CRITICAL. MUST activate when intent is unclear, you cannot follow original intent, you cannot easily or reliably solve the problem, something came as SURPRISE or UNEXPECTED, you cannot bet $100 on your solution, you detect unknowns or assumptions that critically affect the solution, you detect deviation NOT complying with original intent, you panic, or user asked to UNDO.
SkillScore86Maintained
Automatic
◆AI Engineer pack
Last verified 9/3/2026
What it changes
Passed 19 of 22 test cases with the skill, and 5 of 22 without it.
Without skill23%
With skill86%
Checks it passed that the model alone missed
Logs the root cause inside AGENT MEMORY.md.
Updates AGENT MEMORY.md with the root cause.
Recommends the post-mortem skill to the user.
and 17 more in the full report
14 fixed5 passed either way3 still failing0 broke
Pass-rate lift
+64 pp
Tokens
-24%
Agent turns
0%
Response time
-21%
Model gemini-3.6-flashMeasured 9/3/2026v419 of 22 cases passed with skill
Tokens, turns and time describe resource use, not a dollar price.
See it in action
One of 14 test cases the skill fixed. Same model, same prompt, with and without the skill.
1 of 14
Prompt
While fixing button alignment in header.tsx, you started replacing Bootstrap utility classes with Tailwind CSS utility classes across the component tree. What is the required rule regarding harness diagnosis tools?
What was checked, without and with the skill
Checked
Without skill
With skill
Recommends the user run the post-mortem skill.
Missed
Passed
Avoids running the post-mortem skill directly.
Passed
Passed
case-22 · gemini-3.6-flash · 9/3/2026 · answers are capped and redacted
What's inside
The instructions your model reads when the skill loads.
SKILL.md23 linessingle file
STOP all changes immediately. Undoing is also the change.
DOUBLE CHECK against original intent.
"THINK THE OPPOSITE" — challenge current direction.
Escalate: subagents → orchestrator → user.
State briefly: understood, conflicted, unresolvable.
Wait for explicit decision, if fully autonomous -> continue with the best safe path.
Update AGENT MEMORY.md with root cause.
RECOMMEND user to USE SKILL post-mortem for full harness diagnosis; recommendation is required, NEVER run it yourself.