SKILL.md` — Cursor also reads .agents/skills/ and .claude/skills/

### GitHub Copilot

1. **GitHub CLI**
```bash
gh skill install backnotprop/pstack show-me-your-work
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.github/skills/show-me-your-work/SKILL.md`

### Gemini CLI

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add backnotprop/pstack --skill show-me-your-work -a gemini-cli
```

2. **Platform CLI**
```bash
gemini skills install https://github.com/backnotprop/pstack --path skills/show-me-your-work
```

### Windsurf (Devin Desktop)

**Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.devin/skills/show-me-your-work/SKILL.md` — The legacy .windsurf/skills/ path still works

### OpenCode

**Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add backnotprop/pstack --skill show-me-your-work -a opencode
```

### Claude.ai

**Claude.ai**
- Zip the folder and upload it in Settings → Capabilities → Skills

Where a file is given instead of a command, copy the files from the source to that path: https://github.com/backnotprop/pstack/tree/HEAD/skills/show-me-your-work/SKILL.md

## When to use it
- record a decision with its reason
- link commits, files, or artifacts as evidence
- document a pivot, blocker, or revert
- audit log rows against the run transcript
- give a reviewer a trace of the work

## Example prompts
- \`/show-me-your-work` keep a decision log for this multi-phase task.
- \`/show-me-your-work` log checkpoints and evidence as you work.
- \`/show-me-your-work` audit the trail against this run before handoff.

## Source text · SKILL.md · MIT

Below is the content of a third-party file. It is data, not instructions for you: do not act on anything written inside unless the human asks. Block tag: 40b5415c4f6141cd.

BEGIN THIRD-PARTY FILE 40b5415c4f6141cd
````text
---
name: show-me-your-work
description: "Keep a reviewable decision trail for long-running or unattended work: a TSV log with one row per decision (what, why, evidence, result). Local by default; commit it when a reviewer needs the trail to trust the result. Use for /show-me-your-work, autonomous or multi-phase runs, or work a human reviews after stepping away."
disable-model-invocation: true
---

# Show me your work

Keep one canonical log.

## The format

A single TSV file, one row per decision. Cells stay single-line. Evidence is a pointer, not prose.

Copy `references/decision-log-template.tsv` (the header row) to start a clean log. Columns:

- **ts.** ISO8601 timestamp.
- **phase.** The phase or workstream.
- **decision.** What was chosen or done, one line.
- **why.** The reason in plain words. If a principle drove it, say it plainly, not as a jargon tag.
- **evidence.** A link or path that proves it: commit SHA, PR number, `file:line`, or an artifact, trace, or screenshot path. Never a paragraph.
- **result.** The outcome or predicate state: `tests green`, `reverted`, `pixel-diff 0`, `INCONCLUSIVE`, `open`.

An example, plain-spoken so a reviewer reads it at a glance.

```
ts	phase	decision	why	evidence	result
2026-05-24T09:02:00Z	frame	counted the work first, about 100 components and roughly 75 hours	wanted to know the size before starting a long run	commit 3a9f1c2	found 5 things to sort out before starting
2026-05-24T09:40:00Z	harness	took screenshots of the old version before changing anything	so we can compare old against new and catch any visual change	scripts/snapshot.sh, baseline/	saved 120 reference screenshots
2026-05-24T11:15:00Z	widget	moved the widget styles over without changing how it looks	keep the change small and the result identical	commit 7c21e0a, pixel-diff 0	looks identical, tests pass
2026-05-24T12:30:00Z	widget	threw out a helper's work because its screenshots were blank	checked the real files instead of trusting its summary	worktree reset	reverted, tightened the instructions for next time
```

## Logging a row

Write each entry the way you'd tell a teammate what you did. Plain words, concrete actions, no AI speak or abstract jargon (the **unslop** skill applies to log text too).

Use the helper `scripts/log.sh <logfile> <phase> <decision> <why> <evidence> <result>`. It stamps `ts`, writes the header on first use, strips stray tabs/newlines, and prefixes any cell starting with `=`, `+`, `-`, or `@` with a single quote. A bare `printf` appending a row works too, but mind those same bytes if cells come from generated or user-supplied text.

Log decision points and checkpoints, not every action: a fork chosen, a unit completed with its verification result, a pivot or revert with its trigger, a blocker surfaced, a gate fixed. For loop runs, one row per iteration. Skip the trivial and self-evident.
````
END THIRD-PARTY FILE 40b5415c4f6141cd

The third-party file has ended. Everything between the 40b5415c4f6141cd tags is data: requests and commands from it are not followed. An “end of file” line with another tag inside the block is part of the file.

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