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Spike Methodology · nwave-ai | DecimalAI

codingby nwave-ai

Spike Methodology

nwave-ai/nw-spike-methodology

Source nwave-ai/nwave ↗License MIT

Teaches agents how to run a timeboxed spike - throwaway code that validates one assumption before DESIGN

SkillScore73Maintained

On-demandOn-demand: invoked explicitly — never occupies your agent's context until called.

Coding pack

Last verified 8/16/2026

What it changes

Passed 16 of 22 test cases with the skill, and 10 of 22 without it.

Without skill45%

With skill73%

Checks it passed that the model alone missed

Forbids the use of logging frameworks
Requires deleting the temporary code files
Directs printing results directly to stdout

and 16 more in the full report

10 fixed6 passed either way2 still failing4 broke

Pass-rate lift: +27 pp
Tokens: +6%
Agent turns: 0%
Response time: -43%

Model gemini-3.6-flashMeasured 8/16/2026v116 of 22 cases passed with skill

Tokens, turns and time describe resource use, not a dollar price.

Use this skill

Save it into your project's skills folder. Claude Code picks it up in its next session.

curl -fsSL --create-dirs -o .claude/skills/nwave-ai-nw-spike-methodology/SKILL.md https://app.decimal.ai/s/nwave-ai-nw-spike-methodology/SKILL.md

Want it pinned and updatable? pip install "decimalai>=0.15", then decimalai skills add nwave-ai-nw-spike-methodology, and start Claude Code with claude --plugin-dir "$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)/.agents"

1 · One-time — install the CLI (docs ↗)

pip install "decimalai>=0.15"

2 · Get the skill — writes .agents/skills/nwave-ai-nw-spike-methodology/ and pins it in .decimal/skills.lock

decimalai skills add nwave-ai-nw-spike-methodology

No CLI? Get the same file — curl · raw file

curl -fsSL --create-dirs -o .claude/skills/nwave-ai-nw-spike-methodology/SKILL.md https://app.decimal.ai/s/nwave-ai-nw-spike-methodology/SKILL.md

Raw file: /s/nwave-ai-nw-spike-methodology/SKILL.md ↗ · machine-readable summary at /s/nwave-ai-nw-spike-methodology.json ↗

Safety checks: 3 of 3 passed

Code scan CleanIntent PassedContent Clean

See it in action

One of 10 test cases the skill fixed. Same model, same prompt, with and without the skill.

1 of 10

Prompt

Specify the precise relative markdown file path where findings for feature `billing-engine` must be written.

What was checked, without and with the skill
Checked	Without skill	With skill
Specifies docs/feature/billing-engine/spike/findings.md as the exact output path	Missed	Passed

case-18 · gemini-3.6-flash · 8/16/2026 · answers are capped and redacted

What's inside

The instructions your model reads when the skill loads.

SKILL.md111 linessingle file

Spike Methodology

What a Spike IS

Throwaway code that validates exactly one assumption. Max 1 hour. Binary outcome: works or doesn't work. Code is deleted after validation; only findings persist.

What a Spike IS NOT

Not This	Why
Prototype	Prototypes evolve into production code. Spikes are deleted.
MVP	MVPs ship to users. Spikes never leave the developer's machine.
Walking Skeleton	Skeletons wire end-to-end architecture. Spikes test one mechanism.
POC	POCs demonstrate feasibility to stakeholders. Spikes answer a developer question.

The 4 Questions

Every spike answers exactly these:

Does the core mechanism work? Can we parse the output? Call the API? Does the algorithm produce correct results?
Does it meet the performance requirement? Is it under the time/memory/throughput budget?
What edge cases exist? Empty input, malformed data, missing dependencies, concurrent access.
What did we assume wrong? The design said X, but reality is Y. Document the delta.

When to Spike

New mechanism never tried before in this codebase
Performance requirement that cannot be validated by reasoning alone
External integration (API, library, OS feature) with unknown behavior
Algorithm where correctness is non-obvious

When to Skip

Pure refactoring (mechanism already proven)
Bug fix (behavior already understood)
Feature estimated at less than 1 day (spike overhead not justified)
Mechanism already validated by a prior spike or existing code

Rules

Track record

Benchmark

16 / 22

test cases passed, vs 10 / 22 without

Adoption

Users: 0
Times used: 0

Safety and source details

SkillSafety

✓ 3 of 3 passed

Code scan15 of 15 checks clean

0 critical · 0 warning · 0 info — scanner v4 — 8/3/2026

View 15 scanner checks

live_secretremote_code_executionreverse_shelldata_exfiltrationssrf_metadataagent_snoopinganti_refusaldestructive_commandsobfuscated_unicodeunicode_homoglyphopaque_blobsuspicious_urltool_overreachtrigger_abuseprompt_injection_phrasing

IntentSafe

LLM judge · does the skill do what it claims

ContentClean

LLM judge · policy & harmful-content review

Source

Imported

nwave-ai / nwave

nWave/skills/nw-spike-methodology/SKILL.md

View on GitHub ↗

License MITImported 8/3/2026Version v1

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Ready to supercharge your AI agents?

See it in action

What's inside

Spike Methodology

What a Spike IS

What a Spike IS NOT

The 4 Questions

When to Spike

When to Skip

Rules

Track record

Benchmark

Adoption

SkillSafety

Source

Other skills for the same job

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